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She’s balanced roles as mother, daughter, partner, and friend with nearly two decades of executive leadership at companies like Uber and Oscar Health."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"4d496ae07be8","_type":"link","href":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanvjoyce/"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"f459bd455df1","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"af001cbd03640","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Every senior woman leader has heard the advice: Delegate more of your personal life. Hire the assistant, get the concierge, outsource the errands."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"46498f9e6de2","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"172a55f4cdc70","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Most of us have tried. And here's the truth almost no one says out loud: "},{"_key":"172a55f4cdc71","_type":"span","marks":["b5804d8f02e9"],"text":"Delegation rarely sticks"},{"_key":"172a55f4cdc72","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":". Help has existed for decades. Yet, the women executives I know — people who can easily afford every form of support — are still the ones rebooking the flight on Sunday night, tracking whether the pediatrician's office ever called back, and holding the entire invisible inventory of their family's life in their heads."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"b5804d8f02e9","_type":"link","href":"https://chief.com/category/work-life-balance"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"dda03f177234","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"85f190668fc00","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"If the advice were right, the problem would be solved by now. It isn't. This means we've been misdiagnosing it all along."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"ca88b816f51d","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"1efdc02b1fb40","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"The Mental Load Is Not a Labor Problem"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading2"},{"_key":"0acecd74a286","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"f5c4e1088c120","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"We talk about the mental load as if it were a volume of tasks — too many things to do, not enough hands. But what’s more difficult is ownership: noticing that something needs to happen, specifying what \"done right\" means, and verifying that it actually happened."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"ac8772977b8e","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"0659a3c540900","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"That last loop is where traditional forms of delegation fail. You can hand someone a task, but you can’t hand them accountability. So you keep the task alive in your head because “completed” and “solved: are not the same thing. Anyone who has asked someone to “handle” an insurance dispute knows the difference. The appointment was marked scheduled,"},{"_key":"0659a3c540901","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":" but"},{"_key":"0659a3c540902","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" was it scheduled around school pickup? The return was initiated, "},{"_key":"0659a3c540903","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"but "},{"_key":"0659a3c540904","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"did the refund ever land?"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"f31e78cfae5d","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"711ab84746190","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"When you delegate a task but retain the verification loop, your mental load stays the same, you’ve just added a management layer to it. This is why the assistant economy has never solved this problem. It moved the labor and left the load exactly where it was."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"609b44ac654f","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"7323929b87c30","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"At work, we solved this long ago by delegating outcomes with accountability attached, rather than tasks. At home, we never built the machinery because coordinating idiosyncratic personal tasks to a consistent standard is genuinely hard. And, for a hundred years, the market's answer was to shrug and match you with whoever was available."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"e234f650ecd4","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"6e4261b8f67f0","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"AI Solved the Wrong Half of Your Life First"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading2"},{"_key":"7741da93dbdb","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"3a3c86bdeb740","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Here’s what the standard “AI will fix this” story gets backward."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"b59952eaa5db","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"ae7f8ebdc48c0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"The past few years of AI have been extraordinary for the "},{"_key":"ae7f8ebdc48c1","_type":"span","marks":["7871e8d2bc06"],"text":"digital half of our lives"},{"_key":"ae7f8ebdc48c2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":". Drafting, summarizing, researching, and planning are largely solved. But look at what actually populates a senior woman leader's personal load. The call to the medical office that only answers between 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM. The airline agent with discretion to waive the fee (if a human asks the right way)."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"7871e8d2bc06","_type":"link","href":"https://chief.com/category/ai-the-future-of-work"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"cccb1ec6392e","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"b2a947d7b1330","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"The load that "},{"_key":"b2a947d7b1331","_type":"span","marks":["8584086fdc34"],"text":"grinds leaders down"},{"_key":"b2a947d7b1332","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" is overwhelmingly analog. It lives in phone trees, waiting rooms, and conversations with other humans who have judgment and moods. We are still learning how AI interacts with the internet. We have barely begun solving how it interacts with the world. The chatbot drafts the email. Only a human sits on hold for 40 minutes and persuades the rep."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"8584086fdc34","_type":"link","href":"https://chief.com/articles/senior-women-leaders-burnout-emotional-labor"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"9799195e3d79","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"41c6c4097c660","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"More importantly, what AI "},{"_key":"41c6c4097c661","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"has"},{"_key":"41c6c4097c662","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" changed is the coordination layer. Software can now track every open loop, remember every preference, sequence every dependency, and verify every completion without a human carrying it in their head. What made ownership untransferable for a century is what machines turn out to be great at — the impossibility of coordinating quality across a thousand idiosyncratic tasks."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"8377da1c4181","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"6487729314ad0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"That's the real division of labor emerging: AI owns the remembering, routing, and verifying; "},{"_key":"6487729314ad1","_type":"span","marks":["a640d7a22449"],"text":"skilled humans own the judgment"},{"_key":"6487729314ad2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":", persistence, and real-world navigation. Rather than replacing it, AI is finally making human help "},{"_key":"6487729314ad3","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"accountable"},{"_key":"6487729314ad4","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":". Regardless of what system you use, the question to ask of any support in your life is now \"Who closes the loop?\""}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"a640d7a22449","_type":"link","href":"https://chief.com/women-leaders-agentic-ai-study-2026"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"ef3054c38ddd","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"93354c69f76d0","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"The Last Barrier Isn't Logistics"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading2"},{"_key":"88c6ec2a2e16","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"887b1e5ebb220","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Even with the machinery in place, I watch accomplished leaders hesitate and I recognize it, "},{"_key":"887b1e5ebb221","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"because I've done it."},{"_key":"887b1e5ebb222","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" The tasks we hold onto hardest are the ones where a dropped ball has a face attached: a child, a parent, a spouse."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"f6484d52fcc6","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"d8e699cfcdab0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"We tell ourselves this is diligence. Mostly, it's fear wearing diligence as a costume; the belief that vigilance is love, and that "},{"_key":"d8e699cfcdab1","_type":"span","marks":["ee9fd0886422"],"text":"releasing ownership means releasing care"},{"_key":"d8e699cfcdab2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":". But at work, we'd call that behavior a bottleneck, not caring, and measure the cost to the organization."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"ee9fd0886422","_type":"link","href":"https://chief.com/articles/erin-coupe-energy-intelligence-leadership"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"e54680755e5b","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"5588b8485bcb0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"The same is true of life."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"0e3a569c1a27","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"081d1f5339700","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"The answer to that fear isn't lowering your standards. It's the same as at work: demand accountability structures strong enough to "},{"_key":"081d1f5339701","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"earn"},{"_key":"081d1f5339702","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" your release, insist on closed loops, then actually "},{"_key":"081d1f5339703","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"let go"},{"_key":"081d1f5339704","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"9bd7ee647d56","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"2c140832d2510","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Start With an Audit of Ownership"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading2"},{"_key":"b4c678ab9733","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"9ccac85a6eef0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"If you want to know your real mental load, don't count your tasks. For two weeks, track every item where you are the only one who would notice if it failed. Those are your open loops. That number, not your to-do list, is what's taxing you."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"90ccc295a70f","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"896664e8e4340","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Then, for each open loop, ask: Does this close without me? 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I left to go — dum, dum, dum — out on my own on January 1, 2025. Now, I work for myself."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"8d14d9712350","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"954ffda6565c0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I write. I consult. I pitch editors and negotiate my own contracts and chase the invoice on day 31, which is a thing I never once thought about when someone else's accounting department did it. I build my own decks. I report stories for "},{"_key":"954ffda6565c1","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"The New York Times"},{"_key":"954ffda6565c2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" and "},{"_key":"954ffda6565c3","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"Vanity Fair"},{"_key":"954ffda6565c4","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":". I run a Substack called "},{"_key":"954ffda6565c5","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"Best Case Scenario"},{"_key":"954ffda6565c6","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":". For seven years before this I was the Editor-in-Chief of "},{"_key":"954ffda6565c7","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"Women's Health"},{"_key":"954ffda6565c8","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":", where I had a staff of 35 and, I'm not kidding, a research department down the hall I could just walk into."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"4e20463a8522","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"28d7d2af352f0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Now the org chart is me."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"fc4566e73d1d","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"157e6c5b2e280","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"You know this if you've built something of your own. We make "},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e281","_type":"span","marks":["182c38cbb29e"],"text":"our own hours"},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e282","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":", which is incredibly liberating. It’s "},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e283","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"also"},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e284","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" the reason I’m writing this on a Saturday afternoon while my family sits in a theater watching the new "},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e285","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"Spider-Man"},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e286","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" film. (My three kids promised to tell me how it ends.) Two things can be true, as therapists say."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"182c38cbb29e","_type":"link","href":"https://chief.com/category/work-life-balance"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"c3ef0fa777dc","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"ab3d566b8ea90","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I've been obsessed with mornings for a long time. I even wrote a book about them, called "},{"_key":"ab3d566b8ea91","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"Own Your Morning"},{"_key":"ab3d566b8ea92","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":". And the thing I believed then and believe even more deeply now is that how you start your day is how you live your day. Those dawn hours are sacred to me. Not in a biohacker, ice-bath, 4:00 AM kind of way. (However, I do love contrast therapy.) Quite the opposite! But mornings are the one and only part day I get to myself. And when I take care of myself during those sunrise hours, I’m better at navigating every twist and turn that my day brings."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"98e1c38d0bac","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"a89a7ae883930","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"You Are the Architect"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading2"},{"_key":"679edd89f8fd","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"0f9826f7f8d70","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"We all left to build something bigger. The company we'd been sketching on napkins, the dream we dared not say out loud, the thing we kept waiting for someone else to make, the work our passionate little hearts had always wanted to do."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"2935410a0c57","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"4e57c61753df0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Then we got to the top — at our new job, our own company, whatever it looks like in your world  — and some days, a lot of days, it felt like an endless parade of fires to put out. Managing an exploding calendar. Board meetings. Late nights in front of the laptop. The list goes on. And on. And on."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"a8dd911ff5c4","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"881e555d83f80","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Researchers looked at "},{"_key":"881e555d83f81","_type":"span","marks":["e873b227143c"],"text":"273 entrepreneurs"},{"_key":"881e555d83f82","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" to figure out what keeps the emotional demands of the work from "},{"_key":"881e555d83f83","_type":"span","marks":["7722a7b2da4c"],"text":"turning into full burnout"},{"_key":"881e555d83f84","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":", and loving your job wasn't it. Job satisfaction didn't protect anybody. Control over your own time did."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"e873b227143c","_type":"link","href":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11187-022-00702-w"},{"_key":"7722a7b2da4c","_type":"link","href":"https://chief.com/articles/how-to-find-your-way-back-from-burnout-women-leaders"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"311a5fe43971","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"d4c8fd639aa80","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"The first hour of the day is the piece of it you can control before you're being pulled in 17 directions. So protect it, and build the best version of it you can, because you’ll be so much happier and healthier with some intention. Let me take you through some tips you can use starting tomorrow, all of them backed by science."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"f54330dadbc9","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"654e743585cc0","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Get Outside Before You Open Your Laptop"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"13e88dab4dd2","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"484dd4a39d730","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Light first. "},{"_key":"484dd4a39d731","_type":"span","marks":["14f5b816d932"],"text":"Research on daytime light exposure"},{"_key":"484dd4a39d732","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" shows it sharpens alertness and attention, and morning light is also what tells your body when to release melatonin 16 hours later, so the walk you take today is doing quiet work on tonight's sleep."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"14f5b816d932","_type":"link","href":"https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.765750/full"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"6d5c93a316ed","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"2ffb656080720","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Twenty minutes outside to get some sunshine in your eyes. I take Willa, my Bernese mountain dog, into the park. Thirty to 45 minutes after you wake up, your cortisol is climbing about 50% above where it sat overnight. It's called the "},{"_key":"2ffb656080721","_type":"span","marks":["066555e75bb5"],"text":"cortisol awakening response"},{"_key":"2ffb656080722","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" and — poor cortisol, nobody ever says anything nice about it — it delivers energy and focus, free of charge. For most of my adult life, I gave mine to whoever had emailed me overnight. Now it goes to my body, my soul, and my writing."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"066555e75bb5","_type":"link","href":"https://academic.oup.com/edrv/article/46/1/43/7739741"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"4550806e27e2","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"a283c085dccb0","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Move Your Body"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"fb1866dc6faa","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"338edf71619a0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I'm a 47-year-old NASM-certified trainer so obviously I want you lifting weights to protect your bone density, build lean muscle mass, boost your heart health, and for a dozen other health benefits that will keep you independent and "},{"_key":"338edf71619a1","_type":"span","marks":["905452118437"],"text":"strong for the long game"},{"_key":"338edf71619a2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"905452118437","_type":"link","href":"https://chief.com/articles/pvolve-women-midlife-fitness-longevity"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"00ce07fe963d","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"7a541c2c22710","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"But when I’m exhausted, rubbing my eyes, and “really don’t wanna,” my bone density isn’t getting me to the gym, if I'm honest. I lift because I know it’ll make me feel like superwoman afterward. Working out makes me feel clearer, calmer, and more confident, every single time. Fitness is 90% about my mental and emotional wellbeing. And yes, I'll take the bigger biceps flex, too."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"fc51fe506030","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"871e6b1a5a5a0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"There's also a business argument for movement at the top of the day. In one study in "},{"_key":"871e6b1a5a5a1","_type":"span","marks":["cad880bd6c93","em"],"text":"Neurobiology of Learning and Memory"},{"_key":"871e6b1a5a5a2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":", people learned new vocabulary 20% faster right after intense running than after sitting still, and their BDNF levels, the protein tied to learning and neuroplasticity, tracked with how well they did."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"cad880bd6c93","_type":"link","href":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17185007/"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"356b0356aa05","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"91b6213630c20","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"You’re going to make dozens of decisions every day. Movement makes every single one of them sharper."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"a8322a27f47c","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"d1036dc5af5f0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I used to hit the gym before the sun rose. I was very proud of my consistency and ability to sweat before most people woke up. But on this working-for-myself adventure I’m on? I’ve learned that my best writing happens in the wee hours of morning before the kids wake up. It felt like an identity crisis to wait until mid-morning, but I’ve made peace with my new schedule of walking my youngest to elementary school, "},{"_key":"d1036dc5af5f1","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"then "},{"_key":"d1036dc5af5f2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"hitting my local YMCA to swing kettlebells. I’m home, showered and ready to get after the day by 10:00 AM."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"fee5a7f13a06","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"e8ebd2fbb6ef0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I hope sharing that confession nudges you to audit your morning routine at least every season. (Great timing as fall arrives!) And definitely do it again when you change paths professionally or personally."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"67037375be43","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"6895d7baf0ac0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Those 60 minutes matter more than anything else on my calendar. When a deadline or a flight makes them impossible — and that happens more than I'd like it to — I do "},{"_key":"6895d7baf0ac1","_type":"span","marks":["d66d67367b1f"],"text":"mobility work"},{"_key":"6895d7baf0ac2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" in the living room and feel grateful for each minute."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"d66d67367b1f","_type":"link","href":"https://lizplosser.substack.com/p/the-mobility-routine-that-rebuilt"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"48ee5e6cd3f8","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"75d263903a920","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Pick whatever type of movement lights you up. And add music. "},{"_key":"75d263903a921","_type":"span","marks":["bd539d849924"],"text":"There's research"},{"_key":"75d263903a922","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" showing it lifts your mood and makes hard effort feel easier, which tracks, because I have never once regretted a playlist. Make one tonight."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"bd539d849924","_type":"link","href":"https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1750984X.2011.631027"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"dde1b8af410a","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"65c47955c2c90","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Eat a Real Breakfast, With 30 Grams of Protein"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"598a14cf0b5c","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"cf3565a50ec90","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Most of us run on coffee and adrenaline till noon and then act surprised when the afternoon falls apart."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"36703ae862f9","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"b272481d4f200","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Thirty grams of protein at breakfast is my number. Eggs or Greek yogurt will do it. Protein digests slowly and keeps you full, which is the difference between focus that holds through a morning of calls and the 2:00 PM dip you try to fix with more caffeine. I also recently upped my morning dose of creatine from 5 to 10 grams, mixed with water, because of the "},{"_key":"b272481d4f201","_type":"span","marks":["ba13d58378f7"],"text":"exciting emerging research"},{"_key":"b272481d4f202","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" on its brain benefits."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"ba13d58378f7","_type":"link","href":"https://lizplosser.substack.com/p/the-new-rules-of-daily-creatine-dosing"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"7421a5f19d52","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"e6e67065f9780","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"When you're the whole company, a crash at two costs you a decision you can't unmake."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"f9a2efb2f6ae","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"d163cbd1b7450","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Practice the Calm Before You Need It"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"e2872a612ac2","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"eec3bea0d4070","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"There are dozens of studies about the benefits of mediation. And I aspire to have a regular practice, but until then, the exhale is where serious magic happens."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"21d24d91a541","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"bb582b950b090","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Slow breathing pushes you toward the parasympathetic side of things by way of the vagus nerve, and "},{"_key":"bb582b950b091","_type":"span","marks":["60ed5b2b84ff"],"text":"a systematic review and meta-analysis"},{"_key":"bb582b950b092","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" found that voluntary slow breathing reliably raises heart rate variability, which is the standard marker for that rest-and-recover state. It's the long exhales doing the work."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"60ed5b2b84ff","_type":"link","href":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35623448/"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"39f5fc0de5be","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"d8baf3fa952e0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I do two inhales through the nose, the second one short and stacked on the first, then a long slow exhale out the mouth. (For fellow aspiring-meditators, a "},{"_key":"d8baf3fa952e1","_type":"span","marks":["c24234e64e51"],"text":"month-long Stanford trial"},{"_key":"d8baf3fa952e2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" found five minutes a day of intentional breathing beat mindfulness meditation for improved mood.)"}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"c24234e64e51","_type":"link","href":"https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00474-8"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"e8bf72e1f618","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"b3b0a48c2d070","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Learn it on a calm Tuesday. You are not going to pick up a new nervous-system skill 90 seconds before a call where you have to explain a number you hate. Do it tomorrow morning, and come back to it when your adrenaline spikes during the day."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"c8474a2e173a","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"520e90d165dc0","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Look Out for Your Future Self"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"427668de1e21","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"1af2bd4764b90","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Every good morning I've ever had began the night before. Workout clothes out. Coffee prepped. Kitchen counter cleared so that tomorrow's version of me doesn't walk into a mess made by tonight's."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"260f20408eed","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"e82fadd740be0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I also “wash the day away” every night with a hot shower. It’s a metaphorical way to clear the sticky energy — bad or good — from my psyche. There are evidence-based, sleep-improving reasons to do it, too. A "},{"_key":"e82fadd740be1","_type":"span","marks":["cfce7b61173f"],"text":"meta-analysis of bathing studies"},{"_key":"e82fadd740be2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" found that warming yourself that way helps you fall asleep faster, because your core temperature is lower. Then: lights down, room cool."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"cfce7b61173f","_type":"link","href":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31102877/"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"f80c6ae7038b","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"9600610055440","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Then, set the alarm on purpose. I always wake up to a seven because that’s my lucky number. I also choose a ringtone that makes me happy. Zero science there. Just better than a blaring alarm."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"725b8a2adb70","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"219c9151c9da0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Pick tomorrow's outfit while you're at it. Steve Jobs had his black turtleneck and jeans for a reason. You've got a few hundred judgment calls coming tomorrow. Don't burn your brain power rummaging through your closet."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"78e986318f7b","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"c45ff65d92300","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Make Yourself a Mantra"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"de93db675ff0","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"17a930b78f2d0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Everything routes through you when you’re a leader. Which brand to say yes to, which client to keep, whether to pick up on a Sunday, how to deal with a sensitive situation. You need a filter or the sheer volume of small calls will grind you down."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"7aba693e3c59","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"7c34cf5e2c6a0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"So pick a tagline, a question, or a rallying cry and say it out loud or in your head before you commit to anything."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"31a6aaa35b6c","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"8a8461292ea30","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Mine this year:"},{"_key":"8a8461292ea31","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":" Is there a softer, gentler way? "},{"_key":"8a8461292ea32","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I'm not fooling myself about the long nights or the 3 AM wake-ups or the 14 trips across the world I've taken this year so far. Those are going to keep happening, and I’m grateful for each opportunity. But I'm at least looking for the easier road now instead of automatically taking the hard one, and I say that as a woman with a high pain threshold."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"d68ccd89ea69","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"49082d0db0e10","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"You don't have to become a morning person. I wasn't one for most of my life. But you do get to decide what happens in the hour nobody else has claimed yet. And when you're the whole company, that might be the most important thing on your calendar."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"}],"supportingContent":null,"_rawEditorialCategory":{"_id":"2b197649-61de-47c2-b218-57ebaf0fabfb","_type":"category","_rev":"kuh6IZ2IntHupgeCdkG5dF","_createdAt":"2023-01-23T20:55:48Z","_updatedAt":"2025-10-26T14:46:10Z","description":"Discover how multihyphenate women leaders are changing what work-life balance looks like today. 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She is the author of"},{"_key":"6ee826001a985","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" "},{"_key":"6ee826001a986","_type":"span","marks":["bd7bb6b5084e"],"text":"Own Your Morning: Reset Your A.M. to Unlock Your Potential"},{"_key":"6ee826001a987","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"0ecb99bbb9e9","_type":"link","href":"https://lizplosser.substack.com/"},{"_key":"bd7bb6b5084e","_type":"link","href":"https://amzn.to/4gh6pDh"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"18fd22a9de20","_type":"labelledImage","altText":"Headshot of Liz Baker 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I left to go — dum, dum, dum — out on my own on January 1, 2025. Now, I work for myself."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"8d14d9712350","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"954ffda6565c0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I write. I consult. I pitch editors and negotiate my own contracts and chase the invoice on day 31, which is a thing I never once thought about when someone else's accounting department did it. I build my own decks. I report stories for "},{"_key":"954ffda6565c1","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"The New York Times"},{"_key":"954ffda6565c2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" and "},{"_key":"954ffda6565c3","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"Vanity Fair"},{"_key":"954ffda6565c4","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":". I run a Substack called "},{"_key":"954ffda6565c5","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"Best Case Scenario"},{"_key":"954ffda6565c6","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":". For seven years before this I was the Editor-in-Chief of "},{"_key":"954ffda6565c7","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"Women's Health"},{"_key":"954ffda6565c8","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":", where I had a staff of 35 and, I'm not kidding, a research department down the hall I could just walk into."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"4e20463a8522","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"28d7d2af352f0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Now the org chart is me."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"fc4566e73d1d","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"157e6c5b2e280","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"You know this if you've built something of your own. We make "},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e281","_type":"span","marks":["182c38cbb29e"],"text":"our own hours"},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e282","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":", which is incredibly liberating. It’s "},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e283","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"also"},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e284","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" the reason I’m writing this on a Saturday afternoon while my family sits in a theater watching the new "},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e285","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"Spider-Man"},{"_key":"157e6c5b2e286","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" film. (My three kids promised to tell me how it ends.) Two things can be true, as therapists say."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"182c38cbb29e","_type":"link","href":"https://chief.com/category/work-life-balance"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"c3ef0fa777dc","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"ab3d566b8ea90","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I've been obsessed with mornings for a long time. I even wrote a book about them, called "},{"_key":"ab3d566b8ea91","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"Own Your Morning"},{"_key":"ab3d566b8ea92","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":". And the thing I believed then and believe even more deeply now is that how you start your day is how you live your day. Those dawn hours are sacred to me. Not in a biohacker, ice-bath, 4:00 AM kind of way. (However, I do love contrast therapy.) Quite the opposite! But mornings are the one and only part day I get to myself. And when I take care of myself during those sunrise hours, I’m better at navigating every twist and turn that my day brings."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"98e1c38d0bac","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"a89a7ae883930","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"You Are the Architect"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading2"},{"_key":"679edd89f8fd","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"0f9826f7f8d70","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"We all left to build something bigger. The company we'd been sketching on napkins, the dream we dared not say out loud, the thing we kept waiting for someone else to make, the work our passionate little hearts had always wanted to do."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"2935410a0c57","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"4e57c61753df0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Then we got to the top — at our new job, our own company, whatever it looks like in your world  — and some days, a lot of days, it felt like an endless parade of fires to put out. Managing an exploding calendar. Board meetings. Late nights in front of the laptop. The list goes on. And on. And on."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"a8dd911ff5c4","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"881e555d83f80","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Researchers looked at "},{"_key":"881e555d83f81","_type":"span","marks":["e873b227143c"],"text":"273 entrepreneurs"},{"_key":"881e555d83f82","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" to figure out what keeps the emotional demands of the work from "},{"_key":"881e555d83f83","_type":"span","marks":["7722a7b2da4c"],"text":"turning into full burnout"},{"_key":"881e555d83f84","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":", and loving your job wasn't it. Job satisfaction didn't protect anybody. Control over your own time did."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"e873b227143c","_type":"link","href":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11187-022-00702-w"},{"_key":"7722a7b2da4c","_type":"link","href":"https://chief.com/articles/how-to-find-your-way-back-from-burnout-women-leaders"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"311a5fe43971","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"d4c8fd639aa80","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"The first hour of the day is the piece of it you can control before you're being pulled in 17 directions. So protect it, and build the best version of it you can, because you’ll be so much happier and healthier with some intention. Let me take you through some tips you can use starting tomorrow, all of them backed by science."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"f54330dadbc9","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"654e743585cc0","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Get Outside Before You Open Your Laptop"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"13e88dab4dd2","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"484dd4a39d730","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Light first. "},{"_key":"484dd4a39d731","_type":"span","marks":["14f5b816d932"],"text":"Research on daytime light exposure"},{"_key":"484dd4a39d732","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" shows it sharpens alertness and attention, and morning light is also what tells your body when to release melatonin 16 hours later, so the walk you take today is doing quiet work on tonight's sleep."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"14f5b816d932","_type":"link","href":"https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.765750/full"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"6d5c93a316ed","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"2ffb656080720","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Twenty minutes outside to get some sunshine in your eyes. I take Willa, my Bernese mountain dog, into the park. Thirty to 45 minutes after you wake up, your cortisol is climbing about 50% above where it sat overnight. It's called the "},{"_key":"2ffb656080721","_type":"span","marks":["066555e75bb5"],"text":"cortisol awakening response"},{"_key":"2ffb656080722","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" and — poor cortisol, nobody ever says anything nice about it — it delivers energy and focus, free of charge. For most of my adult life, I gave mine to whoever had emailed me overnight. Now it goes to my body, my soul, and my writing."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"066555e75bb5","_type":"link","href":"https://academic.oup.com/edrv/article/46/1/43/7739741"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"4550806e27e2","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"a283c085dccb0","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Move Your Body"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"fb1866dc6faa","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"338edf71619a0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I'm a 47-year-old NASM-certified trainer so obviously I want you lifting weights to protect your bone density, build lean muscle mass, boost your heart health, and for a dozen other health benefits that will keep you independent and "},{"_key":"338edf71619a1","_type":"span","marks":["905452118437"],"text":"strong for the long game"},{"_key":"338edf71619a2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"905452118437","_type":"link","href":"https://chief.com/articles/pvolve-women-midlife-fitness-longevity"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"00ce07fe963d","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"7a541c2c22710","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"But when I’m exhausted, rubbing my eyes, and “really don’t wanna,” my bone density isn’t getting me to the gym, if I'm honest. I lift because I know it’ll make me feel like superwoman afterward. Working out makes me feel clearer, calmer, and more confident, every single time. Fitness is 90% about my mental and emotional wellbeing. And yes, I'll take the bigger biceps flex, too."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"fc51fe506030","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"871e6b1a5a5a0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"There's also a business argument for movement at the top of the day. In one study in "},{"_key":"871e6b1a5a5a1","_type":"span","marks":["cad880bd6c93","em"],"text":"Neurobiology of Learning and Memory"},{"_key":"871e6b1a5a5a2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":", people learned new vocabulary 20% faster right after intense running than after sitting still, and their BDNF levels, the protein tied to learning and neuroplasticity, tracked with how well they did."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"cad880bd6c93","_type":"link","href":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17185007/"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"356b0356aa05","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"91b6213630c20","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"You’re going to make dozens of decisions every day. Movement makes every single one of them sharper."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"a8322a27f47c","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"d1036dc5af5f0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I used to hit the gym before the sun rose. I was very proud of my consistency and ability to sweat before most people woke up. But on this working-for-myself adventure I’m on? I’ve learned that my best writing happens in the wee hours of morning before the kids wake up. It felt like an identity crisis to wait until mid-morning, but I’ve made peace with my new schedule of walking my youngest to elementary school, "},{"_key":"d1036dc5af5f1","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":"then "},{"_key":"d1036dc5af5f2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"hitting my local YMCA to swing kettlebells. I’m home, showered and ready to get after the day by 10:00 AM."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"fee5a7f13a06","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"e8ebd2fbb6ef0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I hope sharing that confession nudges you to audit your morning routine at least every season. (Great timing as fall arrives!) And definitely do it again when you change paths professionally or personally."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"67037375be43","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"6895d7baf0ac0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Those 60 minutes matter more than anything else on my calendar. When a deadline or a flight makes them impossible — and that happens more than I'd like it to — I do "},{"_key":"6895d7baf0ac1","_type":"span","marks":["d66d67367b1f"],"text":"mobility work"},{"_key":"6895d7baf0ac2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" in the living room and feel grateful for each minute."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"d66d67367b1f","_type":"link","href":"https://lizplosser.substack.com/p/the-mobility-routine-that-rebuilt"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"48ee5e6cd3f8","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"75d263903a920","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Pick whatever type of movement lights you up. And add music. "},{"_key":"75d263903a921","_type":"span","marks":["bd539d849924"],"text":"There's research"},{"_key":"75d263903a922","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" showing it lifts your mood and makes hard effort feel easier, which tracks, because I have never once regretted a playlist. Make one tonight."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"bd539d849924","_type":"link","href":"https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1750984X.2011.631027"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"dde1b8af410a","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"65c47955c2c90","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Eat a Real Breakfast, With 30 Grams of Protein"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"598a14cf0b5c","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"cf3565a50ec90","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Most of us run on coffee and adrenaline till noon and then act surprised when the afternoon falls apart."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"36703ae862f9","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"b272481d4f200","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Thirty grams of protein at breakfast is my number. Eggs or Greek yogurt will do it. Protein digests slowly and keeps you full, which is the difference between focus that holds through a morning of calls and the 2:00 PM dip you try to fix with more caffeine. I also recently upped my morning dose of creatine from 5 to 10 grams, mixed with water, because of the "},{"_key":"b272481d4f201","_type":"span","marks":["ba13d58378f7"],"text":"exciting emerging research"},{"_key":"b272481d4f202","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" on its brain benefits."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"ba13d58378f7","_type":"link","href":"https://lizplosser.substack.com/p/the-new-rules-of-daily-creatine-dosing"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"7421a5f19d52","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"e6e67065f9780","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"When you're the whole company, a crash at two costs you a decision you can't unmake."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"f9a2efb2f6ae","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"d163cbd1b7450","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Practice the Calm Before You Need It"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"e2872a612ac2","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"eec3bea0d4070","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"There are dozens of studies about the benefits of mediation. And I aspire to have a regular practice, but until then, the exhale is where serious magic happens."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"21d24d91a541","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"bb582b950b090","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Slow breathing pushes you toward the parasympathetic side of things by way of the vagus nerve, and "},{"_key":"bb582b950b091","_type":"span","marks":["60ed5b2b84ff"],"text":"a systematic review and meta-analysis"},{"_key":"bb582b950b092","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" found that voluntary slow breathing reliably raises heart rate variability, which is the standard marker for that rest-and-recover state. It's the long exhales doing the work."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"60ed5b2b84ff","_type":"link","href":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35623448/"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"39f5fc0de5be","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"d8baf3fa952e0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I do two inhales through the nose, the second one short and stacked on the first, then a long slow exhale out the mouth. (For fellow aspiring-meditators, a "},{"_key":"d8baf3fa952e1","_type":"span","marks":["c24234e64e51"],"text":"month-long Stanford trial"},{"_key":"d8baf3fa952e2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" found five minutes a day of intentional breathing beat mindfulness meditation for improved mood.)"}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"c24234e64e51","_type":"link","href":"https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00474-8"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"e8bf72e1f618","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"b3b0a48c2d070","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Learn it on a calm Tuesday. You are not going to pick up a new nervous-system skill 90 seconds before a call where you have to explain a number you hate. Do it tomorrow morning, and come back to it when your adrenaline spikes during the day."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"c8474a2e173a","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"520e90d165dc0","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Look Out for Your Future Self"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"427668de1e21","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"1af2bd4764b90","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Every good morning I've ever had began the night before. Workout clothes out. Coffee prepped. Kitchen counter cleared so that tomorrow's version of me doesn't walk into a mess made by tonight's."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"260f20408eed","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"e82fadd740be0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I also “wash the day away” every night with a hot shower. It’s a metaphorical way to clear the sticky energy — bad or good — from my psyche. There are evidence-based, sleep-improving reasons to do it, too. A "},{"_key":"e82fadd740be1","_type":"span","marks":["cfce7b61173f"],"text":"meta-analysis of bathing studies"},{"_key":"e82fadd740be2","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":" found that warming yourself that way helps you fall asleep faster, because your core temperature is lower. Then: lights down, room cool."}],"markDefs":[{"_key":"cfce7b61173f","_type":"link","href":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31102877/"}],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"f80c6ae7038b","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"9600610055440","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Then, set the alarm on purpose. I always wake up to a seven because that’s my lucky number. I also choose a ringtone that makes me happy. Zero science there. Just better than a blaring alarm."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"725b8a2adb70","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"219c9151c9da0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Pick tomorrow's outfit while you're at it. Steve Jobs had his black turtleneck and jeans for a reason. You've got a few hundred judgment calls coming tomorrow. Don't burn your brain power rummaging through your closet."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"78e986318f7b","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"c45ff65d92300","_type":"span","marks":["strong"],"text":"Make Yourself a Mantra"}],"markDefs":[],"style":"heading3"},{"_key":"de93db675ff0","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"17a930b78f2d0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Everything routes through you when you’re a leader. Which brand to say yes to, which client to keep, whether to pick up on a Sunday, how to deal with a sensitive situation. You need a filter or the sheer volume of small calls will grind you down."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"7aba693e3c59","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"7c34cf5e2c6a0","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"So pick a tagline, a question, or a rallying cry and say it out loud or in your head before you commit to anything."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"31a6aaa35b6c","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"8a8461292ea30","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"Mine this year:"},{"_key":"8a8461292ea31","_type":"span","marks":["em"],"text":" Is there a softer, gentler way? "},{"_key":"8a8461292ea32","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"I'm not fooling myself about the long nights or the 3 AM wake-ups or the 14 trips across the world I've taken this year so far. Those are going to keep happening, and I’m grateful for each opportunity. But I'm at least looking for the easier road now instead of automatically taking the hard one, and I say that as a woman with a high pain threshold."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"},{"_key":"d68ccd89ea69","_type":"block","children":[{"_key":"49082d0db0e10","_type":"span","marks":[],"text":"You don't have to become a morning person. I wasn't one for most of my life. But you do get to decide what happens in the hour nobody else has claimed yet. And when you're the whole company, that might be the most important thing on your calendar."}],"markDefs":[],"style":"normal"}]},"href":"https://chief.com/articles/meghan-joyce-delegate-mental-load-accountability","relatedArticles":[]}},
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