What would you do with a break from work?

Not just a long weekend or two weeks of paid vacation, (which is usually spent on a trip that’s anything but restful.)

Instead, we’re talking about an extended period of time away from your day job: a month, six months, maybe even a year. We’re talking about a sabbatical.

When we think of sabbaticals, we often think of academics taking a year off from teaching for research or writing. But what if the concept of sabbatical is more universal than we think?

The word “sabbatical” actually comes from a Biblical concept called “the Sabbath,” which means “to rest” or “to cease.” Wikipedia gives us a more modern definition: “In recent times, "sabbatical" has come to mean any extended absence in the career of an individual in order to achieve something.” Sabbaticals can be about more than rest: it’s about giving yourself space to get those creative juices flowing and inspire fresh ideas for your job. What we’re often craving is creativity.

April 15 is just 20 days away. Have you filed your taxes yet?

Maybe you were eager to find out how big that tax refund will be (or learn just how much you owe Uncle Sam) and filed your taxes last month. Good work! But for most Americans, taxes are messy, dredging up financial realities we try to ignore but once a year. We naturally procrastinate, filing them at the very last minute.

If we’re honest, we procrastinate a lot, about all kinds of things… especially at work.

While procrastination can feel like a major personal shortcoming, procrastinators aren’t alone: we’re psychologically hardwired to put off difficult tasks and decisions. It’s another symptom of “fight or flight” - we’ll do what it takes to avoid an emotionally draining or mentally complex situation, making excuses along the way.

Of course, procrastination can be lethal at work. Apply these tips to help you have the greatest impact during your workday - or even to finally finish your taxes!

February is Black History Month, and we would be remiss if we didn’t address the importance of race and culture in the workplace. If we want to both work hard and live well, understanding differences in how we act and think - and why - is crucial.

We all laughed at Michael Scott’s bungling of “Diversity Day” in the second episode of The Office. But there’s always truth in comedy, right? Frankly, honoring diversity in the workplace is easier said than done.

It turns out the origin of Saint Valentine is a little… well, nebulous to say the least. Nonetheless, we use the name to celebrate love on the 14th of February! I remember my parents buying us small gifts for Valentine’s Day, I’ve celebrated “Galentines” Days, and I now enjoy the nudge Valentine’s Day provides to tell my husband, children and friends how much they mean to me.

I hope you are able to love and be loved next Wednesday!

That love is part of the “why” behind MatchPace. I love my family, and I also love my work. But I struggled to do work I loved in a way that didn’t interfere with my ability to be present with my family. I didn’t want to be away from my children 40-50 hours a week, but I found it hard to find a part-time professional position because in our workplace culture, “part-time” usually communicates “partial effort.”

But I know that’s not true. This study of nearly 2,000 white-collar professionals in the UK in 2013 showed our time spent doing actual productive, content-related work is less than 3 hours each day. Other studies show 61% of our time at work is spent managing our work, not actually completing it.

Earlier this month, we encouraged you to start 2018 by looking back at the year behind you and asking some key questions to evaluate your goal-setting track record and set yourself up for success.

Have you set any goals for 2018? It’s not too late - the best time to start is now!

Whether your goals are in place or you need a jump start, here are four strategies to creating no-fail goals that will catapult you forward in 2018.

Here we are, a week into 2018! Have you made any resolutions? How are they going? Still going strong, or have you already “screwed them up?” Maybe you think if you didn’t set your resolutions on January 1, it’s too late to bother (like me!). Or are you someone who doesn’t bother with resolutions because you think they’re silly, or just a chance to beat yourself up?

There’s something fresh about something new - a new year, a new job, a new place to live. It’s an opportunity to reflect, to consider, and to try to do things differently.

So even if you think New Year's resolutions are silly, you likely still feel a slight pull to consider what has come before and how 2018 might look different.

Even if you don’t call them “resolutions,” are you ready to do the work to achieve bigger and better things in 2018? When you’re intentional about refocusing and setting smart goals, a new year can mean a fresh start - with or without resolutions.

I went for a walk with a friend a few weeks ago. She said her in-laws had asked what she wanted for Christmas. She sighed and said, “All I want for Christmas is time.”

She’s not alone. We’re working longer hours, concerned about the future, and struggling to check off our to-do lists each day.

The holiday season in particular is ripe with opportunity to feel overwhelmed and stressed by shopping lists, social commitments, family dynamics and the race to meet those annual goals at work.

Can we really give ourselves the gift of time?

The short answer: yes. When we view time as a valuable, non-renewable resource, we can start to organize our days, including our workdays, in a way that respects the limited time we have each day and give us some of those precious hours back to spend on family, friends, and making our world a better place.

Here are three steps to give yourself the gift of time this holiday season.

As workweeks stretch 50, 60 or more hours long for many Americans, we’ve got to wonder if these extra hours spent slaving over a desk or chained to our smartphones is actually helping us be more productive. In fact, research tells us that working excessive hours actually makes people less productive, not more.

What if the solution to inefficiency and burnout isn’t simply working less, but working differently? How would your workweek look if your goal wasn’t to clock a certain number of hours, but to achieve specific outcomes and then go home and unplug?

Burnout.

We’ve all felt it. Exhausted, overwhelmed, depleted... burned out.

In fact, 95 percent of HR leaders reported that employee burnout is sabotaging their workforce.

What is behind such pervasive burnout? Are we simply working too many hours each week, or is the way we work the problem?

Here are some of the reasons why your employees are burning out like a firework.

We admit: our last two blogs have been pretty negative. But knowing that nearly 70% of American workers are tuned out at work, we felt it was important to help employers and managers understand why employees are disengaged and how employee disengagement hurts your business.

Now that we’ve identified the problem, it’s time to turn to solutions. We don’t believe employee disengagement has to be the new norm, so here’s how we can all be part of the solution.