Discovering the rewards of a doctorate journey In my work in academia, it is not uncommon to be invited into conversation with students wrestling with whether to get a doctorate. Pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is a transformative and intellectually rewarding journey that can open several doors for…

Dispelling Common Myths — Are video games addictive? Does gaming cause attention-deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Indeed, there are no benefits to playing video games. Right? As humorously depicted in the Netflix film 8-Bit Christmas, panic over video games is nothing new. From former New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, smashing pinball machines with a sledgehammer…

Embrace the process and release the results — We’ve all been there. Maybe it was the job you wanted but didn’t feel qualified for. So you never applied. Or the 5K you thought about running but feared embarrassment if you needed to walk. So you never signed up. Perhaps there’s that person you’ve wanted to spend more time…

5 Tips to Say More With Less — Question What do 17th-century mathematician Blaise Pascal, legendary fashion designer and businesswoman Coco Chanel, and present-day co-founder and CEO of Super Coffee, Jimmy DeCicco, all have in common? Stumped? Perhaps this will help. In his 1657 Lettres Provinciales, French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote, “I have made this [letter] longer…

Developing a family culture to combat digital overload — Our daily lives are a constant barrage of beeps, boops, buzzes, and dings. Our iPhone cries for attention, our laptop chirps a new email alert, and we shout at Alexa demanding to know today’s weather. We shove boots onto unwilling, tablet-holding toddlers and make multiple attempts to gain our screen-glued…

Or how to stop grinding and learn to love the process — In a recent appearance on the Tim Ferriss podcast, Cal Newport discussed his developing concept; slow productivity. A highly-organized and prolific computer scientist, academic, author, and speaker, Newport is the best-selling writer of numerous books, including Digital Minimalism and Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. …

Welcome to my internal dialogue, a series of never-ending questions that roll around in my noggin day in and day out like party hangers-on who just don’t want the fun to end. Do I say yes to the speaking event? Do I respond to that email now? Do I wait…

As parents, we struggle to get a moment to ourselves. Quietly, we drift away upstairs. We sneak behind basement shelves under the guise of looking for that one thing we need. Yes, we even take to hiding in bathrooms. I am a strong advocate for modeling good technology boundaries for…

Look, I have been there. I sit down at my desk, a nice cup of coffee to my right (always to my right), a pen and paper just in case I need some kinetic form of notetaking, my door shut, and my dogs sequestered downstairs to prevent their typical cacophony…