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I have a brain tumor. The good news is that its benign. The bad news is that I need surgery to remove it. Brain surgery typically involves a lengthy recovery period. Six weeks, at a minimum. On top of navigating the emotions that come with such a diagnosis, Ive had to figure out what work will look like as I recover. More specifically: how I will manage not working for such a long period of time. This isnt the first time Ive experienced a major life event in my career (unfortunately). The Extreme Planner in me immediately started to figure out the logistics. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/04\/workbetter-logo.png","headline":"Work Better","description":"Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn't suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more visit workbetter.media.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.workbetter.media","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} If youre going through something similar, I feel you. If youve never faced a significant medical challenge, I hope it stays that way. But I write this so that if you ever need it, you can return to this article. And I write this so if you need to support someone going through a medical challenge, you know where to start. Talking with your boss or team Telling other people about a medical diagnosis is deeply personal. Theres no right or wrong time. Im self-employed, so I talked with my clients as soon as I had more definitive information (a surgery date). For 10 agonizing days, I knew that I had a brain tumor and my clients didnt. I somehow fumbled my way through deadlines and normal client communications as though nothing was wrong. But for me it made sense to talk about my diagnosis as soon as possible. My clients could start to plan for my absence. Plus, I have a lot of doctors appointments leading up to the surgery date that I need to work around. When I previously had a medical issue in 2017, I told only my boss and one or two close colleagues. I didnt want to talk about it. It was strictly a need-to-know basis. Bottom line: Do what feels right for you. Navigating the pressures of working Living with a brain tumor is Not Fun. There are a lot of unknowns around the outcome of surgery. The same is true for many medical conditions: Fear, pain, or both may impact your life daily. One benefit of telling your boss or team is that hopefully theyre compassionate. Theyll lighten your workload or understand if you have to rearrange deadlines. But youre likely also facing financial pressure. With most companies having limits on paid sick time, you probably feel like you have to keep working until the point when you cant anymore. I certainly feel that pressureeven guiltas I think about the gap in my familys income as I recover. I finally decided to take a break between my last working day and my surgery date. During that time, Im going to take my family to a show in Chicago and maybe get a pedicure. I have a special lunch date planned with my husband. If youre facing a potentially life-altering surgery or other procedure, dont spend your last few days before working. Enjoy the time as best you can. How to ask for support Heres the thing about telling people that youre experiencing a major medical issue: People want to help. Theyll ask you if theres anything they can do, because they know youre going through something rough. When I first told people about my brain tumor, they told me to let them know if there was anything they could do. For a long time, I said, Ill let you know. I couldnt think of anything, because my mind was still reeling from the shock of the diagnosis. But then I started to ask for help with specific things. I thought about the people in my life, and how their skills might help keep my business running while I cant work. I circled back with some people who had offered support and said, Can you do XYZ for me? If you work for a company, you can do the same thing. Make a list of the things that would truly make your workday easier so youre ready anytime someone asks, How can I help? How to provide support If youre on the other side and a colleague or professional contact is going through something hard, offer specific ways you can help. So many people (like me) are overwhelmed and dont know how to reply when someone offers support. Say, Can I take ABC off your plate? Or XYZ? rather than Let me know if theres anything you need! It reduces the mental load of the person youre trying to help. Check in again, even after weeks or months have passed. The persons needs may change. Significant medical issues can be long-lasting. People are eager to offer help at the beginning, but that fades over timeespecially at work, where its easy to be removed from peoples personal lives. Be the person who continues to show up, saying, How can I help? Or simply, How are you feeling? Do you want to talk? Im here to listen. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/04\/workbetter-logo.png","headline":"Work Better","description":"Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn't suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more visit workbetter.media.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.workbetter.media","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
Knowledgeworkers spend roughly one working day every week, or 23% of their time, in a meeting. The weight of the workday often prevents employees from having uninterrupted time to concentrate, causing them to extend their hours well beyond the traditional 9-to-5. It’s tempting for companies to embrace the appeal of “no meetings, hoping the extra time will lead to more focused work. But does eliminating meetings actually work? Grace Williams, VP of Client Relations of the PR agency PANBlast, convinced her leadership team to cancel all meetings for a week. With over 20 meetings filling more than half her schedule, Grace saw a no meetings week as a chance to get meaningful work done while relieving some Zoom fatigue. The result? While some employees missed social interactions and struggled with understanding workload, 92% of employees said theyd like to repeat the experiment again later that year. So, whats the right move for companies? Should they dedicate a day each week to deep work, or test a full week without meetings? And in an era of improved collaboration tools and smarter calendar management, is the real opportunity in small refinements rather than sweeping changes? Here, representatives from companies of all sizes share how they’re rethinking meeting culture. Consider one day of deep work I brought a No-Meeting Fridays policy with me when I joined Tormach two years agothe rest of the company adopted it soon after. The result? Higher productivity, no communication gaps, and a noticeable shift in morale. People use Fridays to catch up on emails, finish admin tasks, and tie up loose ends, which clears the mental clutter before the weekend. It also creates a natural incentive to finish collaborative work by Thursday, so deadlines tend to be hit earlier. The idea came from my experience at larger companies, where Friday meetings were often canceled last-minute by leadership, throwing off your day and your mindset. It felt inefficient and frustrating, so I decided to flip that script and just eliminate the expectation of meetings altogether. We stay connected through Microsoft Teams, and Friday has organically become a day when people share weekly wins in our channelskeeping communication flowing while still honoring deep work time. Heather Curtis, Director of Sales and Marketing, Tormach Give employees tools to step out of meetings No meeting policies and no meeting weeks should be a thing of the past thanks to AI. Instead of an all-or-nothing approach that limits how people want to work, instead give them the tools to step out of meetings that they can miss, while still ensuring they get the information they need. Its all infinitely more possible today. When teams implement an AI meeting copilot, individuals naturally attend 20% fewer meetings nearly immediately, while still getting access to the content via shared meeting reports and connected enterprise search. No one even has to review meeting minutes any longer; you simply prompt your knowledge base for the information you need, and move through your day faster. David Shim, Cofounder and CEO, Read AI Anchor the week with written, public commitments Growth requires speed, and meetings were slowing us down. So, we implemented a complete no-meeting policy for five consecutive business days. No regular standups, check-ins, or even “quick” calls. We structured it like a sprint, with each participant committing to one key project for the week and sharing it in a Slack thread Monday morning. Output during that week doubled compared to a typical week, as measured by the number of campaigns launched and features delivered. It felt electric. However, by Friday, we realized that relationships had suffered slightly; informal collaboration and creative riffing were almost nonexistent without real-time chats. To ensure long-term success, anchor the week with written, public commitments. At beehiiv, we require a Monday kickoff post and a Friday recap. Without that, a lack of meetings simply makes people invisible, and invisibility kills momentum faster than meetings ever could. Edward White, Head of Growth, beehiiv Get buy-in from the top down Shift has implemented Deep Work Wednesdays for over a year for the entire company. The key to a successful no-meeting policy is to first achieve true buy-in from the top down. Its often at the leadership level where schedules get busy and meeting invites get scheduled just to find the time when no one has meetings booked. Individual team members also look to the companys leadership to assess how committed they should be to new company policies or changes in their workflow. The long-term success of a company’s no-meeting policy is reliant on those at the top setting the right tone and leading by example. Sabrina Banadyga, VP of Marketing, Shift Be intentional about meetings Thoughtful meeting habits arent about cutting things out entirely, but it is about being intentional. Im ruthless about only attending meetings with a clear agenda and purpose. If something can be shared as ongoing communication, instead of a separate meeting, it should be. If I can empower someone to move forward without me, even better. My advice? Lead by example. Defend your calendar, prioritize deep work, and normalize the idea that not being in every meeting can actually be a sign of a strong, empowered and trusted team, not a disengaged one. Jean-Christophe Taunay-Bucalo (JC), President and COO at TravelPerk
Category:
E-Commerce
The last place youd think of doing a downward dog? An airplane. That might soon change, as plane yoga is apparently now a thing. TikTok creators are sharing in-flight videos of attendants guiding passengers through seated yoga flows. One viral video posted last month shows passengers on a fully booked EasyJet flight with their arms raised, following a flight attendants cues while the 80s Flashdance hit “Maniac” plays over the speakers. The video has since racked up 1.5 million views. @user1118383829333 what in the air-robics is going on @easyJet Maniac (dal Film Flashdance) – Film Orchestra He really said No DVT on this flight, one comment read. Others were on board with the idea. Stop cause this would actually calm my anxiety down loads, another user commented. Yall ever done plane yoga? another TikTok user asked, posting footage from a Spirit Airlines flight. In it, passengers stretch their arms overhead, following along with the flight attendants instructions: Touch your toes, stretch your back out, he says. And while youre down there, pick up all the trash you threw on the ground. Oh spirit got jokes huh, one user replied. Definitely a spirit thing to do, wrote another. It turns out this isnt the first time Spirit has offered plane yoga as an in-flight activity. Spirit Airlines: Free Snacks, absolutely not. Mid-Flight Yoga Sesh – yes of course, one TikTok user posted in 2024. The passengers once again followed the same yoga flowwith the same punch line at the end. @annarittmeyer Spirit has our whole plane doing yoga mid-flight! Haha honestly love this guy! Dont go too far you might tip the plane over #spiritairlines #spiritflight #spirit original sound – Anna Mathias Rittmeyer Whether or not its a clever ploy to get passengers to clean up after themselves, theres real science backing up the benefits of plane yoga. Flying, especially long-haul, can reduce circulation, stiffen joints, and increase the risk of blood clots. Flights longer than four hours are considered a risk factor for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. To lower that risk, Healthline recommends walking around at least once per hour and doing calf exercises. Or how about joining in on a quick plane yoga flow? Just maybe leave the downward dog for after landing.
Category:
E-Commerce
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