In studies of people isolated in submarines, space stations or polar bunkers in Antarctica, researchers have found there appears to be a point where the frustration of being cooped up inside suddenly gets harder to bear.

You may remember the first phase which started with panic, then buying and confusion. Then we rolled quickly into the second phase, a kind of “honeymoon period”, when it felt fun and different to stay at home.

But now depending on what day you’re on, and how you’ve been navigating all of this, many are entering the third phase. In psychological studies of extreme confinement and isolation, this phase is known as the ‘third-quarter phenomenon’. The phenomenon was first described in the early 1980s and came from a body of research around how long humans could survive in space.

You may be quoted in the New York Times and get a flow of eyeballs to your website—maybe if the quote was that good—but was it in the right context? Will the right client invest in your services because of it? Or is it a fluff piece that diminishes your credibility? Similarly, not all online referral hubs and blogs are created equal.

I finally gave in and bought another pair of sunglasses.  Earlier this year I had invested in my first pair of Chanel’s. I thought the price was ridiculous at first, until I prorated the daily cost based on my usage living in Southern California, which turned out to be less than $1/day. They came numbered, with […]

So let me cut straight to the chase. Here’s what you’re doing when you procrastinate: delaying your own good. Say it with me, I am delaying my own good. Forget what Freud said about the pleasure principle and humans preferring to avoid negative emotions or to delay stressful tasks. Because the reality is that breaking […]

Wouldn’t it be nice if every decision you made, every change you experienced and absolutely everything else you ever did, was right? In other words, perfect, high-five, fantastic, ideal.Life would be a whole lot easier wouldn’t it?I’m not going to lie, the moment you realize you made a mistake, a bad choice, went in the […]

Some people won’t get the value of what you do no matter how well or often you explain it. You don’t have to worry about those one-off conversations; sometimes it’s not about you. But if you find yourself having the same conversation — sales, employee, spouse or otherwise — over and over again, guess what? […]

My mentor Michael Maschio was the Production Executive in charge of The A-Team in the 80s. He rolled his eyes when I gushed. He’s old Hollywood. His dad was the packaging agent for Casablanca, so piecing together epic creative projects was in his blood. He managed all kinds of personalities with ease, dealt with situations […]

When it came out in 2003, filmmaker Nancy Meyers’  Something’s Gotta Give sparked a wave of requests from American renovators wanting a dream kitchen just like the one in the Hampton’s house Diane Keaton’s character owned in the movie. At the opening of West Week in March 2013, Meyers joked that there were definitely kitchens more […]

By Amy Ahlers, Certified Life Coach & Author “If only I were thin enough, beautiful enough, rich enough…THEN I could stop being so hard on myself.” Have you ever had that thought? If only your circumstances were different you could then magically shift your internal dialogue into an empowering, nurturing, loving one, right? After more […]

By Donna Raskin & Susan Hawthorne Ready to be incensed? Women pay, on average, 46 percent more for goods and products than men. And part of the reason for this is a woman’s fear of negotiation. We’re going to give you a generalization here: Most girls are brought up to be nice and smile in […]