If you are an avid reader of personal development books, the titles in this list of books might be rather unexpected.

But a book doesn't have to be labeled as self improvement book in order to deliver the best advice on how to tackle the challenges in your life, right?

As pesonal development is such a wide subject, when selecting the books in this list we focused on a very narrow subject.

TIME. How we use it, abuse it, and what happens when we feel we don't have enough of it, how our reasoning is impacted (hint: Daniel Kahneman says it's negatively impacted beyond your wildest imagination. And he proves it. He must be right. He's not a Nobel Prize for nothing.)

So the books in this list will show you WHY you need to slow down, WHAT you can do about it, and some practical advice on HOW to do it.

And the last one book in our short self development book list, the +1, has been selected for you to practice how it feels when you're taking your time and enjoying the moment.

Posted on July 11, 2017July 12, 2017 by contact 0

10 Things Only Frequent Business Travellers Understand

A business trip is a trip undertaken for work or business purposes, as opposed to other types of travel, such as for leisure purposes or regularly commuting between one's home and workplace, says Wikipedia.

When you start travelling for work, the first business trip can be quite intimidating. And so is the seconf, the third, and the next. If you don't travel for business on a regular basis, the whole thing can be a source of stress (what to pack for the business trip, what is best suited to wear for the culture of the country I'm visiting, and the season? between the travel time, the meetings and the jet lag, will I be able to get enough sleep during my business trip? and what about the food? meals on business trip can be sometimes tricky). The business trip can also be something to look forward to (a change of scenery can be invigorating, the chance to meet new colleagues, to discuss interesting issues, etc).

However, those who are frequent business travellers understand this differently. And the 10 things that only they understand were written to elicit a smile from their side and also give them material to show their less frequent business traveller friends and family who still think that the phrase "He is on business trip" (or she is on business trip) sounds glamorous.

1. You can pack a one week suitcase in 15 minutes max without a business trip packing list.
2. It can happen that you will eat your three main meals of the day in three different countries.
3. You have visited the top 10 tourist destinations for city travel but you only know the airport, the hotel and the office.
4. You sometimes have a panic moment when you wake up in the morning because you can't remember where you are (and that not because of too much to drink at the business meal the night before).

5. For holidays, instead of travelling you are happy to stay home.
6. When you travel for leisure you are at first happy because how light you feel, than you start worrying thinking that you have lost your notebook.
7. Your work week really begins on Sunday afternoon when you start stressing about getting ready for leaving and worrying about making it on time to the airport the next morning (very early usually).
8. You don't know if you should be happy or sad about the fact that you are a VIP member of the major airlines and hotel chains fidelity programs.
9. You plan to catch up on sleep during the weekend but the admin stuff you left at home catches up on you instead.
10. You gave up explaining your family and friends that business travel is not at all that glamorous as they think (it won't change their minds anyway, so why bother).

Posted on July 1, 2017July 17, 2017 by contact 1

10 years ago, Jack became what we commonly call a business traveler. When he started to travel for work he was excited about the chance he had to visit all these new places and meet all these nice people he was working with. He really enjoyed it. And getting enough good quality sleep was not one of his priorities.

Sometimes he only saw the airport, the office and the hotel but he thought that this is exceptional and if it only happened from time to time he could live with that. He promised himself to keep these exceptions to the minimum and to find time on his busy working schedule to visit the city, find some nice souvenirs for his wife and children (and not rush to buy something at the airport 5 minutes before boarding the plane back home), find some nice restaurants where he could go again next time when he will bring his family over for a weekend family trip.

But business trip after business trip, his enthusiasm withered. And his energy and drive disappeared little by little.

Now he is on auto-pilot. It all starts on Sunday somewhere before lunch. Instead of enjoying the time with his family and friends, he already thinks about having to pack yet again for the early Monday trip, having to wake up early in the morning to catch the earliest flight, remembering to book the taxi to take him to the airport, to set up the alarm, etc, etc, etc.

And when the night comes he is already stressed and tired. He doesn't quite sleep as he is afraid he won't hear the alarm and miss the flight (at this point even bad quality sleep would be better than no sleep). Already sleep deprived, he gets up in the morning, boards the plane, goes straight to the first meeting after landing several time zones away, works through the night (or is it day, still?), because he needs to finish all that he has planned to do during the trip, eating too much and not always healthy food, skipping exercise (who has time for that?).

At the end of the business trip, he heads back home, more tired and even more sleep deprived, his energy low and looking forward to the week-end with the only idea to catch up on sleep. But his family and friends are looking forward to see him back and spend some quality time together. If only he wasn't so tired and grumpy. He makes an effort, puts on his best smile, skips the sleep part and tries his best to enjoy the time off until the next trip.

This story has no happy ending. In fact, it has no ending at all, because the same scenario repeats with every business trip. The only difference is the level of fatigue going up.

The latest studies on sleep have shown how great a damage lack of sleep causes to our mental, physical and emotional health. Sleep has a positive impact on our well being, but lack of sleep increases the risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, cancer, obesity, Alzheimer.

But not only the physical health suffers. The mental and emotional health suffers as well. Lack of sleep increases the risk of anxiety, depression and stress. Decision making, memory, reaction time and communication skills are also heavily impacted by the lack of sleep.

If you are frequently on business trips, and your sleep account is getting depleted, I hope that this story and consequences convinced you to find some time and allocate it to this useless (is it really?) activity called sleep.

Posted on June 19, 2017June 20, 2017 by contact 0

How many times have you postponed taking a longer break because you didn't have enough time for it?

And how long a break do you really need in order to feel rested and recharged?

Have you thought about taking shorter breaks more often instead of taking a longer break for the once or twice a year holidays? Would that work for you?

I wanted to try it out for myself and see how it works. From day trips to weekend getaways to extended weekends and even an almost one week short break, I'm planning to try them all and see what is the formula that works.

And maybe you will get some inspiration for your next getaway.

Put on your hiking boots, we're leaving!

We're starting off at 1'360m and there will be 191m ascent. It's an easy 5km walk but oh so rewarding.

Can you imagine how it is to see fields of these little flowers? We call it May snow around here. There are so many of them, it looks like snow from afar.

And it gets better.

And to top it all, this was waiting for us at the end of the 2h walk through the most amazing narcissi fields:

(not the best quality, but you get the idea!)

With all the hints we gave you, can you say where this is?

It's true that when living in Switzerland, this kind of beautiful places are easy to find, but I'm sure everyone has it's own favourite "backyard playground".

Where is yours? Tell us in the comments below!

Posted on May 29, 2017June 9, 2017 by contact 1

Habits of Successful People

Successful people have their work habits. Working a lot is one of them. Some of us consider that a lot of work has to be hard work. There are others who bet on smart work. They are the ones who know that all work no fun is not a good advice when it comes to sustainable success.

We looked at two type of successful athletes: marathonians and sprinters. The idea was to understand how effort is distributed over time, how they manage their energy and what can we learn from them so we can apply it in our lives and businesses to form successful habits.

THE MARATHONIANS

* They generate constant effort for long time
* They conserve their energy so it can last longer
* Linear spend of physical and mental energy
* No time allocated for recovery, recharge and renewal
* They look tired, a little sunken and emotionally flat
* Only effort and no recovery wears down even the strongest of us

THE SPRINTERS

* Intense effort for a short period
* They engage fully for short lapses of time
* Cyclic spend of physical and mental energy
* Time is scheduled for recovery, recharge and renewal
* They look enthusiastic, powerful, beaming with energy
* Alternating effort and recovery builds more energy for future challenges

WHAT IS YOUR STYLE?

Posted on May 11, 2017May 11, 2017 by contact 0

If that is your mantra, you shouldn't be surprised you are so stressed.

To start with, if you stop when you’re tired, you have already stopped waaaay too late.

You might have heard about the Pomodoro technique (for those who never did it’s simple: you work in chunks of 30–45 minutes, focusing your attention on only one thing. When the time is up, you stop, you take a break and you start again for another slot). The Pomodoro technique is considered a productivity tool. I would argue that it is also a wellness tool. Why? Because the scheduled breaks in between the focused deep work slots give space to your brain to relax, recharge and refresh. All while not allowing stress to build up to higher levels.

Take a Break

Scheduling breaks during the day is one of the techniques used by the highly successful entrepreneurs, startup founders and CEOs. It allows them to navigate through the daily stress of running multi million dollar businesses (LinkedIn’s Jeff Weiner periodically schedules nothing in his calendar to make time for himself).

You will argue that you are so busy and stressed that you don’t even have time to breathe, let alone taking a break. And you are probably right.

Breathe

You see, not breathing correctly is not only a sign of stress but it also enhances your negative reaction to stress. It’s a vicious circle. To break it, it would be enough to stop for a couple of minutes and breathe deeply (through your nose into your abdomen, counting to 3 or 5 or how long you can, while you inhale, holding your breath for a couple of seconds, and exhaling while counting to 3 or 5 or how long you can). It’s easy and you will feel so much better afterwards. But will you do it the next time you feel stressed? Or will you go on being stressed just because you cannot stop or because you don’t know what to do to de-stress?

Choose Your Response

Life is fast paced nowadays and there are countless sources of stress around: at work, in traffic, at home. You can be easily overwhelmed. Or you can choose how you react to them: on auto-pilot and accept stress as a given or you can stop before reacting and think what would be the best possible response for your well being.

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.

Viktor E. Frankl

Sleep

Reacting better to stress is easier when you are not tired; the more exhausted you are the worse your reaction to stress. Another vicious circle. You would need to sleep more and recharge better to feel better. But when? (I hear you asking!) Did you know that Jeff Bezos (Amazon’s founder and CEO) sleeps 8 hours per night (his word!)? If he can, you should be able to do it too (maybe you don’t need 8 hours but for sure 5 are not enough — unless you are one of the few lucky ones who can go forever on 5 or 6 hours of sleep).

Less is More

To make time for sleep you will have to start eliminating what is not necessary (activities, time waster, etc.) You will say that everything you do is necessary. But is it also important? Important for you? Or are you just trying to abide to external, unrealistic, unattainable standards?

Choose what’s most important for you and your family and focus on that instead of striving for ‘perfection’. We should aim for lives that are sustainable and fulfilling.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Faceebook

We all have our own mantra when it comes to work, success, living a good life. But how many times do we stop to ask ourselves if the lifestyle we are building is sustainable in the long run? Are we burning the candle at both ends? Are we fulfilled?

Posted on April 16, 2017 by contact 0

If you are an entrepreneur, you already know entrepreneurs are stressed too. You might have been experiencing all of them by now (and some more).

This is written as a warning sign for those who dream about becoming an entrepreneur one day.

10 Sources of stress for the entrepreneur. Read this before you jump. Click To Tweet

Some weeks ago, I wrote about the 10 Sources of Stress at Work. It might be a good idea to compare the sources of stress at work and the sources of stress for an entrepreneur before jumping ship.

Stress as an entrepreneur is different from stress in the office, but it's stress nevertheless. For those dreaming about an idyllic life as a start-up entrepreneur, the reality is a little different.

The purpose of this post is not to dissuade you from becoming an entrepreneur. It's just a warning sign for what lies ahead.

Feel free to write your top 10 sources of stress as an entrepreneur in the comments at the end of the page.

Now that you know the sources of stress, what do you do? Take a step back and relax? Sure. Does that work? Not really.

How about learning some real stress relief methods? We have 20+ for you to choose.

Get the Book Preview!

Posted on April 13, 2017April 14, 2017 by contact 0

Weekend Plans Ready?

Successful people make weekend plans. And for a good reason.

When are you happiest on Monday: after an active weekend that you have planned ahead or after a weekend you spent just relaxing, with no activity planned?

Successful people plan their weekends Click To Tweet

Successful people stay active on weekends but they make sure the activities they choose are helping them relax, refresh and recharge for the week ahead.

And they plan the weekend, never wing it.

The infographic below shows the top 10 things successful people do on weekends to help them start the next Monday motivated and energized .

Feel free to add in the comments your favorite things to do on weekends that help you relax, refresh and recharge and set you up for a successful next week.

Share this Infographic On Your Site. Use the code below.

Please include attribution to Thebusylifestyle.com with this graphic. <a href='https://thebusylifestyle.com/sources-of-stress-at-work'><img src='https://thebusylifestyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Things-Successful-People-Do-on-Weekends-The-Busy-Lifestyle.png' alt='10 Sources of Stress at Work' width='540px' border='0' /></a>

Things Successful People Do on Weekends - The Busy Lifestyle

Posted on April 6, 2017April 7, 2017 by contact 0

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The Busy Lifestyle

Work Smarter. Go Further. Stress Less

5 (+1) Unexpected Personal Development Books

The +1 Will Help You Practice Taking Your Time

5 (+1) Books to Help You Grow

4 Week LIVE BETTER Challenge

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10 Sources of Stress for Entrepreneurs

Stress Statistics around the World

CARE TO SHARE?

When Was the Last Time You Googled "Business Trip Packing List"?

QUIZ

What Type of Business Traveller Are You?

4 Week LIVE BETTER Challenge

Learn to Work Smarter, Go Further and Stress Less

Are you a frequent business traveller?

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

CARE TO SHARE?

BUSINESS TRIPS AND ENOUGH GOOD QUALITY SLEEP

ARE THEY MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE?

4 Week LIVE BETTER Challenge

Stress Less. LIVE BETTER. Achieve More.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

10 Sources of Stress for Entrepreneurs

Sleep, Health and Stress

Stress Statistics around the World

10 Sources of Stress at Work

Don’t Stop When You’re Tired. Stop When You’re Done

10 Things Successful People Do on Weekends

CARE TO SHARE?

5 MINUTE HOLIDAY

YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO FAR TO FEEL GOOD

4 Week LIVE BETTER Challenge

Stress Less. LIVE BETTER. Achieve More.

Where is yours? Tell us in the comments below!

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10 Sources of Stress for Entrepreneurs

Sleep, Health and Stress

Stress Statistics around the World

10 Sources of Stress at Work

Don’t Stop When You’re Tired. Stop When You’re Done

10 Things Successful People Do on Weekends

JOIN THE CLUB

CARE TO SHARE?

WHAT TYPE OF SUCCESSFUL ATHLETE ARE YOU?

MARATHONIAN OR SPRINTER?

THE BUSY LIFESTYLE

CLUB

THE MARATHONIANS

THE SPRINTERS

WHAT IS YOUR STYLE?

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10 Sources of Stress for Entrepreneurs

Sleep, Health and Stress

Stress Statistics around the World

10 Sources of Stress at Work

Don’t Stop When You’re Tired. Stop When You’re Done

10 Things Successful People Do on Weekends

JOIN THE CLUB

CARE TO SHARE?

Don’t Stop When You’re Tired. Stop When You’re Done

Stress Source #1

If that is your mantra, you shouldn't be surprised you are so stressed.

Take a Break

Breathe

Choose Your Response

Sleep

Less is More

YOU MAY LIKE

10 Sources of Stress for Entrepreneurs

Sleep, Health and Stress

Live Better

Episode #1

10 Sources of Stress at Work

10 Things Successful People Do on Weekends

Stress Statistics around the World

10 Sources of Stress for the Entrepreneur

[INFOGRAPHIC]

Feel free to write your top 10 sources of stress as an entrepreneur in the comments at the end of the page.

Get the Book Preview!