“The time away reminded me of a valuable parenting lesson: in orderto be present with my children and tuned in to them (as well as myself), I need to find ways to turn off my mental list of everything I “need” to get done, if only for a few minutes at a time. It’s so easy and tempting to respond to one last work email, unload the dishwasher, answer the phone, put one more load of laundry in, or sort the mail. Look at me! I’m being productive!”

You can read more of my thoughts about a new definition of productivity over at PsychCentral.com.