Reading Roundup: 5 Awesome Articles on Business & Balance

It’s a holiday week in the U.S., so I’m betting there’s only a faithful few at work today. If you’re one of the people wishing you were on vacation instead of sitting in the office, these posts are just for you.

Because we’re fresh off of Independence Day, the web was filled with a lot of great articles about finding balance, the ability to take vacation and be more efficient with your time.

If you’re looking for some inspiration (or just something to pass the time today), I’ve got five awesome articles lined up for you.
 Check them out:

• The ‘Busy’ Trap
   – When someone asks you how you are doing, how often do you reply with “busy”? If you’re like me (and most Americans), more often than you’d care to admit. This excellent
   New York Times column talks about our obsession with being busy and why we need to be more willing to drop work every once and awhile to go out and play. If you only read one article this week, make this one be it. It’s a poignant piece with a great message.
• Need a Vacation? 4 Steps to a Business that Thrives Without You
   – If you’re one of the people working today, chances are you might be an entrepreneur who feels like you can never take a day off lest your business crumble without you. If that sounds like you, this article from
   Entrpreneur is just what you need to help you take the necessary steps to be sipping mai tais on a beach this time next year. 🙂
• How to Find Your Own Independence Day
   –
   A nice short and sweet post from Sonia Simone at Copyblogger about what you need to do to really “own” your life as a business owner.
• My Kids Know My Name
   – My pal Marcus Sheridan at The Sales Lion wrote this sweet, yet important, post about focusing on what’s important important in life. Can you sense a theme with all of these?! It’s a short post and offers a sweet reminder to make time for the important people in our lives.
  
• What Multitasking Does to Our Brains – Leo Widrich at Buffer wrote a fascinating article about the science of multitasking and how it does not help us get things done faster. There has been a lot of anecdotal evidence of this, but this post takes a deeper look at the multitasking
   phenomenon
   and why we feel the need to tackle five things at once. He also offers up some great advice for getting more done through “singletasking”. Great tips.