Tired of RTO Stealing Your Time? Here’s a Simple Way to Take Back Control—Without Adding More to Your Plate
Imagine taking back your time and energy—one small step at a time, without the pressure of extra commitments.
Are you a recent empty nester who feels a bit unmoored on how to start something new?
Stuck in an endless procrastination loop?
Get moving with Go Long!
Join us for a 15-minute webinar on how Go Long’s Micro-Accountability offering can be exactly what you need to get yourself through it all. Read what P.A. had to say about their experience:
“I was skeptical about daily accountability texts but Jill’s are funny and personalized to my goals. I am choosing to leave something behind in order to move towards something better. She has brought me along at a pace I am comfortable with.”
Register here. Attendees will be entered into a raffle for some prizes.
It's funny how life sneaks up on you, isn’t it?
One minute, you’re juggling kids’ activities, work deadlines, and checking on aging parents. The next, you wake up with a new pain you can’t explain.
For too long, you've been caught on the hamster wheel of life trying to meet endless demands—kids, work, family—while neglecting your own needs.
If you’re like most people, you've been telling yourself that you'll get to it "someday"—the exercise, self-care, or healthier eating habits—but “someday” always gets pushed off because everything else seems more urgent. Sound familiar?
The irony is, you're so focused on meeting everyone else’s expectations that you've neglected your own health. You keep saying there’s no time to slow down, but it's the lack of self-care that’s keeping you stuck.
When one major company in Seattle was making worldwide news around their RTO mandate, I was part of a group chat with a number of people in one of my tech leadership networking groups. For most of the morning, these well-intentioned men were chiming in on the impacts of having to go into the office.
As I reflected on the conversation, I realized what was missing—our own perspective. Women often carry the weight of everyone’s needs but rarely take time for themselves. It’s not selfish to prioritize self-care; it’s essential. You can’t keep supporting others if you’re running on empty. Self-care isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. Below is what I shared:
While I’m female, I’m not a parent, and my work experiences vary. In tech, I've worked about 75% in-office and 25% from home, while my investment banking experience was 100% in-office, due to the limited technology available in the '90s and early 2000s.
Before COVID, I noticed that the most efficient people I worked with were often working moms. They cared deeply about their careers but also shouldered most of the responsibility for childcare—school pickups, homework, doctor’s appointments, teacher meetings, and more. Their time management was ruthless because being late had real consequences. This efficiency, however, doesn’t always translate well in male-dominated environments where women are often the ones saying, "Get to the point—I have a lot to do before I have to leave to pick up my kids." And that’s not even considering other caregiving duties or making time for their own medical appointments, which often get pushed aside to the detriment of their own health (This is why I started Go Long).
These women rarely had time for networking events like golf outings, happy hours, or early breakfast meetings, which made it harder for them to be visible for promotions or special opportunities.
Why am I bringing this up? In a discussion like the one this morning, if a working mom colleague wanted to participate, she likely couldn’t, and even if she had a moment, she might not bother—it’s just too much. Many are juggling work and home responsibilities, and even with supportive partners, much of the unseen work still falls on women (speaking from a heteronormative perspective here).
Now, with the thread continuing, most of them are probably thinking, "I don’t have the time to chime in, and I certainly don’t have time to read all the responses from the past three hours."
I’m not saying we shouldn’t have these important dialogues. I’m just suggesting we consider how to make these conversations more inclusive. The debate is valuable, but we need more voices in the mix. How can we encourage broader participation, especially from those who are pressed for time?
This also connects to the broader conversation about working from home (WFH) versus returning to the office (RTO). Will RTO reduce the constant chatter, or will it lead to even more of it?
There’s a balance to strike here. In-person work might encourage collaboration and quick decision-making, but it could also lead to more time spent on side conversations. It raises an interesting question: will returning to the office create more focused work environments, or will it bring back some of the inefficiencies we’ve managed to avoid in remote setups?
Thoughts?
Let’s be real. Making big, sweeping changes sounds great, but it’s exhausting and intimidating. When you’re already stretched thin, it’s hard to sustain those changes. That’s where micro-accountability comes in.
Micro-accountability is like having a personal coach in your pocket. You get personalized coaching without the hassle of attending sessions. Every day, you get a text that’s customized to you and your goals—not someone else’s.
It fits into your life, giving you small, actionable nudges to keep you on track. You don’t need a new meeting when you can’t even find time to go to the gym or cook dinner.
One busy parent shared with me, "I was so stressed, I didn’t even know where to begin. Every time I tried to make a big change in my life, I’d fail. It was just too much all at once." That’s why the small, daily nudges from Go Long work so well. It’s not about doing everything at once. It’s about making small improvements day by day, and over time, those small wins add up.
For the empty nester who feels overwhelmed about where to start, micro-accountability helps you create structure in your day without making it feel like a burden. Instead of trying to figure out a whole new self-care routine, Go Long helps you take small steps. The texts are tailored to your needs, guiding you gently back to caring for yourself.
It’s not about overhauling your life overnight. It’s about making those small, sustainable changes that allow you to take care of yourself without burning out. You’ve spent enough time on the hamster wheel, trying to meet everyone else’s expectations. Now it’s time to make space for yourself. Go Long’s micro-accountability program is the perfect fit because it works with your life—one nudge at a time.
PS — If you want to know what the response was to the group text, comment below.