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Ive worked remotely since 2006 (way before it was common). However, my days were filled with calls to colleagues and DMs to chat about everything from work to what we had planned for the weekend. Now Im a solopreneur. I have occasional calls with clients, but theyre rare. Most of my days are spent working alone. In many ways, this is great since I have the freedom to work however and whenever I want. But staying motivated when its just me requires being really thoughtful about how I work. According to a 2025 report by Leapers, nearly half of self-employed professionals feel lonely occasionally or some of the time. One in five feels lonely or isolated often or always. It can be really hard to stay motivated when youre working in isolation. You have to create your own structure and find ways to keep going without other people around. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/work-better-1.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/work-better-mobile-1.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Work Better\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn\u0027t suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.workbetter.media\/\u0022\u003Eworkbetter.media\u003C\/a\u003E.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/www.workbetter.media","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91457605,"imageMobileId":91457608,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} Design your own workday Traditional 9-to-5 hours don’t always make sense when you work alone. You don’t have to start at 8 a.m. just because that’s when your clients start working. You can work when you’re most productivebut you have to make sure you actually get stuff done during that time. For example, I still mostly follow a traditional workday schedule because I have kids, and thats when theyre in school. However, I also find that Im incredibly productive early in the morning, before anyone else is awake. I have the least energy in the evenings, so my day often ends at 3:30 or 4 p.m. Time-blocking helps create structure, even when no one is holding you accountable. I block off chunks for deep work, admin tasks, and meetings. Seeing my calendar filled in is like making an appointment with myselflike I have somewhere to be (even if that somewhere is my home office). If you’re not sure when you do your best work, track it for a week. Note when you feel focused versus when you’re dragging. Then build your schedule around when you have the most energy, not traditional working hours. Create a work mode environment When your home is also your office, it’s really easy to blur boundaries. The dishes and laundry are right there. Creating separationeven artificial separationcan help signal to your brain that it’s time to focus. Small rituals work surprisingly well. For me, its making a cup of coffee, closing the door to my home office, and putting on a specific playlist to start my morning. These are my mental switches to get into work mode. I do work only at my desk (unless Im traveling). If you don’t have a dedicated workspace, find other ways to create that boundary. Some solopreneurs work in a specific corner of a shared room or use only certain apps during work hours. You can use headphones to block distractions. The ritual is the important part, not the specifics. Work alongside other people When you work for an employer, you have some outside accountability to get your tasks done. Whether its your manager or a teammate, you know that other people are watching you (either in an office or metaphorically). When you work alone, you have to actively find ways to be around other people. Working with others can improve your focus, increase your motivation, and reduce procrastination (a concept known as body doubling). If you find it hard to stay on task while running your solo business, body doubling can make a huge difference. Virtual coworking has become popular for this reason. Platforms like Flow Club or FLOWN let you work alongside other people on video for a specific period of time (one hour, two hours, etc.). I’ve also done casual video calls with fellow solopreneurs where we just work together silently. If you join a virtual coworking session, come with a specific project or task that youd like to complete during the allotted time. If virtual coworking isn’t your thing, try working from a coffee shop, library, or coworking space occasionally. Even once a week can break up the isolation and give you a change of scenery. You still get the benefit of body doubling when youre in a room with other people, even if theyre not connected to you in any way. Make working alone work for you Working solo means you dont have a lot of external cues. You dont realize how much you rely on other people and your work environment to keep you motivated until youre on your own. Suddenly, its a random Tuesday at 10 a.m. and you have no desire to workeven with a looming client deadline. When you intentionally design your workday and find small ways to simulate accountability, motivation will follow. Youll realize that you dont need a boss, coworkers, or an office to stay on track. You just need systems that work for you. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/work-better-1.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/11\/work-better-mobile-1.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Work Better\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn\u0027t suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.workbetter.media\/\u0022\u003Eworkbetter.media\u003C\/a\u003E.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/www.workbetter.media","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91457605,"imageMobileId":91457608,"shareable":false,"slug":""}}
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E-Commerce
The business worlds most exclusive club has always been the boardroom. For decades, it has operated as a roped-off circle of experience, where pattern recognition, war stories, and collective gut instinct guided the biggest decisions. But the most recent quarterly earnings calls and 2026 spending projections across industries from tech to finance make it clear: That era is ending. As business complexity explodes and competitive cycles compress, those old methods are showing their limits. Artificial intelligence is exposing blind spots, surfacing inconvenient truths, and rewriting how boards govern, challenge, and lead. The transformation goes beyond adding new tools and technologies to the boardroom playbook. AI is changing how directors think, what they question, and how they hold management accountable. And as AI matures, its transforming boardrooms from bastions of intuition into engines of continuous intelligence. Here are three ways that shift is unfolding, and how forward-thinking boards are adapting. Data Finally Beats Anecdotes In my experience doesnt cut it anymore. AI can process customer behavior patterns, market signals, and competitive shifts faster and more accurately than any human can. When a director recalls how a similar situation played out 15 years ago, AI can instantly test whether that approach worked then, and whether it would still work today. Leading boards are now requiring management to back up claims with AI-driven analyses alongside traditional reports. Gut instinct still has a role, but its being paired with evidence-based validation. Boards and leaders must learn to partner with AI’s analytical horsepower, even (or especially) when it feels unnatural or risk being left behind. Predictive Intelligence Forces Long-Term Thinking Boards often fall into the trap of short-termism, reacting to the last quarter rather than anticipating the next disruption. AI changes that. Predictive models can now forecast churn months in advance, identify market shifts before they appear in analyst reports, and simulate how strategic moves might play out under different scenarios. This pushes boards to engage in true foresight: asking whats next, not what happened. It extends the time horizon of governance from postmortem analysis to strategic anticipation. New Skills Are Redefining Who Belongs in the Boardroom Board composition must evolve. The traditional mix of former CEOs, financial experts, and industry veterans, valuable as they are, is no longer sufficient. Boards now need directors who understand data governance, algorithmic bias, and digital operating models. That doesnt mean replacing experience with youth, but pairing wisdom with fluency. Forward-thinking boards are addressing this through structured approaches: creating dedicated AI oversight committees, partnering long-serving directors with AI-savvy advisors, and requiring all directors to complete AI governance education programs. The goal isnt to turn every director into a technologist, but ensure that every director can think critically about AIs strategic and ethical implications. Whats Next? Boards have always made decisions based on databut until now, that data arrived slowly, selectively, and often filtered through human bias. AI changes the tempo and texture of governance. It challenges assumptions in real time. Companies whose boards resist this shift will find themselves making yesterdays decisions about tomorrows challenges. Those who embrace it will lead with sharper foresight, faster adaptation, and deeper accountability. The choice isn’t whether to embrace AI in governanceit’s whether boards will use it to lead or follow.
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E-Commerce
At its core, public health is about driving healthy behavior changes by building awareness, meeting people where they are, and offering solutions that are accessible and grounded in evidence. Throughout my career, I have worked on issues ranging from foster adoption and drunk driving prevention to tobacco prevention and cessation, always with science as our foundation. But the media landscape, and how people engage with information, has changed dramatically. To remain relevant and effective, public health must evolve. That means rethinking not just what we communicate, but how we motivate, engage, and sustain healthy behaviors. WHY ITS IMPORTANT TO LEAN IN Gamification, using elements of game design in an existing digital product or intervention to engage users and change behavior, has become an increasingly common approach in public health. It can reframe intimidating goals like exercising more, managing stress, and quitting nicotine into smaller, achievable steps that feel tangible and motivating. When implemented effectively, gamification can improve user engagement by supporting intrinsic motivation, learning and skill development, social interaction, and a sense of accomplishment. In many ways, public health cant afford to ignore gamification. Addiction is already gamifiedand its winning. As one example, smart vapes now feature screens, rewards, animations, and puff tracking. These high-tech devices have become top-selling products, with 32% of youth and 33% of young adults reporting using vapes with screens, games, or Bluetooth connectivity in the past month. These products are applying the same engagement strategies used in consumer tech to drive repeat use and ultimately sustain addictive behavior. WHAT THE EVIDENCE SHOWS Mounting evidence supports gamification use in public health. As an example, some randomized trials show that socially incentivized gamified interventions can significantly increase physical activity, compared with non-gamified approaches. Similar approaches have been used to improve medication adherence, chronic disease management, and preventive health behaviors. Participants assigned to team-based challenges or friendly competition sustain healthier behaviors longer than those receiving traditional prompts alone. Progress you can see becomes behavior you repeat. Interventions using gamification share some core principles: making health interactive, trackable, or social. Many effective gamified health interventions align with self-determination theory, which identifies three drivers of motivation: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE BACKING IS NEEDED Well-designed programs dont just reward outcomes; they reward effort, consistency, and resilience. In public health, that distinction matters, because change rarely happens all at once. It happens through daily re-commitments. Public health succeeds when it rewards persistence and practicenot perfection. Campaigns, which often complement an intervention, can also be gamified. The campaign itself can inspire behavior change, while also encouraging sign-up for the specific health intervention. The collective result: stronger outcomes. The approach can be especially relevant for younger generations, who may expect things like daily check-ins, streaks, and digital accountability as part of their digital experiences. We are infusing some gamified elements into EX Program from Truth Initiative, our free, digital nicotine-cessation resource developed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic. By implementing elements that mirror gamification principles like check-ins, milestones, progress encouragement, virtual rewards, and social reinforcement, we help participants stay engaged with quitting behavior. These features are designed to reward effort and participation rather than outcomes alone. We know that every try makes you stronger the next time. APPLY GAMIFICATION BEYOND TRADITIONAL HEALTH TOOLS We have also tested creator-led digital experiences that reflect how young people already motivate one another online. As part of You Got This Day, a national moment designed to reframe Quitters Day as an opportunity to recommit after relapse, Truth Initiative worked with Gen-Z creators to create and launch a Snapchat augmented-reality lens called 30 Day Challenge. Developed through Snap Academies, the lens encourages young people trying to quit nicotine to focus on making it one more day without using nicotine, through visual progress tracking, supportive messaging, and social accountability. Rather than relying on financial incentives or competition, the experience emphasizes encouragement, persistence, and community, reinforcing evidence-based support through EX Program. For Gen Z, platforms like Snapchat and TikTok arent channelsthey’re cultural fluency. Designing health interventions that live there brings gamification to young consumers where it already resonates. REASONS FOR CAUTION Evidence points to important caveats to consider when moving toward a more gamified public health approach. Over-reliance on competition can discourage people who fall behind. Extrinsic rewards can crowd out internal motivation, or risk trivializing an important topic for participants. And without strong privacy protections, data-driven health tools can run the risk of eroding trustparticularly among individuals who are already wary of surveillance and misuse. Theres also a risk of superficial engagement. Points without purpose dont change lives. The most effective interventions are grounded in evidence, are culturally relevant, and are responsive to users real-world challengesnot just their attention spans. THE PROMISE Despite these challenges, the promise of gamification in public health is real. This novel approach for public health can become a catalyst for measurable health behavior change. By recognizing how people already engage with technology and then designing public health tools that feel supportive, human, and achievable, were turning participation into progress. In a world where screens dominate attention and traditional health messaging can struggle to break through, gamification can complement proven public health strategies that support sustained behavior change. The future of public health isnt louder messaging, its smarter engagement. Kathy Crosby is CEO and president of Truth Initiative.
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E-Commerce
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