45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

We may think that tucking away our feelings leads to a better career but that is usually not the case. Programming yourself into a senseless robot that cares only about CTR and ROI actually causes OMG FML.

To paraphrase researcher Sigal Barsade, we bring our brain to work and our brain brings emotions to work. Learning to manage the most challenging ones takes effort, but the payoff is huge—we learn to deal with problems before they overwhelm us. We don’t get frustrated. We don’t burn out.  Instead, we become better team players and increase our sense of control.

Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy share this sentiment. The co-authors of No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power Of Embracing Emotions At Work think we should acknowledge our feelings in the office, not suppress them. We should try to understand the valuable data within us, and then sometimes act on it.

To make their point, Liz also creates comic-charts. The playful, comprehensive pictures perfectly portray everyday work life, the key concept the duo believe in, and how these two things come together. Continue scrolling and take a look.

More info: lizandmollie.com | ETSY | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

#1 Adulthood

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

Image source: lizandmollie

#2 Feeling Low On Bad Days Is Okay. Just Don’t Forget To Look Back On How Far You’ve Come

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#3 Often We Push Off Our To-Dos Not Because We’re Lazy But Because We’re Afraid Of Failing, Or We Feel Overwhelmed, Or We Don’t Think We’re Good Enough So Why Even Bother Starting..a Few Strategies I’ve Found Helpful Are

1) To Say, “I’m Going To Do This For Just Five Minutes, And Then I Can Stop.”

2) To Figure Out The Smallest First Step, And Then Commit To A Time When I’ll Do It, And

3) Switching From Thinking “What If This Fails?” To “What If This Succeeds?” And Then Getting Excited

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#4 Be Kind…

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#5 Not The Same, Thank You To Those Who Understand

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#6 What Stage Are You? I Am A Potato

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#7 A Little Kindness During A Difficult Time Can Go Along Way. And That Includes Being Kind To Yourself

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#8 Sometimes, The Answer Is Just To Sleep On It (If You Can). When We’re Tired, Everything Tends To Feel Worse. This Doesn’t Apply To Every Problem, But Generally Getting The Rest You Need Will Help You Tackle Even The Biggest Challenges

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#9 Tag Someone Who Gets It

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#10 Week

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#11 Just A Few Gentle Reminders: You Are More Than What You Make, You Are More Than Your Level Of Productivity, And You Are More Than A Specific Title Or Job. During Times Of Economic Uncertainty, It’s Easy To Focus All Your Energy On Work. Make Sure You’re Taking A Step Back Now And Then To Remind Yourself Of Everything Else About You And Your Life That Matters

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#12 Useful Tips

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#13 We All Have Days When It’s Harder To Make Progress Than Others. In Moments When I’m Struggling To Focus Or I’m Not Moving As Quickly As I Think I Should Be, I Take A Deep Breath And Remind Myself That Moving Forward Slowly Is Still Moving Forward. It’s A Global Pandemic! Give Yourself Grace

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#14 Tag Someone Who Is Always On Your Team

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#15 How I Handle Tasks

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#16 Some Emails Are Stressful, No Matter What. Others Are *unnecessarily* Stressful. For The Sake Of The People You’re Emailing, Remember To Emotionally Proofread Your Messages Before You Hit “Send”! Have You Given Full Context? Is Your Intended Tone Clear? How Would You Feel If You Received The Same Email?.writing “Let’s Talk” When You Mean “These Are Good Suggestions, Let’s Discuss How To Work Them Into The Draft” Will Make The Recipient Anxious Where They Don’t Have To Be…

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#17 An Apology Should Contain Three Things:

1) An Acknowledgement Of What Happened, That Shows You Clearly Understand Why The Other Person Is Upset

2) An Actual Apology, As In “I’m Sorry” Period, Not “I’m Sorry You Feel Like…”

3) A Clear Outline Of The Steps You’ll Take To Make Sure The Situation Doesn’t Happen Again In The Future

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#18 You Can See Your Mistakes As A Waste Of Time, Or As The Valuable Lessons They Are

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#19 Remember Your Career Is A Marathon, Not A Sprint. To Be Successful In The Long Run, It’s Just As Important To Take Time To Care For Yourself As It Is To Focus On Your Work

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#20 Nothing Like Hitting Someone’s Voicemail Or A Cancelled Video Call

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#21 I Keep Waking Up At 5am, I’d Love To Have A Very Boring Week Soon Thanks

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#22 Even Within Small Teams, The Challenges Each Person Facies Will Likely Vary Dramatically, And Change From Day-To-Day. Some Might Be Coping With Loss, Many Are Learning To Balance Homeschooling With Remote Work, And Still Others Might Feel Isolated. And Let’s Not Forget: Back-To-Back Zoom Calls Can Be Exhausting!.that’s Why It’s More Important Than Ever To Make All Social Events (E.g. Virtual Happy Hours) Opt-In. It’s Great To Connect With Others, And Also Ok If Some People Just Need Time For Themselves

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#23 What Is Your Introvert Love Language?

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#24 The Best Way I’ve Found To Get Myself To Sit Down And Write That Long, Stressful Email Or Make The Phone Call I’ve Been Putting Off Is To Ask Myself, “Do You Want To Be Anxious About This For Days Or Just Be Done With It?” It Still Doesn’t Work Every Time Lol, But Usually It’s The Gentle Push I Need

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

Image source: lizandmollie

#25 Research Shows That Women Are Asked To Take On “Non-Promotable” Tasks (Think Organizing Office Parties Or Mundane, Routine Work) More Often Than Men, And That They’re More Likely To Yes When Asked..the Best Leaders Are Aware Of These Inequities And Try To Distribute Tasks More Fairly. Have You Seen This Happen?

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#26 The Advice To “Be Kind” Also Applies To How You Treat Yourself! We’re Often Harder On Ourselves Than We Are On Those Around Us, And We Tend To Compare Our Weaknesses To Other People’s Strengths. So The Next Time You’re Feeling Glum, Show Yourself Some Compassion

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#27 If You’ve Been Here Too

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#28 Just Some Classic Poses

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#29 People Often Talk About Relationship (Platonic Or Romantic) Red Flags; What Are Your Relationship Green Flags?

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#30 2020

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#31 Love You Extroverts But… Serious Question. Happy Three Day Weekend!

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#32 Emails

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#33 Sometimes We Burn Out Because We’re Making Ourselves Overly Available, Or Because We’ve Set Unrealistic Expectations For Ourselves. If You’re Feeling Stretched Too Thin, Take A Look At Your To-Do List (That Includes Social Events And Time You’ve Blocked Off To Work On Side Projects) And Cross Two Non-Urgent Things Off. You Can Always Come Back To Them, But Giving Yourself A Bit More Breathing Room Can Go A Long Way Towards Helping You Feel Better

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

Image source: lizandmollie

#34 Take Care Of Yourselves This Week It’s Okay To Have Boundaries

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#35 Reminder As We Head Into The Week (From Someone Who Worked All Weekend And Feels Burnt Out Already ), You Need To Rest. Progress Happens One Step At A Time, With Breaks In Between

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

Image source: lizandmollie

#36 The Next Time You React Strongly To Someone’s Actions, Take A Moment To Reflect:

 What Can You Do To Move Forward? Can You Let The Other Person Know That They’ve Upset You, And Share What To Differently Next Time? Can You Talk To A Trusted Confidante About The Situation? Or Do You Need To Distance Yourself (Maybe Permanently) From That Person?.you’ll Never Be Able To Fully Control The Actions Of Others, But You Can Make Setting Boundaries And Practicing Self-Care A Priority

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#37 Especially If You Are A Manager Or A Leader, Please Make It A Point To Recognize What’s Going On In The World, Take Action, And Give People The Space And Time They Need Right Now

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#38 Welcome To The Week

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#39 Tag Someone Who Makes You Feel Amazing For Being You

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#40

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#41 A Reminder To Be Kind

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#42 Ask For The Thing You’ve Been Meaning To Ask For, Send That Email You’ve Been Nervous About, Or Reach Out To Someone You Admire. You Never Know What Might Happen!

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#43 I Need Vacation Inspiration! What Are Your Quarantined Holiday Plans?

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

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#44 Remember: Your Negative Thoughts Are Not Inevitable Truths. If You Catch Yourself Thinking “Always” Or “Never” (E.g. “I’ll Never Be Good At This”), Your Self-Reflection Has Likely Turned Self-Destructive. Take A Moment To Reframe The Situation: Think Of One Small Step You Can Take To Improve And To Feel Better. And Then Remind Yourself Of All That You Do Well

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

Image source: lizandmollie

#45 This Is Why I Like Scheduling Stressful Things In The Morning. Anyone Else? Have You Found Any Ways To Combat This Tendency?

45 Work And Life Struggles Illustrated In Comic-Charts By Liz And Mollie

Image source: lizandmollie