They say the key to professional happiness is doing what you love and Sarah Robb O’Hagan, the president of the Equinox fitness empire, certainly makes the case. Her lifelong passion for sports, head for leadership, and competitive spirit have contributed to her ascent of the professional ranks from positions with Nike and Gatorade to her present lofty perch. And as a trustee of the Women's Sports Foundation, Robb O’Hagan is giving back by helping to make sure that girls in undeserved communities have access to sports.
“We know that 80% of the females working in Fortune 500 companies played sports in high school and attribute their experiences in sports with their confidence, strength and ability to lead in corporate America,” she explains. “It's critical that we get girls not only in to sports, but staying in sports because right now, by age 14, girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys due to all manner of societal pressures.”
Here, the multi-tasking, self-confessed productivity geek, shares the apps that keep her moving and shaking.
Nike Plus
I'm a huge runner and I have been a part of the Nike plus community since it started in 2008. It's become like a Frequent Flyer program for me - I am so high up in the community now that I don't want to lose my status. OK, I admit it... I'm a teeny bit competitive! I closely watch my mileage each month compared to my sisters in New Zealand and my work mates in the USA and as far away as London! #GameOn!
Beats Music
This is a very new app in the streaming music space but I got onboard early and I love it. It includes fantastic curated play lists (like awesome workout playlists from Equinox!) but most importantly it has real music experts (not just a technological algorithm) that are programming the recommendations and serving them to me on a daily basis based on my tastes. I'm rediscovering such awesome artists, albums and tracks from my life - I am always excited each time I log in as the recommendations get smarter the more I use the app.
Q by Equinox
OK, I admit that I am biased but truly the Q digital magazine is without question the best app out there if you are interested in health and fitness and what I call "high performance living." The articles are provocative (5 Reasons to Skip Breakfast), inspiring (The Contortionist--The viral video on yoga arm balances) and informative (The Planks You Should Be Doing, But Probably Aren't). I learn something every day and always find it easy to read and fun to engage with.
It's possibly my most important work app! I am the kind of person for whom sound bites are exactly the way I like to learn about news. I can park the things I want to read about later but stay totally on top of new news that I need to know now. I also think it's phenomenal for networking...I can count several critical business relationships that I never would have made without Twitter.
Evernote
I am definitely a productivity geek! I love Evernote for being able to store everything that matters in a simple and easy repository. It's like my brain sitting on an iPad and I can use it for both organizing things and finding inspiration, because it's where I keep all of the articles and speeches that have inspired me that I might like to refer back to over time.
For more information and inspiration visit MariaShriver.com