Work/Life Balance

“10 Ways for the Small Business Owner to Manage Stress”

July 31, 2018 by donna01

Start with the basics.When you’re hungry, thirsty or tired, the littlest things can seem overwhelming. If you haven’t had a drink of water in the past hour, get one. If you haven’t eaten something in the past few hours, grab a light, healthy snack like nuts or fruit. If you haven’t moved from in front of your computer for last 45 minutes, stand up and walk around your office or do some quick stretches.
Take a break.A 10-minute walk around the office park, stroll through the office chatting with employees or run down to the local Starbucks for coffee can do a lot to clear your head and manage stress. (Make that coffee decaf, though, if you’re already feeling frazzled.)
Get enough sleep. You must make time to sleep or you’ll end up on an endless hamster wheel of tiredness.Find ways to delegate, automate or eliminate tasks that take up too much time for too little return. Use the extra time to sleep and make it a priority, just like a business meeting with a client.
Get physical.When things get too stressful, one of my business partners swears by a fast run in the midday sun to recharge her batteries and defuse stress. Find a workout that works for you, and use it to manage stress.
Build connections. Keeping your connections with friends, loved ones and relatives thriving while running a business can be hard, but is vital to soothing your stress. If you have to, multitask by joining a friend for a run or having a lunch date with your spouse (you both have to eat, right?).
Develop systems. Creating systems for common tasks in your business means you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you get a new client/launch a new product/start a new marketing campaign. Systems also make it easier to delegate because you can train others in the system instead of doing everything yourself. Result: Time saved and less stress. (Hint: Consider hiring Donna’s Secretarial Service to put Systems into place for Admin. Support!)
Don’t overthink it.Perfectionism generates unnecessary stress. While you do need to plan for contingencies, worrying about every possible outcome of an action or endlessly assessing your options leads to analysis paralysis and a stress spiral. List the pros and cons of your choices; sleep on it if possible so your gut has time to process the options; then make a decision.
Know when to let go.It’s 11:30 at night, you have 600 unread emails in your inbox, but only 20 are from actual people? It’s OK to delete the other 580. No one will know.
Know when to say no. If a situation, employee, client or project is stressing you out beyond the usual amount, listen to your gut. Stress could be trying to tell you something. Maybe it’s time to fire the employee, dump that client or call a halt to the project that’s not going anywhere.
Hire a Virtual Assistant, like my Company, Donna’s Secretarial Service to take the Admin. Support Stress off of YOU!

Thank you for reading!

Virtually yours,

Donna

Work/Life Balance: Running After the Work/Money God

November 1, 2017 by donna01

Hello, How are YOU?

As I was thinking about what to write on for this month, my Lord and Saviour, Jesus told me to write on this topic. As a Christian entrepreneur, and anybody, for that reason, needs a GOOD WORK/LIFE BALANCE.

In our modern society of “Get It Done Yesterday” and “Rush Rush Rush” we need sometimes to slow down and take a much needed break!

I am in a way, Preaching to myself and the Choir and I most often have alot to do and sometimes lead a “Hurry Up and Get it Done” lifestyle. With my thriving VA Business, a husband, home, and social life, it’s sometimes hard to just “Be Still and Know that I am God.” (Ps. 46:10).

People are stressed out and need a Break at times. My wise father told me to work 45 minutes and then take a 15 minute break and work on one Client’s work and then go to another Client. I sometimes listen and sometimes I don’t. When I don’t listen, I LOSE BIG TIME!

So here are 4 Work/life Balance tips to help YOU, the busy Entrepreneur that actually work for me, the other Busy Entrepreneur:

1. I know I’m going to get comments or maybe hate email, but have to say this: Take time to smell the Roses of God. If you are a Christian, read your Bible or meditate on God’s goodness in YOUR life. This helps me tremendously! If you are NOT A CHRISTIAN, THEN YOU WILL NEVER HAVE PEACE IN YOUR LIFE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING (John 16:33). To have real true Peace in any/every situation is to Trust in God/Jesus and concentrate on HIM and Not our circumstances. That is the Only Way to have real true Peace, I’m sorry but it’s the Gospel Truth and I would Never ever lie to YOU! Peace is Not the absence of conflict, but a calm rest in the midst of storms.

HOW TO HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE: YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS GOD AND NOT JUST A PROPHET FROM GOD AS SOME RELIGIONS BELIEVE. JESUS SAID (in the Bible – John 3:16 – that he came to save the world from sin that He loves us. He also said that we are all Sinners in need of a Saviour and He died on that cruel cross and Saved All mankind! Romansm10:9 says – “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the grave, thou shalt be saved” But You might be asking “saved from What?” Saved from going to Hell when you die and saved from God’s judgment, because We all must stand Before a Righteous and Holy God and give an account of our lives. And if YOUR name is Not written in the Lamb’s (Jesus’) book of Life you will Not make it to Heaven’! (Rev. 13:8). I’m sorry to Preach but someone has to say this. Some people may Not agree with this, but look it up – what do You have to lose, but everything to Gain! I love All of YOU!

2. Work for a specific amount of time (that works for YOU), it doesn’t have to be 45 minutes and then take a 15 minute break, that works for ME) and then take a break. Go get some coffee or if you work at home like I do, go lay down for a short time, which recharges your battery and gives you time to think, CLEARLY, and then get back to work. You can use a clock or alarm or app to help.

3. Have a nice area to work, not cluttered or junky. Put plants around YOU, which have a calming affect or listen to soft music in the background. (I like Gospel, which uplifts my Soul and keeps me focused). Don’t watch TV if you work from home as God never meant for us to Multi-Task, which is technically Impossible.

4. If overwhelmed, hire a Virtual Assistant or outsource your work. Companies such as Apple and other big Companies do this all the time. You might want to hire ME, YOUR VIRTUAL GAL FRIDAY, as I have a team of VAs that I can use to help take the load off YOUR weary shoulders.

That’s it for now.

Thanks so much for reading and please feel free to leave a comment or feedback if this article has helped YOU!

God bless and remember to stay VIRTUAL and Positive!

Donna

Device Free Time Is As Important As Work-Life Balance

May 28, 2017 by donna01

Article written by

Charlotte Lieberman

Harvard Business Review

4/13/17

The idea of “work-life balance” is an invention of the mid-19^th century. The notion of cultivating awareness of one’s work versus one’s pleasure emerged when the word “leisure” caught on in Europe in the Industrial Era. Work became separate from “life” (at least for a certain class of men) and we’ve been struggling to juggle them ever since.

Today, when so much work and leisure time involve staring at screens, I see a different struggle arising: a struggle to find a healthy balance between technology and the physical world, or, for short, “tech/body balance.” A 2016 survey from Deloitte found that Americans collectively check their phones 8 billion times per day. The average for individual Americans was 46 checks per day, including during leisure time—watching TV, spending time with friends, eating dinner.

So attached are we to our devices that it’s not unusual to have your phone with you at all times. We carry our phones around everywhere as if they are epi-pens and we all have fatal allergies.

As many of you may or may not know, I am a Virtual Assistant, Graphic Designer, Typist and Social Media mogul, and technology is how I make my living, so I’m consistently checking my emails, making and receiving calls, or typing something on my Computer, even when I should be relaxing with my family. I am No different than most Americans. But I really LOVE, LOVE, LOVE what I do; and I’m very Good at what I do; since I’ve been “doing” Secretarial work since 1978! I could kiss the man who invented the Computer; (wait was that Steve Jobs?) and remember when I had to work on first a manual then electric typewriter with wite-out and typewriter eraser paper! (Gosh, I guess I’m old, huh?). But I would NOT change my career for anything. As I said, I LOVE WHAT I DO I’M GOOD AT IT!

Ms. Lieberman states, “90% of us (Americans) take our phones in the bathroom with us! I have been guilty of that too, but try NOT to do that! It’s unsanitary, takey and I’m afraid like my sister-in-law did, that I will drop it in the toilet! So never, ever take your phone in the bathroom, if you can help it! Enough is enough, wouldn’t you say? The bathroom, really?! Are we afraid we are going to miss something? Like a call?

According to recent data from Nielsen, 87% of Singapore’s 5.4 million population reports owning a smartphone, while a smaller but still substantial 68% of Americans own smartphones. A hefty 89% of American workers have reported feeling chronic body pain as a result of the posture they’ve developed using these devices, and 82% of this same group also say that the presence of phones “deteriorated” their most recent conversations. Pew Global recently released a report about the correlation between smartphone use and economic growth, noting that the rates of technology-use are not only climbing steadily in advanced economies, but also in countries with emerging economies. As additional reference points, 39% of the Japanese population reports owning a smartphone, while 59% of Turkey reports relying on mobile internet use. These numbers decrease in developing countries, given the relationship that exists between a person’s educational background, socioeconomic status, and their access to technology.

But whether we are among those who use our devices to work remotely, or we are just obsessed with them because of the culture we live in regardless of how much time we are spending on “work,” it’s time to shift our attention to what tech-body balance could look like.

That’s where my Company, Donna’s Secretarial Service comes in. If you are like the 90% of us Americans, so encumbered by “devices” and “work” that we can’t even go to the bathroom without them, then it’s time to call me. Donna’s takes the load off your weary shoulders by taking care of your Administrative Support, Graphic Design, Typing and Social Media needs! We’re that good at keeping YOUR WORK-LIFE BALANCE free of using your devices for a least a little while. Call me at 1-855-366-6271 for a free 30 minute quote/evaluation of how I can help YOU! Email Donna for immediate help!

I hope you sincerely take to heart the recommendations and information mentioned? I am here to Serve my Clients and welcome the opportunity to assist you!

Virtually yours and God bless,

Donna