Archive for January, 2009

Tips on Working from Home

January 14th, 2009 by Administrator | No Comments | Filed in Career, Lifestyle

Do you work at home or want to work at home in the future? If so, you need to set boundaries so that your work and home life don’t overlap.

It is very convenient to be able to work from home. You save time commuting, and you don’t have to put as much money into your wardrobe and travel. Although convenient, it can be difficult to actually get any work done with all the distractions of home.

1. Have a designated work space.
It is great if your home allows space for a separate room entirely that has a door you can shut. This way when it is time to work you can go into your office and shut the door. Even if your space is just a desk in the kitchen, keep your work area tidy and free of clutter. Also make sure the only things in your work area are related to work, and not personal.

2. Schedule work time.
Some at home jobs allow the flexibility of working any hours of the day or night. This is a great attribute, but it can be hard to actually find time to work. Every week sit down and plan out your days. Schedule hours to work and hours to handle household issues. Stick to your routine.

3. Get ready for work.
Just because you can work in your pajamas doesn’t mean you should. When you make your schedule for the week allow time for getting ready for work. You don’t have to fix up as much as you would if you were going into the office, but having a routine and getting ready will send a signal to your brain that it is time to work. One major benefit of working from home is not being required to wear a 3-piece suit everyday, but if you are at least clean and have some jeans on you will be better equipped to dive into work.

4. Set boundaries with your family.
It is easy to take advantage of family members working from home. After all, they are at home, right? Set boundaries with people living in your household. If possible, let them know the hours you will be working for the week. Don’t take personal calls unless there is an emergency. Set rules and boundaries that work for your household.

Depending on the age of your children, require that they take care of things themselves just as if you were out of the house. If you are able to close your office door, set a rule that they can’t bother you unless it is an emergency. If your children are really young then one reason you probably chose to work from home is so that you can be with them. This is also a great benefit, but if you are getting no work done you may want to consider hiring an in-house babysitter to give you some help for just a few hours in the morning or on a few days of the week. You can still be there in case anything goes wrong, but you will get some work done!

Brandi Hamrick,
The “Queen B” Coach
www.brandiahamrick.com

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The secret to achieving anything you want in your life!

January 8th, 2009 by Administrator | No Comments | Filed in Career, Lifestyle, dating

The Power of Writing Things Down

There is something so powerful about writing things down. Once you write something down you are in control, you own it. The situations below are perfect examples of when you should start jotting!

When you have a jillion thoughts running through your mind
Do you ever have one of those days where you already have tons to do, but new things keep popping into your head anyway? You know what I mean, you are trying to meet deadlines, do laundry, and think three days ahead of time. You keep going and doing but no matter how much you get done you still have more. Then you keep thinking of everything else you need to be doing and it’s hard to complete a task without thinking of a new one to start.
When this starts happening take 3 minutes to chill out. Grab a notepad and a pen and start jotting every little task you can think of down. Even if it’s a small job, write it down. Once you have written something down, you aren’t as likely to keep having it pop into your mind while you are doing something else. You won’t be as overwhelmed or stressed because you know you won’t forget anything. Keep your notepad handy so that if something new comes to mind you can add it to the list. Now you can just concentrate on the task at hand and start checking things off your list.

When you have a specific goal
If you have a specific goal in mind then write that goal down. Also write down any tasks associated with achieving your goal and make them into steps. Now set dates for all your steps to be completed by. You are much more likely to get into action if you have written a plan than if you just had a goal in mind.
This is a technique I use all the time. I wanted to organize every single drawer, closet, and cabinet in my whole house for one of my goals this year. I sat down on Jan 2nd and wrote each of my rooms on a sheet of paper. Then under the name of each room I wrote down every single space in that room I wanted to tackle. Each day I look at my list and decide which space to organize. If I have ten minutes I pick something small, if I have a few hours I get into a closet. Once a space is finished I cross it off my list. It is now the 7th and I am already half way finished with my list. If I hadn’t written my goal down I’m sure I wouldn’t have gotten around to doing anything yet. I’d still have “organize your whole house” floating around in my mind somewhere.
See, once you write something down and break it into parts it doesn’t seem as scary as one big goal. You can easily see how tiny steps today lead to huge accomplishments tomorrow!

When you have no clue where to start
Have you ever been in a situation where you had no idea what to do? I know I have. Whenever you are facing a problem or task that you feel is out of your control sit down with whatever information you do know about the subject. For instance, if your finances are out of control and you don’t know where you stand on your bills and debts; sit down with your paperwork. Grab all of your bills, bank statements, and other financial records and list everything on a piece of paper. Even if you are in a pretty deep hole, you now know where you stand. You now have the power to do what you need to do to change your situation. This works for everything in your life: nutrition, fitness, dating, relationships, finances, organizing, career change, goal setting, etc.

Grab some paper and a pen and start taking control your life and changing it for the better!

Brandi Hamrick,
The “Queen B” Coach
www.brandihamrick.com

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