Showing posts with label Working Moms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Working Moms. Show all posts
By Eroh K | Strong Female Leaders | Reading Time: Five Minutes

Having a self care day routine is essential for your well-being. Just because you are juggling priorities doesn't mean you should forget your own needs. Taking care of yourself, and especially with a periodic self care day routine, boosts confidence, self-esteem, and self worth.


Self-Care Day Routine: Daily Self Care Regimen for A Healthier You
Everyone knows that practicing a self care day routine is essential for nurturing the health. But when it comes to implementing this practice, it becomes challenging. While women might be handling different priorities at once, it often makes them forget their own needs, which can boost their confidence and self-esteem.

Sure, you might consider your once-in-a-blue-moon gym sessions or beauty appointments as a self care regimen, but if you want to feel good about yourself, it is vital to perform regular activities.

If you ignore these practices, you might end up feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Thus, if you want to become the best version of yourself, it is good to take care of your soul, mind, and body. This article contains information about self-care routine that will help to maintain a good relationship with yourself: Self-care ideas in the morning

You don’t have to view daily self care routine as a time consuming and complicated task. It should be all about the small things that you tune in to take care of yourself. The morning hours are the best time to practice self-care. It allows one to have a refreshed and happy day.
In the Morning
1. Make your bed
Making your bed perfectly is a good way of making yourself feel good. Who doesn’t want to sleep in a well-made bed after a long day of work? Thus, if you want to encourage good sleeping hygiene, it is good to spend time making the bed.

Also, making the bed is the first task of the day you’ll accomplish. It gives a sense of pride and will encourage you to perform more tasks.
2. Drink a hot cup of tea or coffee
Taking a hot cup of tea or coffee can make a big difference in your day. Tea and coffee beat other alternatives of morning drinks. They contain caffeine, which is a natural stimulant that boosts energy. They are also essential for rehydrating you after long hours of sleep, allowing you to set a tone for a productive day.
3. Perform yoga or workouts
A good way to boost your energy levels and focus on your day ahead is by stretching your body. You can achieve this by jogging, walking, or using a yoga video. Self-care ideas before and after meeting

Within your busy life, there is little time to take care of your body and mind. Making self-care part of your work routine will improve your work relationship.

4. Manage time
Stress can have a negative impact on your physical and mental health. The main contributor to stress is poor time management. Missing deadlines can increase the amount of anxiety. A good way of managing time is by entering the meeting room a few minutes before the session starts.
5. Drink water
The body regulates temperature through sweating. Even when sitting down during the meeting, the body will still maintain a healthy core temperature. Drinking water can help to maintain hydration. Remember, you might spend a lot of hours in the meeting. Thus, it is good to carry enough water in the meeting room.

Adding enough water consumption into your daily self care routine can increase your brain energy and get ready for the meeting.
6. Log off all the social media platforms.
Social media can distract you from concentrating during the meeting sessions. Many people post interesting things on social platforms. Because it can be challenging to switch off your phone, it is good to log off the social media platforms.
During Lunch
What comes into many people's minds when they hear about a lunch break is a hearty meal. Although it is good to have a delicious meal during the lunch break, you can perform plenty of things to refresh yourself. The lunch break is an excellent opportunity to incorporate a self care day routine and make sure that you don’t burn yourself out. Here are self-care ideas for the lunch break:
1. Refresh your mind by chatting with friends and connecting with nature
The lunch break consists of few hours of rest. So, you will not have much to do. You can pick your phone and try to chat with some of your friends and login into the social platforms to read some interesting pages. Also, walk outside and connect with nature. With this, you’ll breathe fresh air that will rejuvenate your mind.
2. Take a nap
Taking a nap during the lunch break might seem weird, but it’s an excellent way to rest your mind and body. With this, you’ll increase your productivity and keep you motivated.
3. Take a breathe
Breathing and relaxing can help to calm down your nerves. You can perform some workouts in the office or engage in yoga. As a busy woman, you might not have enough time to attend the gym daily. Thus, utilize this opportunity to stretch your body and take breathe.
During 3 pm
A portion of the day has passed, and you’ve managed to accomplish some tasks. So, you need some time to rest and get motivated to continue with the rest of the day. At 3 pm is the best time to pause and add your self care regimen to lower the tension you might be feeling at work. During 3 pm self-care ideas:
1. Take a short walk
If you work in a sitting position, it is good to go for a short walk. It helps to recharge, refresh, and clear your mind.
2. Take a snack
With the busy schedules, it can be challenging to maintain high energy levels. But do you know that snacks can raise your energy levels? A quick bite can help you to perform better and do great things. You can consume fruits, veggies, or chips to fuel your performance.
3. Get some inspirations
You can get things that you are passionate about from your internet. Whether your hobby is traveling or performing home projects, you can find everything online. Pinterest is a good site that has ideas that can inspire your interests.
After work
Adding a daily self-care routine after work is a great way of refreshing yourself. Anything that can help you to do away from the busy day is worth the investment. Remember, women have different chores to perform after work. You’ll require having time with your family and preparing dinner. But how can you achieve this after all the pressure from the work? Here are self-care ideas that will help you cope well in the evening hours:
1. Take a bath
A relaxing bath after a long day of work can help to lessen the fatigue. However, this doesn’t mean taking a quick shower and wearing your evening dress. You need a relaxing and hot shower to ease muscle pains and aches, increase blood flow, and boost immune functions.
2. Nurture your skin
It is a fact that after work, you’ll feel tired and stressed. The skin is the most exposed part to different stresses throughout the day. Thus, evening hours are the best time to take care of your skin. Focus on your face, hands, legs, and the entire body. Make sure you moisturize your skin well and take a massage.
3. Journaling
Journaling is a good self-care practice for everyone who wants to come up with goals. Make a summary of how the day was, and pay attention to the things you can improve. Focus on the coming days and the things you want to achieve. You can perform this while taking a cup of hot beverage.
After dinner
After dinner is a good opportunity to relax, calm your mind, and reset it for the following day. This time will help you feel relaxed and energized to start the next morning in a productive manner. Although you might feel tired, it is vital to create time for self-care practices. Self-care ideas after dinner:
1. Socialize
After dinner is the best moment to create enjoyable moments with your loved ones. Whether it’s your friend or family members, it is good to reach them out either on social media or making calls.
2. Light a candle
A scented candle can relax your body or mind. You can choose a scent that will relieve stress and create a relaxing evening.
3. Take special drinks
You can buy drinks or consume homemade cocktails. They help to refresh your mind. If you are not a cocktail lover, you can go for wine or beer.
Self-care ideas before going to bed
When winding down before bed, it is good to implement self-care practices. They help in preparing for a restful night and reducing tension in the body. It is good to incorporate these 3 self-care ideas to calm the night of sleep:
1. Wear breathable pajamas
Not all pajamas are ideal for sleeping. Remember, you want to have that luxury moment at night. So, it is good to consider lightweight, loose, and breathable pajamas. Materials such as cotton and silk are essential as they help to wick away sweat.
2. Dim the lights
Dim environment sends a signal to the mind that it is time to sleep. If you add dimming the lights into your night's daily self-care routine, you will be alarming your body to relax and prepare for sleep.
3. Switch off your phone
Everyone is attempted to check the phone more often to check social media posts and work emails. If you want to have a nice sleep, it is good to switch off the phone and put it out of the bedroom.
Parting thhoughts
Imagine having a non-stop busy day where you lack time for yourself? This stress can make you feel drained and lack of energy. Self-care is vital, especially if you’re a busy woman and don’t have time to relax and refresh your mind. These self-care ideas will help you get a break from stress and boost your physical and emotional health.
1) You deserve a spa day at home. Soak yourself in a luxury bath with the Lavender and Lilac Spa Gift Basket

2) Treat yourself to a box of delicious Godiva Chocolate Truffles

3) Pin this article!




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By Nan Nan Liu-Maffetone | Strong Female Leaders | Reading Time: Five Minutes



Are you suffering from burnout at work?
If you continuously feel exhausted, irritated and unmotivated at work, you are most likely suffering from burnout. So what now? Do you look for a new job? Speak with a professional? Or take medical leave? The best remedy is to prevent burnout at work before it happens. To do that, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Do you have time to rest and recover?
When it comes to mental and emotional health at work, balance is key. To achieve balance, you must be able to both rest and recover from periods of deep and heavy work. A workload that outweighs capacity can stress you out. So you must learn how to keep the work load balanced, by planning and prioritizing properly, delegating wisely, and letting go of things that you cannot control.
While we all want to do our best, we must not let perfectionism weigh us down. If you have been over-stretching yourself without much rest or recovery, it is time to take a break before breaking down.
2. Do you lack autonomy?
A lack of autonomy indicates a lack of control. At work, it may result from various root causes. Some of the common ones include feeling social pressure from team members, a constant shift in priorities, or a lack of control at home. While you cannot change your circumstances, you can change your approach. You can set firm boundaries with teammates, highlight organizational inefficiencies of shifting priorities to key stakeholders, and take personal leave to work things out on the home front. Gaining back control isn't about having a type A personality, but about getting back a sense of self. When outside pressure dims your inner light, you will burn out quickly. Before that happens, take action and refuel yourself, so you can continue to shine.
3. Are you being rewarded fairly?
There are two types of rewards: extrinsic and intrinsic. You need to both to feel accomplished and respected at work.

Extrinsic rewards include raises, promotions, public recognitions and bonuses. It also includes non-traditional compensations such as extra days off for working overtime during a particularly demanding project, or the ability to work remotely, after COVID too, if your industry permits. Whichever extrinsic reward means the most to you, address it to your superior. If you feel like you have earned it, you should receive it. If you get turned down, it is okay. However, do realize that there is a chance that you and your work place are misaligned in value. If this is the case, you should look elsewhere for a similar position. When values misalign, the relationship rarely works out in the long run. It's better to end it early, and on friendly terms, than to drag it out and cause harm.

Intrinsic rewards come from how well you are treated by others, including leadership, team members, clients and partners. Ask yourself: are you being appreciated for helping others? Is your name mentioned during presentations that you contributed to? Are your opinions and recommendations being considered seriously, or dismissed, ignored and turned down harshly? If you feel disrespected in anyway, address it with the person, in private and politely of course. If they dismiss or rebuttal your requests, then at least you took action to stand up for yourself. That alone can prevent a burnout.

4. Are you being properly supported?
When you confide in your teammates, do they brush you off, give you the cold shoulder, or listen with dedicated attention? Do you feel cared for and included, or ignored and left out? Does your workplace feel like high school, or a mature, open and professional space?

The workplace culture plays an important role in your overall wellbeing. If it operates in a clique-y, highschool-like manner, and lack a supportive structure, you will burn out from the day-to-day emotional detachment. You can, however, shift the dynamic. Reach out to teammates who seem disengaged. Listen to their problems without judgement or pushing your own opinions. Kindness spread as quickly as burnouts. When you make incremental behaviorial changes, you create a culture of inclusion, kindness and respect.

It takes one person to turn the ship around, and she could be you.
Parting thhoughts
Burnout doesn't just happen. It accumulates from multi-faceted issues overtime until it reaches a tipping out. The good news is: now, as soon as you recognize the symptoms, you can prevent it.

As a knowledge professional, your choices are limitless. If your current workplace is driving you towards burnout, take a break. Or, take another opportunity. You hold the key to your happiness, and no one else is entitled to that.
1) Be the type of Leaders Who Last

2) Find more ways to avoid burnout at High-Octane Women: How Superachievers Can Avoid Burnout

3) Pin this article!




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By Freelance Contributor | Strong Female Leaders
Reading Time: Approx. 5 minutes
Target Audience: Professional Women, Entrepreneurial Women, Work at Home, Work at Home Mommies

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Cozy Office Ideas (Best Work from Home Setup Ideas)
If you are among the remote workforce that COVID-19 has created, you may feel drained from working from home all day. We get it! It's hard to be productive when your office is also your home. The cure? Cozy office ideas with creative decor go a long way. When your home office looks cozy, stylish and organized, you feel energized, focused and inspired to do good work.
Imagine: ample natural light, uncluttered desks, sleek furniture, soothing colors, and comfortable seating. Whether your work in an enclosed room, an open space, or just a small corner, you'll be inspired by the incredible cozy office ideas and work from home setups below.
1. Let there be light.
Proper lighting improves work quality, productivity, creativity and safety. For your home office, your best bet is natural light, so set up your desk close to windows and let the light in. Even on cloudy days, the natural light from outside provides warmth, comfort and energy.
Need to mimic natural light?
An LED desk lamp like the TaoTronics LED Desk Lamp can help. It has adjustable height, various settings and soft flicker-free lighting, among other functionalities, that enhance your work space aethetically, create a lovely ambiance, and elevate mood.
2. Choose ergonomic furnitures.
Your health is important, so choosing ergonomically friendly furnitures that improve posture and eliminate body aches makes a necessary cozy office idea. Start small by replacing existing office gears with ergononic keyboard and mouse, adjustable monitor arms, and seat cushions. If anything, go for a standing desk that allows you to stand up and stretch out once in a while.
Need a recommendation?
The ApexDesk Elite Electric Height Adjustable Standing Desk offers just what you need, including adjustable lift system, LED memory control, and elegant and spacious surface. It's also light and sleek, and assembles easily.
3. Add plants

Touches of greenery add life, color and dimension to your office space. Beyond their beauty, having plants inside improves air quality, lowers stress, and energizes the mind. Whether you prefer the statuesque floor plants, the herb gardens on the wall, or a vase of colorful bloom, plants create a cozy, healthy and appealing office space.

4. Use bright and energizing wall colors.
Colors serve as visual stimulus, and leveragig bright wall colors in the office impacts behaviors, productivity levels, and attitudes. Bright colors often improve mood and energy level, and in turn increase productiviity.
Don't want to commit to painting an entire wall yet?
Test it out by hanging a picture that's full of vibrant colors.
5. Use a sleek floating desk.
Floating desk to the rescue for small spaces. Not only are they elegant and sleek, they are quite the space saver too. They work in just about any room, even your bedroom.
This wall-mount Desk is one to try!
6. Use open shelves
At some point we all need space to store and showcase the beautiful and unique knick knacks we've collected over the years. Open shelving is a wonderful way to do this. It's simple, easy and fresh, and offers your office a chic and sophisticated feel. Plus, you get to see all the things that you love and define who you are.
Need shelving ideas?
A clean, solid shelve unit is a good start.
7. Keep it sleek and open.
Who doesn't appreciate a modern and uber-sleek space! An open and clean space gives you room to breath and keeps your mind calm. If you are a minimalist, then this design will feel especially cozy to you. When life gets compilcated, you can keep your environment simple.
8. Go bohemien.
Relaxed, eccentric Boho Chic style can really instigate creativity. Update the style for your office by getting rid of tainted gypsy colors and adding neutrals tribal patterns, bursts of jewel tones like turquoise and coral, and liven up the space with eyecatching decor.
Not sure where to start?
Give this area rug a shot.
9. A cozy couch doesn't hurt.
We all work differently, and some of us prefer having a couch in our office. In a real work place, a couch in the office implies conversation, discussion and transparency. At home, keep up that open and conversational mindset with a similar couch. If anything, it offers you a place to lay down and relax.
Here's a plush couch to try.
10. Inspirational Murals
Using a wall mural allows you to create a space that celebrates and inspires you. A motivational saying, quote from your favorite leader, or just an inspirational image can put you in the right mood. It's also a lower investment than painting an entire room.
We love the one below!

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By Nan Nan Liu-Maffetone | Strong Female Leaders | Target Audience: work at home mommies, work at home parents

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As long you have your health, your family, and most importantly, the confidence and calm to take on the most challenging situations, you have the right to let everything else go.
Work at Home Mommies' COVID-19 Survival Tips
Because of COVID-19, the way we work has changed drastically. All of a sudden, we have become work at home mommies. Our new professional lifestyle brings both the convenience of avoiding commute, as well as the inconvenience of homeschooling our children. We have to invent new ways to maintain old routines, and also preserve a sense of comfort, consistency and self. At times, things can feel challenging. For example, a simple activity like making lunch for kids suddenly feels like a burden when we have only the lunch hour to take a breather for ourselves.

Ever wonder how you can embrace the new normal as work at home mommmies? We haven't a cure-all, but we can recommend fresh ideas to help you stay happy and productive:

1. Architect a base structure for daily routines.
No matter how much your world has changed, one thing remains the same: you still have 24 hours in a day. Within your waking hours, then, construct a base structure with time blocks for each day, fill the blocks with repeatable priority activities like work hours and meetings, and fill the rest with flexible and interchangeable plans.

You and your partner should create your routines first. Then, move on to your kids'. Make sure that events that are essential to your family, such as meal time and homework, show up on everyone's calendar.

Planning requires effort, but also paints a clear picture of your immediate future. With that vision, you gain a sense of control and a peace of mind.

2. Schedule your breaks.
You can't take care of your family if you don't take care of yourself first. You may not realize it, but handling work, school and household chores require tremendous amounts of energy. On top of it, living the COVID-life is like running a marathon, simply because there is no end date in sight. If you fail to exercise self care, you will burn out. Therefore, it is important to pencil in activities that you enjoy, such as hobbies, baths, workouts, meditation, and re-connecting with your partner.

The situation takes a lot of your time right now; you reserve the right to keep some of it to yourself.

3. Outsource if you can.
If you have the means to hire help, do it. You make money for a reason. List all the time-consuming tasks on your plate, and outsource what you can afford. Need examples? Here are a few:

If you can have groceries delivered, why would you spend precious hours in the store? No time to cook? Meal delivery services such as Door Dash and Uber Eats can bring your favorite restaurant foods to your house; Amazon Wardrobe allows you to avoid the hassle of trying on clothes in stores; dog walking services like Rover can save you an hour a day by walking your pet; and your neighborhood kid can mow your lawn for under $10 per visit.

There are things that you must do yourself, like your job, bed time stories with the kids, and financial planning for your family. For everything else: delegate, delegate, delegate!

4. Stagger shifts with your partner.
Can you wake up earlier and get things done at work early in the morning, while your partner wakes up later and finishes work later in the day? You may be able to "create" more hours if you think outside the box.

5. Adopt an agile mindset.
If a task-based project board helps, use it. Some people work better with specific tasks and tight deadlines. An easy way is to make a Kanban Board often used by agile software development teams, with columns named "TO DO's," "IN PROGRESS," and "DONE". Put every upcoming task in the "TO DO" column, and size each one with a 2-3-day deadline. Then, start putting them in "IN PROGRESS."

The system is straight forward, efficient, and visual, and arouses everyone to take action.

6. Set daily goals.
When work life and home life merge into one nebulous essence, your days can feel meaningless over time. To avoid becoming disenchanted, inject meaning into each day by setting challenging yet reasonable goals.

If it helps, separate your goals into categories of career, family and health, and add stretch goals for extra motivation.

7. Let it go.
Too much screen time? Let it go. Forgot to water the plants? Let it go. Missed a webinar? Let it go.

Whatever mistakes you've made and will make, let them all go. When you accept reality and know what you cannot control, you can now focus on the more important things in life.

As long you have your health, your family, and most importantly, the confidence and calm to take on the most challenging situations, you have the right to let everything else go.

Parting Thoughts
Work at home mommies have it hard. But work at home mommies, or just parents in general, are also resilient, resourceful, and adaptable. We rise when we are confronted with challenges and perform the best when we are under pressure, all because we have more reason to overcome difficulties. We are, after all, setting an example for our children.

Need more help? The books below are good resources.
1) The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done


2) Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
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