You are here: Home / Archives for A Dad’s Point of View

Take the Peace Challenge

July 15, 2011 By

“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Sometimes I think my daily struggle to attain five minutes of peace is futile. The kids, the phone, the never ending laundry…Repeated interruptions, unexpected delays and devastating news tug away at my heart leaving me feeling unsettled. The chaotic pace of life adds to the frustration making it impossible to complete my quest for peace.

But I’ve realized that peace is not the destination, it’s the mode of travel. And I’ve discovered that there are small but powerful actions I can take every day to contribute to a more peaceful heart, a calmer environment and a happier home.  Some of them seem effortless but the results are dramatic. If you’re struggling with clutter, chaos and angst, take the Peace Challenge by implementing one or more of my personal tips.

Theresa’s Top 10 Ways to Create a Peaceful Journey

  1. Turn off your cell phone, email and internet browser during specific times of the day – especially when you are working or having a conversation or meal with someone. If you can’t turn them off, set the alerts to silent (not vibrate!).
  2. Silence all background noise – including the television, radio or anything that you are not actively listening to at the moment.  You may not realize that the negative messages coming from the news reports while you are making breakfast are robbing you of a peace-filled morning.
  3. Go to bed by 9 pm once a week. This is a tough one for me because I am often just tucking my kids in bed at this hour and I feel like I finally have time to myself. But getting to bed early is a treat, so I try to do it once a week.
  4. Make your bed every day. I know it sounds crazy, but this small act of creating order is just what I need to start my day feeling somewhat “in control.”
  5. Throw away junk mail before you walk in the door – take it directly from the mailbox to the trash can (unless you need to shred it).
  6. Refuse to engage in or listen to gossip of any kind. The same thing holds true for complaints – make a commitment to yourself to be complaint-free for one week and ask a friend to hold you accountable.
  7. Spend at least one hour a day outside — walking, running, sitting, bird-watching, gardening or doing something that allows you to appreciate the beauty of nature. Breathe fresh air!
  8. Forgive someone – maybe yourself.
  9. Smile. It’s contagious.
  10. Put a journal or notebook by your bed, in your car, in your purse or anywhere you might get a ‘brilliant idea’ and need to capture it before you forget!

Not everyone has the same definition of peace. The music I perceive to be distracting noise may create a state of peace for my nephew. So the trick is to recognize the activities and environmental factors that cause discomfort in your heart and avoid them.

What would you do to create your own personal Peace Challenge? Share your tips with me!

Filed Under: Mom Entrepreneur Tagged With: , , , , ,

What Does Lack of Self-Care Cost?

June 12, 2011 By

massage

As a young professional woman it never crossed my mind that one day not taking care of myself would become a problem. Hey, I figured I’m young I can sort of eat well, sort of sleep well (catch up on lost sleep on the weekends) and have a few drinks here and there. I was naive but who isn’t when they’re young?

Time passed, a stressful corporate job, two kids and trying to find perfection in all I was doing somehow I lost sight that maybe I should take better care of myself. With various responsibilities at work and home it was easy to put my needs last on the list. I’ve always been an amazing caretaker particularly of everyone else but me.

There was a time in my life that I never stopped. I didn’t sit down except when I was driving or working and even while working I was never relaxed.  As a busy working professional woman with the pressures of deadlines, financially contributing to my family and being a caretaker I stopped doing all the necessary things to take care of myself.

It happens to the best of us, working women who are high life and career achievers. We just want it all. On the path to getting it we often find it tough to balance everything that’s coming at us. What tends to go is our personal self care. First the exercise, then the food, then the clothing, then the makeup, then the organization (or lack there of) and then the routine check-ups and doctors appointments. How do I know? It happened to me. I became less of a priority even though my health and well-being was essential for my financial future and role in my family.

It’s easy to let things slide especially when you’re busy. If you’re at the point where you’re teetering on the edge of not taking care of yourself well and it’s beginning to surface then now is a good time to put yourself back in charge of your self-care. Simple steps with inner motivation will get you where you need to be. If you’re a little further than that then I encourage you to get help. Lack of self care can cost you your health, finances, family and friends.

Do you really want to jeopardize any or all of them?

Don’t use you’re too busy as an excuse, find a way to start taking action today. Build self-care into your day regularly and you’ll be able to handle more of what life throws at you.

What prevents you from being able to put your self- care first?

Filed Under: Health & Wellness Tagged With: , , , , ,

Frugal Meets Function

June 6, 2011 By

Times are tough all around, so how can YOU save a little green while growing your business? Here are some of my favorite frugalities!

Join an online fax service instead of installing a secondary phone line.  Why?

  • It is more than half the price of the phone line
  • it uses no paper (save your faxes as PDF files on your computer)
  • it uses no toner
  • it uses no electricity
  • it frees up valuable desk space
  • no long distance charges
  • you can ACCESS it from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection

The first question I get from clients regarding this system is, “what about signing contracts and sending signatures?”.  My response is to smile and refer them to my next favourite office item!

Some online fax companies to check out:

Sign up for online signature and document sending!   This brilliant, little service (that also happens to be free) offers:

  • the ability to sign, track and file any papers in one easy online step
  • real time visibility
  • no software downloand to install or learn
  • 100% secure, compliant signature controls and audit history
  • support for both e-signatures and hand written signatures
  • no long distance fax charges for those exceptionally long contracts or line & catalogue sheets!

Just imagine being able to send a 200 page contract to the other side of the world, electronically, have all the pages initialled, final pages signed and dated back in your inbox without ever ever ripping out a single staple or feeding a single sheet into the fax?
Check out www.echosign.com!  There are other services out there but EchoSign seems to have it all locked up.

Start using Skype or VOIP for all outgoing calls
Skype and VOIP are huge money savers if you don’t have an unlimited phone plan for long distance. The cost varies but generally the rates are lower than standard phone rate.   What you can do is start by using Skype for all your outgoing calls and then use your office phone or cellphone for all incoming calls.  Assuming you have a free incoming call plan.  Why is skype so functional?

    • One of the great things about Skype phone calls is that you can share your screen, documents, and websites with      the person on the other end of the line.
    • Assuming all your other contacts and clients all have Skype; it is a super convenient way to execute conference   calls.  Since it is free, you can host a meeting (up to a maximum of 25 people) and literally stay in touch, brainstorm, network with people on the other side of the world.
    • I don’t need to spell out the obvious phone line savings here do I?

Stop using sticky notes and discover Evernote!
This is truly my favourite software download, EVER.  For all you Mac fans, it works with your i-phone, i-pad and laptops, so get excited!
This lovely program allows to literally organize any thought, note, message, document, image, webpage details, contacts and more.  It allows you to upload ANYTHING at all, label it, add as many tags as you need (I have yet to max out a tag list).  Why do I use it so much?

  • can upload any piece of information in any format and label/organize it in 2 seconds.
  • Unlimited tags let’s you organize projects by client, by month, by delgated employee name, by industry, by country …anything!
  • If you subscribe to the Voice2note.com feature, you can also leave yourself voice memos and the system will transcribe it to text and at your next upload, the file is waiting in your inbox to be labelled and tagged!
  • This replaces every scrap piece of paper in your office, briefcase, notebook and it all auto saves and syncs with your i-phone

These are just a few tips that ANY Mompreneur can implement and see financial rewards from.  If you have any other great frugality business tips, be sure to send them my way at info@leahchevallier.com or post them on my blog at www.leahchevallier.com

Filed Under: Mom Entrepreneur Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Walk A Mile

May 17, 2011 By

shoeprints

Have you ever taken the time to try and walk your business in the shoes of your customer?  I am sure right now you are rolling your eyes and thinking, “Of course I have!”.  But have you REALLY?

We become so entrenched into our own routines and habits, not all of them good, and we can easily become blind or desensitized to our surroundings.  We become tunnel visioned in our processes and what we “think” needs be done when in fact we are missing other vital areas in our businesses.


Take the time to to:

1.  Walk a mile
Do it in your customer’s shoes, from their perspective.  What is the entrance or entry to your business like?  Is it welcoming, tidy and organized or do you have stacks of unopened mail, boxes or dying plants?  A first impression is instant and lasts a long time.  Don’t give it away to your competitor because your business is behind in processing boxes and shipments.  If needed, move your receiving as far away from your entrance as possible.

2.  The Buy-in:
Go through a full sale process or buy in for your business.  Every step, every level and take a good look at all your tools and processes.  Does any part of your presentation, paperwork, invoicing brochures need updating?  Does your corporate brochure still show a photo from 1972?  Freshen up and make sure your tools reflect a current, thriving company.

3.  Take it to the front lines:
If you have staff, assistants, sales staff, floor staff, phone service, etc.  Test drive their skills regularly.  A professional, cheerful greeting on a phone is always going to translate to a warm fuzzy for the customer.  Make sure your people are reflecting that warmth in all levels of greeting, sharing of data and customer service.  If you do not have time to mystery shop/call your front line staff, pay a company to do it.

4. Process Perfection:
Make sure you have looked at every step involved in closing a deal, sale or client in your business.  How many steps are there?  Now what can you do to dissect each step and make it as streamlined as possible.  Is their a software program or App that will allow you to spend less time on each step?  Getting to the close is an art form and it need not be rushed; just more efficient.  For example, for my chain stores, we are looking at improving our gift registry programs to allow for faster instore processing and more efficient and quicker sharing of those details with all of our stores.  This helps the customer get the job done efficiently and aids staff by finishing more quickly as they can focus on the next customer’s needs.

5.  Online Presence:
Walking a mile IN your business also means ON your business ONline.  If you have a sign up program, newsletter, email log in etc.  Be sure to go through the processes to check on every step, every link.  Does your pop-up sign in box need to be updated?  Can you freshen up your database links and images?  Have you tested the signup process to make sure all redirects are working properly?  Maybe change the redirect once in awhile, to your blog, a news article or new company product or service.  Invest in keeping it fresh and current!

Filed Under: Mom Entrepreneur Tagged With: , , , ,

Work – Life Balance…Can you REALLY have it?

May 9, 2011 By

work-life-balance

A long time ago, in a generation far, far away (OK, not so far) there used to be very clear boundaries between work and home. Remember Leave it to Beaver, I Love Lucy or Happy Days (now I have you guessing how old I am =). Dad came home when the sun was still out and never thought about work until he left the next morning.

The reality today is that in most families, both parents work and the job is far more demanding, as are the schedules we keep! Wikipedia states “Work–life balance is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between “work” (career and ambition) on one hand and “life” (health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development) on the other.” Using that definition as a framework, creating, yet alone maintaining, a work-life balance seems so elusive. Truth is, it is attainable, but it takes identifying boundaries and then applying them in your life.

Where to start…begin by evaluating the rank of importance of yourself, relationships and work in your life. In America, we tend to “live to work” while most European countries “work to live”. These are very different attitudes and thus produce very different results in terms of work-life balance. If you find that your relationships are more important, but that work has taken over all of your time then try these things to try and get back in balance:

  • Track your time & create a “Need/Want” Square: For one week track how you spend your time, both work and personal activities. Categorize all of your activities in terms of “needing/not needing to do them” and “wanting/not wanting to do them” and then input them into a “Need/Want” Square. Now stop doing the things that appear in the “Don’t Need”/”Don’t Want” square!
Need/Want Need/Don’t Want
Don’t Need/Want Don’t Need/Don’t Want
  • Just Say “No”: Volunteering is an admirable thing, but when you volunteer to the detriment of yourself and your family, then it is time to stop. I used to be a volunteer addict, saying to myself “Oh that won’t take too long”. Then one night when I was furiously working past midnight to fulfill my commitments I realized how crazy it was. There will be a time in my life when I can volunteer more, just not right now – and that is OK!
  • Talk to your employer about options: Do you know for sure if your company offers flex hours, compressed workweeks, job sharing, or telecommuting? They may be options that are just not publicized. Take a moment to ask your boss or HR department. You may just find that they can work with you.
  • Leave work at work: When you walk out of the door of your office, do not to bring work home! Create boundaries, make those who work for and with you aware of them and then be firm in enforcing them. If you don’t, no one else will! Don’t answer e-mails, texts or phone calls that are work related when you have committed to be with your friends or family. The world use to revolve just nicely before the iPhone & Blackberry. I guarantee you that it will continue to do so if you choose to turn it off for a few hours to spend time with those you care about!
  • Get organized at home: Be organized at home so you don’t spend all of your free time grocery shopping, running errands, cleaning or doing laundry. It is true, that you capture more time if you are organized! If you need help here, give me a call. I have lots of great ideas and would be glad to help!
  • Create a support system: Do what you can and don’t be afraid to ask for help from co-workers, friends and family.Take care of yourself: How can you be good for anyone else if you aren’t even good to yourself. Eat healthy, exercise and get the right amount of sleep. Make sure you take time to do the things you enjoy so you can feel fulfilled personally.
  • Ask for outside help when you know you need it: Whether it means hiring a cleaning person, a professional organizer or a therapist, don’t try to do it all alone, especially if you know you need help.

Creating a work-life balance is a lot like organizing in that it is not just a one-time event, but a continually process. You have to be flexible to change as your personal and professional life changes. Take time to revisit your boundaries and priorities and make adjustments when you find that the scale has begun to tip too much to one side.

It is through this process that you will ultimately be able to achieve the best balance of work and life for you!

Filed Under: Home & Family Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Busy Bad, Busy Good

April 12, 2011 By

mother-balancing-act

Did you ever find yourself thinking “I am just too BUSY! I have too much to do. I am overwhelmed, underpaid, stressed out and not enjoying any part of my life, EVER!” I too, find myself experiencing those days, weeks and months, at times. It feels like everything is a burden, everything is hard, and I am not enough.

My clients go through these periods also. As I work with my clients, I have shared many tools with them to help them to shift perspective and ease the process of being too busy. It’s a fine balance though. We like to have enough to do, but not too much to do. Like a dessert soufflé, it can be divine, but if we get the ingredients wrong, we may watch it crumble before our eyes.

So what is this phenomenon of “too busy?” How can we begin to take smaller bites and enjoy the contents of this soufflé for what they are?

One way is to adopt “busy bad to busy good.”

Let’s say, you look at your day and it is all just too darn busy – let’s face it; its busy bad. Now start to take apart your day – what are you busy with? Do you have to go to the gym? Why? Does this make you feel good about yourself in the long run? Are you running to pick up your kids? Are your kids a gift in your life? Do you have to pack for a vacation, buy a new dress for that party or hire a babysitter so you and your husband can go out? Is some of this busy-ness, buying you “busy good?”

If we can start to separate busy bad and busy good and see the tasks in life that lead us where we want to go, as positive, we will lessen the burden of “busy.”

Here’s a thought that one of my absolutely fabulous clients (I learn so much from watching the courage and creativity of my clients!) sent to me today about “busy bad to busy good” related to a diet that she is on:

“Regarding Busy Good Busy Bad. I’m not sure why, but this simple little thing has really been a great jumping off point for my attitude in general. I realized that I was really having a victim attitude related to this diet I’m on which has recently become increasingly restrictive. But then, I realized what a great opportunity it is to be healthy and take good care of my body. I’ve been trying to tell myself that all along. But I noticed that I still need to be paying attention to my attitude. One way is to look at it using busy bad to busy good. It is simple and snaps me back to the positive.”

Coach Me Quick Tips:

1. Where are you “too” busy?

2. What are you busy with? Where are the gifts?

3. How can you shift your thinking? If you can shift the way you are categorizing activities, you can shift your experience.

Filed Under: Mom-Empowerment Tagged With: , , , , , ,