Working It Out
Here's some advice about putting more exercise in our lives each day. Exercise helps us to think more clearly, feel better physically, and once done, gives us a great sense of accomplishment which carries through to other activities. Looking and feeling great helps our self-esteem too. Although the article is reprinted from the July/August, 2006, MomSense Magazine and is geared toward young mothers, I thought the time-management tips and help to overcome obstacles would be applicable to anyone!
Working It Out - Health Matters - by Carrie Carter, M.D.
- Q: With my busy "mom" schedule, I can't always find the time to exercise. And when I do work out, I often feel bored with my routine. Do you have any suggestions?
- A: Moms everywhere can relate to your exercise dilemma, since motherhood can consume every minute you have, and the last thing we want to do when exhausted is take time to fit in boring exercise!
Why Find the Time?
But there are big reasons why exercise is beneficial. If you spend even a few minutes doing exercise you enjoy, you will relive stress, strengthen your body, bones and heart and likely get a "second wind" after an exhausting day. Want to lose weight? Exercise burns calories, revs up your metabolism and builds lean muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn even when you are asleep. Plus, many other remarkable benefits await you that only exercise can provide.
Clear the Roadblocks and Myths
With these benefits to motivate us, what keeps us from exercising whenever we can? Here are many roadblocks and myths that block the way:
- No time - Commit to workout for just one minute each day. Then add more.
- It's expensive or complicated - It's as simple as a 10-minute walk or dancing at home.
- Ineffective unless exercise is 20-30 minutes straight - False! Short sessions combined are just as effective.
- Have health problems - Work with your doctor to find what you can do in bed or a chair when ill, pregnant or disabled.
- Too out of shape - It's not too late if you're still conscious and breathing! ANY bit of exercise helps.
Enjoy Exercise
What about "Exercise is boring?" If this is your belief, it means you've not yet found the exercise that you enjoy! Exercise isn't supposed to be a life sentence to do activities you hate. The key is to find what activities you love to do and make these your exercise. You're on the right track if while exercising you think more about the fun or activity and less about your exertion.
Your Exercise Personality
What activities did you enjoy before motherhood? Were you a dancer?
Liked rollerblading, swimming or bicycling? Did you play team sports or
individual sports?
Honor your exercise personality: If you're competitive and run, train for a
10K race. If you're social and love dance, enroll in tap or ballroom dance
classes with your spouse or a girlfriend. If you're low-key and social, try
bicycle outings with friends. Check with your local recreation department
or YMCA for various classes and team sports. Also, with DVDs/videos of
everything from calming Pilates and Salsa workout to kickboxing, you can
choose your fun and work out at home.
Gym Dandy?
Beware the lure of joining an expensive gym unless you know it will work
for you. Perhaps it's the perfect retreat for you. Many have day care available.
If gyms are new to you, ask about a free trial membership. Also consider lower-cost community gyms.
Well-Equipped
Similarly, before buying expensive home exercise equipment, be certain you'll use it. Inexpensive home equipment that I highly recommend to help you strength train includes: 5-pound hand barbells, resistance bands and a large exercise ball. Put the barbells where you'll see them and pick them up one to three times a day and do a set of arm exercise. The benefit will add up quickly.
You Can Do It!
There are plenty of valid excuses why many of us don't exercise regularly, but you can wipe most of them away if you:
- Do something that you love/enjoy when you exercise.
- Start where you are and add one little nugget of fun exercise to your daily routine, then expand from there.
- Break up exercise into short sessions throughout the day, and it'll add up to significant movement.
- Honor the fact that your health is important enough to make exercise a priority. (As your husband or friend to watch the kids.)
- Now let's go play!
Note: Please check with your doctor before starting a strenuous exercise program or if you have health problems.
Dr. Carrie Carter is a mother and national speaker on health issues. She served as a pediatrician for more than 10 years in San Diego, California and wrote A Woman's Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle (Spire/Revell, 2006)
Overcoming Procrastination
Reprinted from the Fresno Bee, July 24, 2017 commentary by Harvey Mackay
Procrastination is a thief. It robs you of the one commodity that you just can’t buy back: time. It throws off schedules. It replaces accomplishment with inaction. It turns dreams into nightmares.
When faced with a task that you just don’t want to do, many of us simply put it off until tomorrow. That’s why tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. And one of these days becomes none of these days.
Putting off an unpleasant task until tomorrow simply gives you more time for your imagination to make a mountain out of a possible molehill…more time for anxiety to sap your self-confidence.
Most of us can relate to occasional bouts of procrastination—the phone call you have been dreading to place, the project that you just can’t get excited about, the meeting that you should have scheduled two weeks ago. But why can’t we just get in gear?
Thomas A. Harris, in his famous book “I’m OK, You’re OK”, wrote: “There are three things that give people the “wantivation” to change: They must hurt sufficiently, they must experience despair or boredom, or they must suddenly discover they can change.”
Dr. Gail Saltz, author of “Becoming Real: Defeating the Stories We Tell Ourselves That Hold Us Back”, says that 20 percent of Americans are considered “chronic procrastinators”. But it’s not about laziness, it’s about fear, she says. Among the reasons:
- Fear of failure -- Are you so paralyzed by the fear of failure that you’d rather just not try at all?
- Fear of success -- Do you think that if you succeed at something then the bar will be set so high that you will never reach it again? Or are you afraid that you don’t deserve success?
- A need to be defiant -- Is life generally a battle for control? Are you taking a passive-aggressive approach to control by procrastinating?
- A thrill-seeker procrastinator -- Are you trying to avoid the boredom of daily tasks? Does boredom terrify you? Do you need to create a crisis to keep things interesting? Understanding procrastination will help you break the paralyzing habit of putting off what you need to do. Then you can begin to make the changes that will help you tackle your work with more determination.
Start prioritizing so you won’t get overwhelmed. Create to-do lists and figure out what’s important. As the old saying goes, “Well begun is half done.” Knowing what you need to do is not enough. You need to plan to track your progress.
Then do just one step. Gather some preliminary information, call one person or figure out what tools you need. Once you’ve completed that task, give yourself permission to do something else. In many cases, once you’ve begun, you’ll be more inclined to keep on working. Even if you aren’t, you’ll be one step closer to success when you come back to the task later.
I find it helpful to set a deadline, even when the project isn’t time-sensitive. That way, there’s nothing hanging over my head that is cluttering up the rest of my workload. I also write down my to-do list so that I can focus on one item at a time.
Procrastination is a problem at all levels. Charles M. Schwab, who founded Bethlehem Steel Company in 1904, was a master of his schedule. He made it a practice of investing five minutes each day analyzing the problems he should tackle the next day. He would write down those tasks in the order of priority.
When he arrived at his office the next morning, he would start with the top issue on his list and move on in order. “This is the most practical lesson I’ve ever learned,” he claimed, and shared this example to prove his point: “I had put off a phone call for nine months, so I decided to list it as my No. 1 task on my next day’s agenda. That call netted a $2 million order.”
I’m not sure what that would translate to in today’s economy, but I’d be happy with a $2 million order any day! Make the call!
Mackay’s Moral: Overcoming procrastination helps your to-do list become your all-done list.
Time Management and Achieving Goals
When we take the time to set yearly, monthly, daily goals we save time, energy, and money in the long run. Much of my information comes from several books on time management: "The Time Trap", by Alec Mackenzie, "The Unofficial Guide to Managing Time", by Dawn E. Reno, "Conquering Chaos at Work", by Harriet Schechter, and "Ordering Your Private World", by Gordon MacDonald
The real purpose of time management is to allow us to live less stressful lives, have a balance between work and home life, to increase productivity, and to make progress toward goals. Just hearing the words "goal setting" makes some people uncomfortable. As Alec Mackenzie says in his classic book on time management, The Time Trap: "Setting goals for significant accomplishments you want to achieve in your life, both personal and professional accomplishments, costs you nothing. Failure to set them can cost you plenty."
Goals may be set for you as outlined in your job description. You also have new goals set in a performance evaluation process. Let's define a goal and flesh it out. Webster defines "goal" as "the mark set as a limit to a race. An aim or purpose." Goals are an end result-what you want to accomplish. They are defined by objectives that then set priorities that affect daily activities and decisions. But it all starts with a goal.
A goal must be:
- Demanding-it motivates us to do our best.
- Achievable-don't make your goals unrealistically high.
- Specific and measurable-a way to know if you've achieved it.
- Must have a deadline.
- Agreed to by those who must achieve it.
- Should be written down.
- Should be flexible. Re-examine your goal and make adjustments upward or downward. Don't be quick to lower your goals without first learning how to work smarter. What we're most interested in here is the practical application of goal setting. If we set goals, how does that fact affect our daily lives?
Let's take a very simplistic example:
The Director of Dining Services at a university has a long term goal to daily serve nutritional, taste-conscious, visually appealing, timely and cost-effective meals to the faculty and students. This basically becomes his or her mission statement. It will determine how he or she will spend time. The Director will then set objectives or intermediate targets to achieve that goal:
- Speaking with the dietician or nutritionist
- Learning about and purchasing the best equipment
- Researching low cost, yet good quality food sources
- Learning about presentation and color appeal
- Hiring experienced cooks and line personnel
- Training servers and wait staff
- Getting feedback from people as to how he's doing in achieving his goals.
Then he or she will set up monthly or daily priorities from those objectives. These priorities will determine his or her activities. When some activity is presented to him or her that will NOT help achieve this goal it can be eliminated, disregarded without guilt or dilemma. An activity that will not help achieve the goal should not be an activity at all.
Let's review:
- Start with long range goals and objectives.
- Relate the days' activities to those goals.
- Assign priorities to the days' tasks according to their contribution to your overall goals.
- Schedule tasks according to priority and to the degree of concentration required.
- Stay on track, using your goals to guide you through crises and interruptions and help you make daily activity choices.
Managing Time At The Office
Need some help managing your time at the office?
- Set goals
- Track your time for one week. Are you meeting your goals?
- Are your activities are vital, important, or trivial? Levels
should be determined by your goals. - Eliminate or delegate those actions that deter you from
your goals. - Need more time for strategic activities? Delegate the details
- phone calls, meetings, filing, reading.
a. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
b. Describe the task you are to delegate
c. Train the person to do the task
d. Let the person do the task
e. Follow-up and evaluate - Interruptions
a. Schedule time into your day when your door is closed: Rearrange your office so your desk is not in plain view as people walk by; put a sign on your door that you are not to be disturbed.
b. Simplify communications - limit the ways people can contact you. Install a system outside your office for papers to be dropped off. Wall pockets labeled and color keyed with different forms to be returned, picked up, etc.
c. Use your phone to take notes or carry paper and pen with you if you must travel in the complex, write down the comments, problems, etc. but do not try to solve them on the spot. Say you will get back to them within a reasonable amount of time. - E-mails: Check e-mails twice a day, and combine as many responses as possible to eliminate extra mail.
- Phone calls:
a. Have your assistant get all pertinent information (not just who called and when) BEFORE you return the call. This eliminates much phone tag.
b. Tell the person "I've got 5 minutes to talk." in the beginning of the conversation.
c. Keep to the facts. - Desk dumping: To eliminate your big pile at the end of the day, have color keyed files on/near your desk so people do pre-sorting for you.
- Meetings: Combine meetings, delegate leadership at meetings, and eliminate meetings-use e-mail or memos
- Maintenance time
a. This is important because if something isn't maintained it may stop working or become unsightly. (Think of your garden weeds.)
b. 10 minutes once a day eliminates one hour after 6 days. - Evaluate your current filing system. Can you find things quickly enough?
- Are you using your assistant to your best advantage?
- Energy levels can be helped by eating lunch and including a late afternoon protein snack.
Healthy Fun In The Summer Time
Here's a few tips from "Real Simple" magazine (realsimple.com) to help make your summer fun, healthy, and great!
- Cool down: During hot summer months, pop your skincare products-face and body lotions, eye creams, cleanser-in the refrigerator before hopping into the shower. They'll feel even more refreshing after you step out.
- Prolong your manicure: Stay away from heavily pigmented browns and beiges that tend to chip faster because of high levels of iron oxide and titanium dioxide. And always apply a new topcoat to nails every other day.
- Exercise anytime: No time to get to the gym? Lunges, which tighten the glutes, can be done just about anywhere. Do a walking lunge down the hallway in your home. Or lunge in place when you're picking up toys and books.
- Soothe your burn: Repurpose ice trays you haven't used since you bought the new refrigerator with the ice maker. Freeze aloe vera gel into single-serving sunburn relief. The ice cools the skin instantly, and the aloe helps soothe the burn.
- Chill out: Freeze berries in an ice-cube tray to use in place of ice. They look stunning in fizzy beverages, won't water down drinks, and provide a burst of flavor-not to mention a dose of antioxidants.
- Make a slushie: Set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Pour in one 12-ounce can of cola and start the machine. When a thick slush has formed (after 10-15 minutes), scoop it into 2 glasses and serve.
- Upgrade your drink: Freeze slices of lemon, lime, and orange, then use them to add a cold blast of citrus to your iced tea, lemonade, or plain old glass of water. Slide a piece of plastic wrap between slices to keep them from sticking. They'll stay fresh for up to two months when stored in an airtight container in your freezer.
- Keep flowers upright: Extend the stems of roses to fit a vase. Place the bottom of each stem inside a straw, then arrange the flowers as you normally would. Your blooms will stand up tall, even if you've been overzealous with the trimming.
- Refresh your flowers: To revive a tired-looking arrangement, submerge the flowers completely in a sinkful of cold water for an hour. And to prolong the lives of delicate flowers, stick them in the refrigerator at night.
- Preserve guacamole: Squeeze a little lemon into your avocado dip and give it a stir. The lemon eliminates the browning that occurs when guacamole sits.
- Perk up dessert: Fruit salad is healthy but ho-hum. But you can fill a waffle cone with fruit salad, and you've got an instant party dessert. Bonus: no bowls to wash.
- Grill smart: Really hot grill bars equal dramatic grill marks on your porterhouse. To concentrate the heat and keep it from escaping, lay a sheet of foil over the grill for 10 minutes. Peel the foil off before cooking (it cools fast), scrunch it into a ball and use it to scrape any reside or ash from the bars.
- Set a summer table: Worried your dinner table will look like a four-year-old's birthday party if you use paper plates and plastic utensils? Elevate the simple to the sophisticated-literally-by placing fruit and just-picked blossoms on shoe or small gift boxes that have been covered in white gift wrapping.
- Keep tissues dry: A peppermint tin is perfect for keeping tissues clean and dry in your purse or beach bag. Just fold over the pocket-pack size and pop them in. You'll always have a supply of fresh tissues, minus all the lint, dirt, sand, and rumples they usually attract at the bottom of your bag.
- Save your summer memories: Many photo websites (like shutterfly.com) will put digital photos into an album for you, and Together Book (togetherbook.com) will take photos you send them and bind them into a hardcover linen album.
- Plan a party: If you have to entertain guests but don't have time to plan an elaborate party, assemble a memorable cheese spread. It takes just one trip to the store, and everything can be purchased and set out in under an hour.
- Create instant atmosphere: To set a cool mood at a party the easy way, use pinking shears to cut strips of blue paper long enough to fit around the outside of thick glass votives, then attach with double-sided tape.
- Get a perfect scoop: Before digging into the ice cream carton, wet the scoop, then shake off the excess. Too much water can turn into ice crystals and make ice cream crumbly.
- Serve something special: What dessert could be easier than a cupcake? But easy doesn't have to mean boring. Votive holders make perfect containers for bite-size cupcakes. Bake the batter in mini-muffin tins, dust the cakes with confectioners' sugar, and insert candles. Then just make a wish.
- Put the world on hold: Take some time to recharge in your own home. Turn off the ringers on your phones. Stop the newspaper. Stash all your clocks in a dresser drawer. Eliminating reminders of time helps wipe away the stress of the daily grind.
- Protect with style: A basic white cotton T-shirt gives you the equivalent of only about SPF5. The key to sun protection is the fabric's weave: the tighter the weave, the better it blocks UV rays. Color also plays a role: darker shades absorb UV light, so less radiation makes it through the fabric to the skin.
- Warm up: When preparing your body for an activity this summer, do a similar activity that's slower and gentler. So, if you're going for a run, start with a walk, then gradually increase your intensity. Leave stretching until you cool down to avoid the risk of injury.
- Condition your hair: Run out of conditioner and need something in a hurry to smooth your summer hair? Use a mashed avocado or ½ cup of whole milk. They contain fats and oils that will coat and moisturize your hair.
- Pack light: When packing makeup, save room by using a days-of-the-week vitamin holder to hold several different cosmetics. And use clear travel pots for moisturizer, facial cleanser, and hair products.
Travel With Confidence And Comfort
Did you know that the Thanksgiving holiday is the most heavily traveled weekend
of the year? Whether you are flying, driving, taking the bus or train, you may
experience disruptions and delays in your schedule. Power blackouts in airports,
vehicle breakdowns, and other unexpected surprises can be less upsetting if you
are prepared for them physically and emotionally. Here are some tips adapted
from Barbara Hemphill's "Tips for Travel Disaster Preparedness."
- Carry a paper printout of your travel reservations. Computer systems may be down and you may have no way of substantiating your reservation. Having documentation with a reservation number on it may be used to get your boarding pass.
- Travel with cash. Cash machines and credit cards require electricity. If the power is out your ability to buy food directly relates to the amount of cash you have available.
- Keep your cell phone charged and a calling card handy. Although cellular service at best can be sketchy, without a battery you have no chance at all. Payphones may work intermittently. Also, you'll need coins to pay for the calls when you get the chance to use the phone.
- Carry a flashlight.
- Pack some snacks such as protein bars. Even if there is no disaster, never rely on the airlines to feed you.
- Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Keep in mind that temperatures vary widely - the airport may be incredibly hot and the airplane freezing. Walking long distances and up and down staircases in heels is not only exhausting but could be dangerous. Carry wet wipes. Running water requires electricity.
- Keep physically fit. You may have to climb up escalators that aren't working while carrying your luggage.
- Take an extra battery for your laptop. In spite of the chaos you may actually be able to get some work done.
- Carry a good book.
- Be gracious. Getting upset won't solve any problems and it may create more.
- Whenever you think you've got problems, just look around. Other travelers may be sick, elderly, physically or mentally handicapped or traveling with children. Help others whenever you can.
The "Disease" To Please
"Everyday Cheapskate," Newspaper Enterprise Association, Mary Hunt, 7/27/05
This "disease" can certainly be costly…
I could never be a medical transcriptionist. My problem would be the symptoms and medical conditions. I'd have all of them.
Knowing this about myself, I wasn't all that surprised to end up with yet another condition after watching a recent episode of "Oprah" - the disease to please. I passed their little "Do You Have the Disease to Please?" self-diagnosis quiz with flying colors. Actually, I wouldn't expect anything less from myself.
The first questions: "Do you ever say YES when what you really want to say is NO?" Well of course I do-doesn't everyone? Or how about this one: "Is it extremely important to me to be liked by nearly everyone in my life?" Don't we all want to be liked? I whipped through that quiz in about 10 seconds flat, answering every question "yes," "yes," "yes," and "yes"!
I have to admit this need to please played a huge role in my own experiences with getting deeply into debt. I rarely spent for myself. I was forever buying for others, picking up the tab, giving the best gift. I wanted recognition, approval and acceptance. That can create a lot of pressure.
I am learning that this "disease" starts with wanting to be a good person. You want to be liked. You want to be chosen first, never last. You respond to everyone's requests and just keep doing more and more with promptness and perfection.
After all, aren't we called to generosity out of hearts of gratitude and service? Isn't it selfish to always say "no"? Yes, but there is a huge difference between authentic service and using it as an opportunity to manipulate. The test is to ask "What's my motivation? Is my action pure, or is it a sneaky way to get something in return?"
Analyze your motivation. Before you say "yes" to anything, do a quick self-analysis. What am I doing this? Why am I buying this? What am I expecting in return? If you can answer "nothing in return," then your motivation is pure. If there's another answer, it's probably some form of manipulation.
Experts say that time is the best antidote for the disease to please, whether that's five minutes or five months. Never answer on the spot. Nothing is so urgent you cannot take time to think about it. Acting to please can be noble and gratifying as long as the decision to do so for the joy it brings, not for what you expect to get in return.
