Take the Pressure Off and Plan Ahead

Life doesn't tend to run smoothly, with a measured, evenly spaced flow of demands and expectations. For business people it's often a feast or famine situation, with several orders, customers and meetings to attend, frequently followed by a disconcerting lull.

Parents may have child-related fairs, festivals and parents evenings in their diaries as well as having to juggle the other areas of their lives. Plus social invitations have a habit of occurring like buses, none for ages then six arriving all at once!

At those times something has to give. Whilst we may have lots to do there's also a need for us to manage stress, look after ourselves, take the pressure off and plan ahead.

- Anticipate the busy times. You may be able to forecast when a busy period is likely to occur; it may be around holiday time, Christmas, before the school term starts or when the universities resume. You may not always guess correctly but it's helpful to prepare for an influx of different demands. It may be useful to enlist help. Taking on an apprentice or forming alliances with complementary businesses may help you manage stress and take some pressure off as you support each other during those busy times. Or outsource some domestic chores or those business tasks outside your specific skill set. It could be money well spent.

It may be appropriate to manage stress by sometimes declining work which you suspect could become excessively draining and demanding. It might be tempting to say 'yes', but's it's not always viable to accept every offer of work that comes your way. In quieter periods it may be fun, interesting and challenging to have a go and learn new skills, but it's important to pick your time well. That's where networking, making connections and getting to know local people in similar fields can become a win/win relationship for all over time.

- Plan for your health. Batch cooking so you have healthy food ready to go can stop you reaching for the take-away menu or pre-chilled dinners. When you're extra-busy is precisely the time when good nutritious food is especially important. There may be merit in sometimes declining invitations so that you go to bed a little earlier, rather than regularly collapsing exhausted in the early hours, mind racing, wondering why sleep is so elusive.

Remember to allow yourself time for fun, exercise and your important relationships. Take breaks to manage stress and have personal time. You'll return to work feeling better, often with clearer thinking. Cosset yourself regularly. Investing in your health and wellbeing will enable you to continue performing at your best.

- Anticipate the lonely times. Take the pressure off and plan ahead for when you'll potentially be bereft, alone and feeling unloved. Find out what's happening locally, maybe register on mailing lists and suggest outings to friends, neighbours and colleagues. Often free or special offers can be found for shows, concerts and restaurants.

Make and accept invitations, even if they sometimes take you out of your comfort zone. It's okay to scare yourself a little from time to time! And think how proud you'll feel afterwards, doing something different, making new friendships and keeping yourself busy.

Plan for alone time by turning it into a special indulgent time. Take the pressure off and claim that time for yourself. Buy your favourite foods, organise your reading, music or viewing. Decide to have a lovely, relaxing, candle-lit bath, put clean sheets on the bed, have a treat of 'me-time' on your own.

- Plan ahead for studying or a heavy workload. If there's a period when you need to focus and really concentrate on work or a specific project you can take the pressure off by planning ahead. Identify what's urgent, important and what can wait until another time. A timetable can help you focus, but you need to stick with it! Use those deadlines as a useful way to measure what you've done and how much more there is yet to do. A little forward planning can put you firmly in control.

Being accountable may seem like a pressure situation, but used well, having to answer to another person can be constructive. It can keep you on track by refusing to allow you to go off course or become distracted. Knowing you have to check in regularly can keep you in the zone, clear about your immediate commitments and aware of each stage of the journey.

Taking time to plan and clarify your next steps can be time well spent, enabling you to feel more in control and less pressurised as a consequence.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Take-the-Pressure-Off-and-Plan-Ahead&id=9975367

Overcoming Work Related Depression When You Work From Home

One of the most typical issues people who work from their home face is, working from home loneliness. Here are my suggestions to conquer depression caused by work, or perhaps, stay at home mom depression:

Be engaged on social media:

Yes, absolutely, these days with Twitter, FB, YouTube and all the others, choose one the suits you the most and really get involved.

Having online acquaintances with similar interests keeps you stay accountable and motivated, and will minimize if not totally rid, working from home loneliness.

Just that sensation that you are not alone is in some cases enough not to sink you into that, working from home loneliness.

They are an exceptional method of getting the word about your business and allow you to communicate with other company friends. Again just invest enough time on online forums to keep you inspired and motivated.

The Course in Miracles teaches to, "Seek and find."

I love listening to podcasts, too, and seeing what other professionals can teach me.

There are stacks of webinars and podcasts on the internet and is growing every day.

Take a brisk walk:

When you are working from the house it's quite easy to feel imprisoned and chained to your work station.

There are no water coolers to gossip at and take your mind away from work.

You just need to come up with something that can take your mind away from work related depression for some time.

Move to different place:

I sometimes get rather tired of my home office.

And of course working on the bed and viewing a movie on the cable television is always tempting and I have a fallen a victim to this trap lots of times.

I love the versatility that comes with working from my apartment, and if I prefer, I'll take my laptop to the library for a few hours.

There are nevertheless some drawbacks of working from home.

The most typical issue is working from home loneliness, and so do the stay at home mom depression symptoms arise for many raising children.

Again, just try to do some things, get involved where and when you can into online activities and relax.

The Course in Miracles further teaches us to, "Extend yourself which is how the miracle is performed."

If you allow yourself to be, you will only become your own prisoner.

Overcome work related depression and working from home loneliness by taking things lightly, while staying motivated and inspired.

To staying inspired!

http://ezinearticles.com/?Overcoming-Work-Related-Depression-When-You-Work-From-Home&id=9843610

Do Not Get Tired, Just Get Ready For Action

One inch past tired is more action and then you get what you want ultimately. But when you let the "tiredness" take over, failure happens. Recently, when I was faced with the fact of being "over taxed" in life, I realized a few things which I will list here:

• Nothing is worth killing yourself over, and I do mean nothing.
• Reality must always be faced honestly or you will die over it ultimately, directly or indirectly.
• Ultimately, as long as there is breath in my (or your) lungs, failure is not permanent.
• We are all about as happy and care free as we make up our minds to be.

Before I go on, I actually got part of that last thought bullet from Abraham Lincoln, and the care free part I added from a feeling of "so what, I will do my thing my way and I am accountable to myself only ultimately.

Sure, we can let life drain us until we are dead, but protecting ourselves from the drain is ultimately our responsibility and nobody else is responsible. So, I will go on with the list bullets.

• Nobody can make us feel bad or genuinely destroy us without a fight, without our permission.
• Sanity begins with real conscious thinking about why we are doing what we are doing, not so much how we are doing it.
• The best trails in life are the ones we blaze ourselves and follow without let up fully.

Think about what I am writing and saying here deeply, the best responsibility we have is the responsibility we have for our own actions and results, and the more genuinely conscious we are, the more powerful over ourselves we are. That is the whole point of this article, responsibility for our results. In fact, consider this article an exorcism of sorts: The exorcism of getting the expectations of others off our backs and living up to our own genuine expectations. After all, nobody else lives the life of another person however hard they try. We all live our own lives, and work with our own consciousness always. So, do not feel guilty for not living up or down to expectations of others. Love yourself, that is where it is at anyway for good, bad, ugly, pretty or otherwise.

After all, there is nobody we can please or disappoint worse or better than ourselves. If we think we can control another, we really are fooling our own minds. So, control yourself, master yourself, start there and all else will be added. For in my reality, the genuine kingdom of heaven inside us comes down to a good attitude that works for our total good and impresses nobody but ourselves. Indeed, the sweet music of praise from others does not matter if you cannot respect yourself first. You must have good inside before you have it outside. That is the bottom line of this article.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Do-Not-Get-Tired,-Just-Get-Ready-For-Action&id=9548932

6 Ingredients For Effective Goal Setting

Setting clear goals illuminates your desires, boosts your motivation and encourages you to keep focusing on a positive future. Combine the following methods to maximize your chance of choosing and achieving goals that lead you to a better life.

1) Be Specific

People who set specific goals are more likely to succeed. So instead of nebulously vowing to improve your health this year, set goals that define what ‘healthy’ involves. For example, you might decide to run three times a week, lose two stone, or keep your daily salt consumption within a particular limit. It is much easier to measure success and setbacks on the path to clearly defined goals.

2) Boost Your Focus

Set up your environment so that you are constantly reminded of your goals and your ability to achieve them. For example, if you are working towards a promotion you might put a note on the front door telling yourself that you will do a great job at work and can deal with any challenge that comes your way. Similarly, a visible list of your favourite personal qualities can help you in a quest to improve your confidence.

3) Use Deadlines Wisely

Part of effectively setting goals involves putting realistic but challenging time frames in place. For example, your resolve may wane after a short amount of time if you decide that you will have acquired a complicated new skill in just three weeks, as the futility of this goal will quickly become clear. On the other hand, setting an easy goal with a far-off deadline is unlikely to transform your life. You might find it helpful to break your main goal into smaller goals that have regular deadlines. The trick is to create a legitimate challenge without setting yourself up for an obvious fall.

4) Make Yourself Accountable

Make sure there is someone who can help you judge your progress and help get you back on track if your motivation dips. Obtaining accountability might involve asking for a sibling’s help, joining a club that focuses on the same goal, or enlisting a professional (such as a therapist, life coach or personal trainer). You are less likely to waver in your resolve if you need to answer to someone if you don’t take the necessary steps.

5) Picture Success

Stay positive; don’t let yourself obsess over the possibility of failure. In fact, avoid imagining failure altogether. Instead, build up a vivid and realistic picture of yourself reaching your goals, and imagine enjoying all of the rewards that come with that success. Make a ritual of contemplating this picture every night before bed, and remind yourself that you will succeed. These visualizations can be incredibly powerful, and they will keep you feeling energized as you rise to the challenge each day.

6) Start As Soon As Possible

Finally, it’s all too easy to decide you’ll start eating healthy foods tomorrow or devote more time to your hobbies once this month’s work project is over. Don’t bargain with yourself; start working to meet your goal today.

http://www.thelawofattraction.com/6-ingredients-for-effective-goal-setting/