Beth Beutler's Blog, page 3

Breath of Hope: COVID-19, Planner Journal and Texting Courtesy

Hello friends,

Consuming: The COVID-19 Crisis has been consuming much of our time and energy for the last month. I’m sure none of us would have guessed, when March began, how things would change. In an attempt to spread some normalcy, I’m still going to share several random things that crossed my mind, path and desk in the past 30 days or so. Some will be related to the crisis, some not. And you’ll now notice a code at the end of each item–this reveals how that point corresponds to the four soft skills keystones of HOPE Unlimited which are:

H – Habits and values
O – Organization and time management
P – People skills and emotional intelligence
E – Engagement and communication

Now onto what’s crossed my mind, path and desk over the past month (be sure to click on the video version too!)

Free WFH* webinar: On March 26, I had the privilege of conducting a free mini-webinar for LEADx called Home Office Setup Tips: Maximize Productivity, Minimize Distractions.   We discussed unique ways to assess our resources, activate optimization techniques, and align with our inspiration while working at home. The replay link is available for a limited time here. (O)

A gift: sadly, many people are experiencing a change with their job status at this time, whether it’s reduction in hours, layoffs, temporary furloughs, or even, increased work (depending on the industry.)  I’ve gone through job losses a few times in my career, and it’s never easy.  I even wrote an article called “The GIFT of a Job Loss” a few years back which I am considering re-tooling for the benefit of many going through such a transition.  But if you need some encouragement now, the four key points are that a job change or loss forces us to evaluate our:

G – Gifts and Skills
I – Identity
F – Focus
T – Time

Doing so can ultimately be a gift in our life.

Great app: I use Textra as my messaging app. It has lots of features including the ability to schedule texts to be sent at a later time.  As a morning person, I often get these messages ready at a time when it would feel rude to hit “send.” This, among other features, makes it a great app! (E)

Challenging:  Speaking of text messaging—I love text messaging but it can be challenging. Whose responsibility is it to communicate/handle communications during reasonable hours – the sender or receiver? How do you handle “reply all” in group texts? You may have to determine with each group what is acceptable or what can be modified. Courtesy should play an important role in how you handle communications. Let me know what you think and I may share it in a future Breath of Hope. (E)

Emotional Intelligence: What’s your EQ during a crisis?  An element of emotional intelligence is to be aware of, control and express your emotions appropriately. During this worldwide COVID-19 crisis, you will experience a range of emotions. It’s important to acknowledge and understand them.  We think we should “stay strong” for other people, and yes, being a source of encouragement is a wonderful role to play. But if we don’t take time to acknowledge and admit our true feelings day-to-day, we can cause more stress to ourselves and deplete our own health and immunity. Be sure to allow yourself time to process your feelings, especially during this time. (P)

Top Golf: Before the shutdowns, Keith and I started going to Top Golf Greenville. We love it and miss it! It’s fun, accessible for people of all skills, and the atmosphere is relaxing and refreshing. I look forward to going back to continue to build a habit of staying active in a variety of ways. (H)

Recommendation: In March, I started using the Silk and Sonder planner/journal. I truly enjoyed it and plan to continue for a couple more months. I love the mix of exercises and prompts with a workable layout for some daily/weekly planning. It complements my electronic system well and allows me to be creative. You can save 25% on your own S&S planner/journal subscription (and bless me, too!) with this link.  (H)

VLOG: here’s a video message to complement this post!

 

I hope you are holding on with hope during this critical time. If you need someone to connect with while in isolation, contact me to say hello, or interact on social media. You can find the social media channels I interact on or send me an email via my contact page.

Until next time,

Beth

*Work From Home

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Breath of HOPE: Snow, Irritating Emails, and a New Use for Binder Clips

Hello readers!

I hope you had a great February and were able to feel some love in your world.  I have a bunch of tips, observations and even an irritation to share this month (plus a cute photo of a dog.)  Read on for what crossed my mind, path and desk recently.

Irritation: Receiving emails where the subject or preview line makes it sound like you have a conversation in progress with the person. (i.e. using Re: ________ in the subject line like it’s a response to a thread.)  It’s nothing less than lying, folks. Don’t do it.

Observation: Sometimes it’s still easier just to pick up the phone. I was tasked with making a hotel reservation for one of my executives. After first trying to handle it online (and not knowing for sure whether he had a username/password) I simply called reservations and gave them his member number. The reservation took only minutes to handle and he received the reduced rate.

Thought: I participated in a goal-setting training and share this interesting twist—when you set goals, do you consider the things you are currently doing that you no longer want to or should not be doing? It’s a different perspective to think about what you will stop rather than what you will start.

So Cool! Do you ever think, “I wish this app/program would do _____?” I keep a Google sheet of food/recreation discounts and when they expire. I was thinking “It would be nice if I could get a reminder a week before the coupon expires.”  Searched for a solution … and yep … there’s an add-on that works! (In the top menu go to “Add-Ons” and search “Reminders.”) I have it set that if it’s a week before the noted expiration date, send me an email.  I actually received one after setting it up!

Article: This article, How to Reduce Attention Residue in Your Life, is an intriguing piece about handling “life-admin” and the need to schedule some time to GYLIO – Get Your Life In Order.  Do you schedule time to catch up with home chores, personal pursuits, or simply to rest? I think it’s good that people are recognizing the need for this. 

Enjoyed: SNOW! The average annual snowfall in my area is about three inches per year. This month we’ve been blessed with a couple small but enjoyable snowfalls. I capture these in video/photos because they don’t happen much, and our woods are beautiful when it does. 

Finished book: I have a habit of finishing one book a month. This month’s book was With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace by Nikki Haley. I the pleasure of meeting her briefly years ago and asked her what I could pray for her – she said “strength.”  After reading this book, I can see why. She shares about the tragedy in Charleston, various initiatives as the US Ambassador, observations (positive and negative) about people she’s worked with while in office, etc. No matter your political leanings, it is an interesting and insightful read about a profession many of us would know very little about. You can purchase it via my store here.

Time-Saving Tip: Some email programs allow you to “snooze” an email (an app like Boomerang can do this as well) so it will pop up again at a more relevant time. Make use of this to keep your inbox from overflowing.

Coworking Fun and another tip:  Caper (Endeavor’s office dog) turned 6 and we collected items for the Greenville Humane Society in her honor.  I loved this idea to use clips to hold up the signs for her birthday!

Momentum: I made some significant progress on my new book this month. The pieces are coming together for a self-guided workbook on the topic of friendship. Stay tuned!

Freebies:   This month, I recommend the March Hope Hints sheet and the “Give Notice to My Notifications” exercise. Check out all the freebies here.

Free Book: My book, 52 Ways to Be More Organized, will be free on Amazon March 15-20.  Click on the image to put a reminder on your Google Calendar.    

Trying: I’m trying out a subscription to Silk & Sonder planners. While I don’t use paper planners much (I lean toward digital), I am coming to realize that I’m a hybrid – I like pen-to-paper too and a mix of both linear and creative approaches to capturing thoughts. This type of journal seems to mix both. I like the March issue and look forward to diving into it. I’m calling it Planner Journaling and expect it will be more about capturing thoughts, prayers, positive concepts to keep in mind, etc more than planning time/calendar (which will remain online.)  I’ll give you an update next month.

Blessed: speaking of planners, I was gifted this planner by a friend who decided it’s format wouldn’t work for her. I like the feel of it and decided it would be another good “planner journal” specifically for noting thoughts about taking care of myself. I’m building on my framework and philosophy of “temple upkeep” / self-care and am trying out using this planner as a way to capture my thought process about it.

Organized: and yet again on a similar topic, one of this month’s organizing projects was finally putting my journals into attractive boxes for closet storage. It was interesting to see how many journals I have filled up over the years—they are all sorts of sizes and styles.

Video Greeting: for a video greeting loosely based on this post, see below or click to go to my YouTube Channel.

As always, thanks for reading and following. Hope you’ll join me on a social media platform too, where I share throughout the month.  For example, I usually have a running Instagram/Facebook story with tips, thoughts, fun stuff and more, including the types of things that end up in Breath of Hope.  Click here and then on the icon of the platform that interests you.

Beth

 

 

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Breath of Hope: Biltmore, Chick-Fil-A, Annoying People and More

Hello readers!

Welcome to a new Breath of Hope! I enjoy reading quick tips and thoughts and even help to write “nudges” for a leadership app. So I got to thinking, with the change to a monthly Breath of Hope posts, why not use a style of sharing the random things that cross my mind, path and desk in the course of a month? And with that comes, Breath of Hope: What’s Crossing My Mind, Path, and Desk.

I hope you enjoy these notes, in no particular order, and a video message as well!

A long-time friend (owner of an AirBnB in Wellford, SC) and I enjoyed a couple of days at the Biltmore Estate at the end of the month.   It’s important to get out of town occasionally, and I enjoyed the opportunity to tour the house, take in the Downton Abbey exhibit and absorb the mountain/valley scenery.  Have you gotten out of your normal environment recently? (See video below.)

Earlier in January, I won a free week of coworking at my favorite spot in downtown Greenville—Endeavor. It was a great opportunity for me to consider what is important in my workflow. Normally, I work from a home office, and try to co-work once every few weeks. But this time, I went for three straight days. I loved much about it, but also realized the importance of balancing time away from my home office with time in another location. Too many days in a row in either place makes for a less-effective approach to my work. I am fairly certain though I’ll be going to Endeavor a bit more often this year!

While at Endeavor, I attended a Collaborators and Cocktails event where Kevin Purcer, Director of Customer Digital Experience from Chick-fil-A spoke. It was a fascinating presentation about how CFA seeks to please the customer and keeps up with current trends in customer service.  Main takeaway? When you combine competence AND warmth, you have a winning combination for your business or professional work. 

A thought: every person you serve through your professional work, you also impact – in either a positive or negative way.

On and off since Thanksgiving (even Thanksgiving Day)  I’ve been working with Microsoft and then my website host, Karthost.com on streamlining my approach to email and tasks.  I’ve used MS products, especially Outlook, for much of my career. But now I have a more seamless online “office” that works well whether I’m in my home “cockpit” or at the dining table, or at a coffee shop, etc.  I use MS 365 for my business mail and routine tasks and have separated out two types of personal email. I can easily access my client-based email personas as well. It took time and effort and was sometimes frustrating, but I’m in a good place now. (Still on the lookout for a seamless option to integrate Google and Outlook calendars, though. Right now, I am using my Google calendar as primary and inviting my Outlook self.)

Wondering: who decided to put the “delete” option near the “rename” options in Microsoft? I worked on a huge project this month that involved changing the names of files and more than once I had to go into the recycle bin to retrieve a document I’d accidentally sent there by clicking on delete instead of rename!

As a person of faith, I choose to have God as a central part of my business.  This month, I read the book The Prayer Powered Entrepreneur by Kim Avery (you can purchase it through my bookshelf.)  I participated in Kim’s 31 days of prayer some time ago, and the book was written in part from that experience. I’m quoted in it and ws reminded of my own words of commitment that God be the CEO of this business.

Heard: “I’m not excited but ready.”  This was the reaction of a fine middle school-aged young man at my church when I asked him about starting school back up after the holidays. What a mature and wise answer! What things are you ready to do even though you may not be excited about them?

“Trust Me for the _______” – I have a minimum number of personal hands-on hours per week that I feel make my business viable. I had an expected shift in workload at the end of the year, but God is still providing what I need every week through different means. One week at a time!

A people challenge: I heard of a situation where a person essentially asked a colleague, “Tell me what you need from me” after she was already involved in a series of messages that explained what the group actually needed from her. Do you ever work with someone who won’t take the time to digest what’s been shared with them and expect YOU to just give them the marching orders? This can be related to their innate temperament. If they get overwhelmed by too much information, they may decide to ask someone else to filter it for them. This is understandable, but also annoying to those who DO take the time to read their email. Where do you fall? Emotionally intelligent people will understand and manage their personal reactions to stress and not expect others to handle responsibilities they should be taking care of.

Business Updates

I launched two additional services for those that don’t need a VA a lot, but a little. One is a $25/month flat rate service where we cover a clear set of small tasks (i.e. less one hour a month, but important to you, and that need to be handled monthly.)

The other is a Pay What You Want  service, for one-time or occasional help (i.e. a strategy session, review of a document, etc.) An example … a friend asked me to review their resume and give feedback. The Pay What You Want plan worked great for that. For more info on our services, click here.

Freebie Focus

The February HOPE Hints page is available here and you may also enjoy the What I Love About Me exercise, relevant for February!

Free book: The Kindle version of my book, Boost Your Workplace Morale, will be available free February 5-9.  Click to add a reminder to your calendar

I’ll be back next month with another Breath of Hope, of things crossing my mind, path and desk. If you want to stay in touch more often, follow me on Instagram or friend request me on Facebook.  Enjoy this video greeting, and thanks for reading!

Beth

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Breath of Hope: I’m Tired of Blogging

Happy New Year, friends!

I start this year with a confession to you. I’m tired of blogging.

As I worked on the January Breath of Hope web page, I continued to feel behind.  November / December was challenging with illness, changed holiday plans (we are finally having our extended family Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year’s dinner tomorrow), activity on major projects–including technology shifts, unexpected (but good) news that may contribute to some life change, etc.  I came to realize that in some ways, some of my blogging and content production had become a burden more than a joy.  I need a new vision for the content I offer.

Conventional business wisdom, at least in the years I was first building my business, said that we business owners should blog regularly, and very consistently.  From January 2014 (and probably even before this “new” website) I have done that. There hasn’t been a month since where at least one blog post hasn’t gone out (I checked.)  And while I love to inspire and encourage people to excel and exhale, I’m a bit burned out.

So, what to do? As a person of faith, I’ve recently re-affirmed to myself that God is the CEO of my business and I am the managing director.

I’m starting to listen more to what He is guiding me to do. I feel like He is suggesting that I release myself from rigid blogging and a full web page of tips and giveaways ready on the first of each month.  Instead, why not just a friendly letter like this, updating you on what I’m learning, what tips could help us all, and freebies I want to give you?  Also, since I’m very active on social media, and have an engaged following, I’m having fun sharing about life, work, Turbo my personal (and office) cat (he’s much bigger already), etc. on Instagram and Facebook on a near-daily basis, in more casual and visual ways. (Join me there?)

Even though I’m a bit weary, I don’t want to stop communicating with you, and bringing you value. It will just look a little different for a while at least. I still plan to reach out about once a month, on or around the first to provide you freebies such as the following. (Click on the titles to download) and share my own journey to becoming a less overwhelmed professional (and person.)

January Hope Hints Sheet  (printable version of the Hope Hints calendar mentioned below.)

A Weekly Reflection Sheet (to help you keep track of your personal/professional growth)

I’ve also decided to offer two Google calendars free. Just click to subscribe to them on your own Google calendar. (Content will appear on top of each day as an “all-day” event.)

Note: to subscribe, please do so on a desktop, and after adding the calendar, refresh the page to see it in your list of calendars (left column.) Click the checkbox on or off if you want to see the calendar item on your main calendar or not.  You may also need to select/sync to your phone’s Google calendar in order to see it.

Hope Hints – daily tip for overwhelmed professionals

Today’s Name of God – a daily name of God, (open the “appointment” to see corresponding Scripture)

Additionally, here are links to some helpful past posts for each of our four keystones:

Habits and Values:  50 Ways to Take a 5-Minute Break

Organization and Time/Stress Management:  Making Notifications Work for You

People Skills and Emotional Intelligence:  How Do You Handle Difficult Feedback? 

Engagement and Communication:  A Full Voice Mailbox May Mean Lost Business

Over time, I’ll be updating the website to reflect this new direction. We won’t be having a monthly page on the website itself, but I plan to make some resources centrally available.  By putting the links directly on the post, you’ll be able to obtain your freebies even more quickly. I need time to think it all through, and I’m going to give myself the grace and time I need to do this well.

In what area of life do you need to give yourself a little grace? Typically, January is the time to set goals and make big plans. If this is done with an unrealistic attitude, we’ll feel defeated before we know it.  Just like I’m learning to regroup and seek clarity toward what is sustainable, I encourage you to do the same. And if you want to talk about it, perhaps a soft skill strategy session would be helpful (first 30 minutes free!)

Here’s to the new year of clear vision (yes, I went there, like so many others) in 2020,

Beth

PS: If you ever want to buy me a cup of coffee, I won’t refuse it. Click here.

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A Breath of Hope for December

Hello readers!

Just a quick drop-in to let you know that the Breath of Hope page for December 2019 is ready!  You’ll find some hints, opportunities, our monthly poll, and encouragement there.

Your freebie for the month is a simple coloring sheet to help you reflect on the gift of work, and the December Hope Hints sheet is free for you as well.

In addition, one of my books will be free on Amazon for five days, so be sure to check out this month’s page to learn more about your freebies and see the other hints and the poll.

I don’t feel like I’ve had much downtime to think about content (like I hoped for when writing this greeting in November!)  December feels like it is going to be pretty full as well. I’ll continue to blog about two times a month for now, with the occasional additional greeting!

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings to All!

Beth

PS: In last month’s poll, “between 7 and 8” was to top response in terms of time when you start work. This month, I ask how many days off you receive at the holidays.

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Five Ways to Make Your Breaks Count

In many workplaces, you are provided a break or two in each day. It may be a scheduled lunch/meal break or scattered 15-minute breaks throughout your shift.  Sometimes these breaks are structured, sometimes they are not, and sometimes it’s a mix.

Breaks are also part of the lives of freelancers such as myself, and sometimes less structure is more challenging!  There are times I wish I was back on an employer-determined schedule so I’d have a consistent plan and accountability for my day. But at other times, I’m grateful that I’m personally “in-charge” of how I conduct my professional life.

No matter which style of a workday you have, it’s important to take regular breaks to recharge your mind and spirit and take care of yourself.  So here are five thoughts about how you can make your break times count for your health and benefit each day:

Try to establish some sort of schedule guideline for your breaks if your employer doesn’t already assign times.  Ideally, you should be taking a minimum 5-minute break mid-morning and mid-afternoon in addition to a meal break.
Think you don’t have time for a break? What is one thing EVERYONE does a few times a day? We go to the restroom. Take advantage of that word REST. It’s okay to slow down and linger just a bit, walk the long way around to get there, refill your water bottle, etc. It’s a built-in physical trigger reminding us breaks are necessary.
Limit using breaks to take care of personal business. Often, it’s tempting to run an errand or balance the checkbook or do some other personal business during breaks. And yes, that is efficient. But make sure at least some breaks each week are totally for restful activities. Make yourself have lunch with a friend or at the park, play a game on your phone, briefly scroll through social media, or keep a book with you that you only allow yourself to read during breaks.
Invest in the four quadrants of vital living (body, mind, soul, spirit) during your breaks each week. Walk, talk with a friend, read a good book, pray/read Scripture and inspirational materials/be still, eat healthy food, drink pure water, etc.
Change the venue of your breaks. From time to time, go outside or to a different restaurant from what you usually do. Explore your surroundings and find a variety of safe and inspiring places you might enjoy going to (i.e. parks, museums, libraries, etc.) If you have a full lunch hour and work in a city or town, you might be surprised at the exploring you can do in an hour. 

How about you? Do you have suggestions for taking a creative and restful break?

Suggested resource: a variety of fun worksheets to help you take a refreshing break are available through our Pay What You Want store.

 

Image by Igor Ovsyannykov from Pixabay

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Be Thankful for Your Job – and a Breath of Hope for November

Hello readers!

I don’t know about you, but it’s kind of hard to believe we are almost into the holiday season in the US (already are if you count Halloween.) I don’t like to rush holidays and resist anything much about Christmas until after Thanksgiving—which brings me to a good spot to tell you about your November freebies!

You may notice a little different formating on the November page of the website, and that’s because I’ve changed the name from Freebies, Features and Fun to A Breath of Hope.  I wanted to tie it to the email that goes out each month* and represent the following elements:

H – Hints (tips, tricks and thoughts to help you excel and exhale)

O – Opportunities (services and products that help you connect with hope and me)

P – Poll (the monthly quick-question poll about a variety of professional topics)

E – Encouragement – (general encouragement related to your professional—and sometimes personal) life.

Topics generally tie into one or more of four key soft skills competency areas:

H – Habits and Values

O – Organization and Time Management

P – People Skills and Emotional Intelligence

E – Engagement and Communication

Your freebie for the month is a worksheet to help you reflect on reasons to be thankful for your job, and the November Hope Hints sheet is free for you as well.  In addition, one of my books will be free on Amazon for five days, so be sure to check out this month’s page to learn more about your freebies and see the other hints and the poll.

*One other thing…for November and December (and possibly longer) I’m reducing blogging to just twice a month. The post on the 1st will remain a way to let you know about that month’s “Breath of Hope” and the second blog (the 15th) will be some sort of content like a text post or a video, or something else related to our key competencies.

My readers and followers connect in a variety of places from receiving something by email to interacting on social media in more than one venue. I want to take some time to consider how/where I offer content without it being too repetitive if someone follows in more than one place. I also need to consider the most fruitful types of content and where to place them, so I can balance content production with serving as a virtual Executive Assistant and Soft Skills Strategist. Such consideration takes time, and the holiday season seems like a good time for everyone to have one less thing to read (or write/prepare) the next couple of months. Sound good?

A Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it – I’m thankful for YOU!

Beth

PS: In last month’s poll, “less than five” was to top response in terms of notifications on phones. This month, I ask what time you get started at work.

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It’s Okay: A Powerful Word that Helps You Stay Honest … but that You Must Handle with Care

It’s the simplest of words, made up of two letters (or four, depending on the style you use, so we’ll use both in this post.)

But it’s also a powerful one, for many reasons, particularly because of its versatility.  And because of that, it must be handled with care.

It’s the word OK.

OK is described in the dictionary to mean:

assent, agreement, or acceptance.

Each of these nuances means different things … let’s break it down a bit to see how this word can be useful in everyday conversation.

You’ve selected a caterer for the office party, but need your bosses’ approval.

Assent refers to going along with something, even if perhaps not enthusiastically.

Boss:  “That’s okay with me.”  She doesn’t take the time to investigate herself, so may not show much emotion about the choice.

Agreement conveys more of an enthusiastic alignment with an idea.

Boss: “I’ve heard great things about them. This is a-okay with me!”

Acceptance is when you are willing to defer to someone else and not fight a decision or opinion, even if you think it’s not the best one.

Boss: “A friend of mine had a negative experience with them, but I’ve also heard decent reviews, and the price is right, so I’ll okay this.”

How does the word “okay” allow you to stay honest?

Because the word covers a lot of situations and has more nuances than we give it credit for, it is a protective umbrella for avoiding conflict without lying.

Let’s say that you and a co-worker have differing opinions and approaches about life. You are civil with one another and can work together on neutral projects.  But because she is a natural debater, when you have casual discussions, she tends to bait you into an argument.

Responding with “okay” to certain statements can help you stay true to your beliefs without engaging in an unproductive discussion.

Example:  Your coworker reads a news story.  “(Celebrity) says we shouldn’t _______.”  She knows you hold a certain view the celebrity doesn’t.

Your response (keep the tone professional): “OK.”

The “okay”: here simply means you accept the news story.  The short answer conveys that you don’t intend to discuss it.

(Now the coworker like this will likely egg you on, at which point you can deflect by saying something like, “I don’t wish to discuss this” or something of that sort.)

But here’s where I caution you – “ok” can also be used sarcastically, arrogantly or in anger. I was reminded of this by people who participate in my Question of the Day (QOTD) on Facebook, when I ran this word by them.  Be careful to use it wisely, not flippantly.

I am not suggesting you never civilly discuss important matters, that you squash your feelings or feedback, or that you go along with things you shouldn’t.  However the word “OK” can be a helpful initial deflector that allows you to still be honest and, hopefully, to avoid unnecessary conflict, provided you use it well.

I hope that unpacking the word “okay” has been helpful to you today.

Was it okay with you?

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Work Wisdom: A Slide Show You Can Play at Work

Time for a replay!  Here is a slide show I shared more than a year ago and I think it’s time to give it to you again! Enjoy this random collection of tips and thoughts to encourage you to excel and exhale at work!  Click on the video to watch a slide show, or read the list that follows.  And feel free to show this at a staff meeting or play on loop at your workplace. 

 

Plan ahead, but stay present.
When setting up a project, break it into small pieces, and be more generous with deadlines than you think you need to be.
When using a reminder app, make your reminders pop up at odd times. This will help you be less likely to ignore the notification or have a reminder be buried behind an appointment.
You don’t have to have an extensive filing structure in email because most email interfaces have decent search functionality. So don’t waste time trying to maintain a too-elaborate folder system.
Always, always check the contents of an attachment, AND double-check the addressee before hitting send. Even if you think you know what it is. You might see a mistake, a formatting mess, or an entirely different document, or accidentally send the email to a college or acquaintance to whom it doesn’t apply. (Been there, done that.)
Use a small whiteboard instead of scrap paper at your desk for quick notes/calculations. If you feel better keeping a record of the note, take a photo when done.
Remember that there are times when silence is the best response.
Correct privately. Praise publicly.
Email is not the enemy. How you manage it might be.
In the body of your task reminders, add links to the resources you’ll need to complete that task.

Like hints like these? How about having one show up on your calendar every day of the year? Click here to get personal access to the HOPE Hints Daily Calendar.

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October Freebies – Happy Birthday to the FFF Page

Autumn is a very pleasant time in many areas. People are enjoying cooler temperatures, football games, the routines of school, and more.

October is also a good time to tweak processes in our own lives to mitigate stress and interruption.  I recently wrote a post, Making Notifications Work for You, in which I shared suggestions for minimizing the amount of “notification clutter” on your devices.

To complement that, this month’s freebie is a worksheet Giving Notice to My Notifications.  It’s a visual aid to help you think through which notifications you still need and what should be zapped.

Our poll this month continues the theme, asking you how many notifications appear on your phone at the time of taking the poll!

The October Freebies, Features, and Fun page also marks one year of offering this monthly page.  I hope you’ve been taking advantage of it!  And to celebrate the FFF page birthday, the gift to you is that the monthly HOPE Hints sheets, with a tip for each day of the month, will now be included each month as an additional downloadable freebie!  For those that may want this in their Google calendar, click here.  Yes–365 days of tips/motivational thoughts to help you excel and exhale.

I am glad to provide you free content and encouragement to excel and exhale in your work journey. I won’t lie though…financial gifts are always appreciated. If you’d like to say “Happy Birthday” to the FFF page, you can make a donation of any amount at this link! Thank you!

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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