As busy HR professionals we use the word focus in many ways, whether it be in terms of what project we need to focus on next, what the focus of our next meeting should be or where our overall focus should be to keep in line with strategy.
What if we find ourselves having trouble with focus in the more literal sense though? We have very full schedules to maintain, and at some point we may lose sight of what is at the center of our day and miss a cue. Here are some tips that I employ to keep my productivity up when I find myself having trouble zeroing in on the task at hand.
Motherhood was something I yearned for and very much wanted. I read books on parenting and felt very prepared and a bit overconfident for my new role – until I officially became a mother. Suddenly, I was questioning myself on everything: cloth or disposable, cry it out or co-sleep, organic baby blender homemade creations or the jarred store bought variety, helicopter parent or tiger mom, and the list goes on and on. Not only was I indecisive but I was so consumed with love for this little person that I thought in order to be the best mother possible I should give up everything that defined me pre-baby and focus on this new all important role of raising a human being.
Daily occurrences mirror life and if we take note we can glean pearls of wisdom. Bring your children to your field. Expose them as much as possible. Let them know and understand what it is that you do. Make them partakers of your victories and your losses. It will be an enriching experience for all concerned. Work and the home front do not have to be mutually exclusive
Maintaining health behavior change is difficult for many people. While some of us succeed at weight loss or quitting smoking, in just a few weeks or months we’re back to our bad habits. You may wonder whether there are steps you can take to keep engaging in healthy habits once you’ve adjusted your lifestyle. In fact, there are.
What makes the difference in truly powerful leaders? How do they attract and keep loyal, committed followers? Where does their strength of conviction come from and how do we tap into it?
I believe it comes from within each of us, through a state of being I call alignment. So, what do I really mean by alignment? Aligned individuals simply love what they do, they are good at it, and what they do and why they do it are almost always tied to a purpose greater than themselves. Once an individual is truly aligned around their purpose – and thus, they are indeed living their life on purpose – this is when and where true power is revealed and released. Their mind, body, emotions, and spirit are in harmony.
There is simply no substitute for total alignment and congruency within a person or leader.
I’ve started journaling. I know, I know. The idea of journaling sounds a little hokey and geared toward someone with plenty of time on their hands and not something for working women like you and me.
In fact, if you are anything like me, you gave up on journaling sometime around 9th grade when you read through your 8th grade journal entries and discovered how theatrical you sounded. Hindsight helped you realize that spilling your soup in the Jr. High lunch line really wasn’t the end of the world.
Aside from having and mothering two very spirited girls, this is one of the best things I have done in the past few years. Here are 4 reasons why.
In my opinion finding balance between one’s work and the remainder of their life is very personal unique to every individual. What balance means for me, can be entirely different than what it means to others. Balance isn’t a constant state. Sometimes, work has to take a priority and sometimes family life does. The key is to not let one always take precedence over the other, but to ebb and flow with the situation at the time.
Nonetheless, along my career and life journey I have found a few things that work for me in terms of balance that I think are worth sharing with others who may be struggling with the issue.
Although I’ve been fortunate in my own maternity leave experiences I find that some companies still treat maternity leave as a necessary evil rather than a differentiated way to attract, retain and engage talented people.
Talk about a missed opportunity! The working moms I know are some of the most efficient workers you can get for money. They have to be so they can get home, cook dinner, fold laundry, wipe noses, change diapers, bandage boo boos, check homework, read stories, bake brownies, bring kids to bed then finish up their day jobs after the kids go to bed.
Think these women can’t handle a little work? Think again: these flexible, multitasking moms are a workforce to reckon with.
Are you familiar with the balance burden? I am referring to the burden and guilt trip we give ourselves each day over our attempt, and quite often failure, to balance all aspects (mom, caretaker, professional, student, friend etc.) of our lives. I spent my first year and a half of motherhood often riddled with guilt because I couldn’t seem to juggle it all. It wasn’t until the birth of my second daughter (18 months after my first) that I finally threw my hands up and admitted defeat. I was defeated, but not for long.
When my younger daughter went away to school this year, and my husband and I were “empty nesters” for the first time in over twenty years, I decided that I wanted to take up quilting.I have been swamped with work lately and quilting in my spare time has been a joy and a needed distraction. What do you do to stop thinking and just be?