” Fatigue is the enemy of creativity and memory. It costs American businesses $63 billion a year in lost productivity.”
I find the above statement extrememly provocative. It came from the full post by Arianna Huffington for Harvard Business Review. Read it for yourself in the link below and tell me what you think.
Posted by clovebarros on June 20, 2013
https://iampromom.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/health-fatigue-and-business/
Those in your world are relying upon you to be healthy, coherent and occasionally on your “A” game. Easier said than done. Some days rely heavily on Fake It Til You Make It but that is no fun!
Take care of yourself in the big ways and small ways so that you can enjoy all aspects of your life on and off the clock.
Daily Quiet Focus: Read more on this from Tuesday’s post. I won’t hammer the point here. Carve out time to check in daily even if it seems like one more task. It isn’t. Consider it oxygen.
Exercise: There is no perfect just done. Don’t get hung up any particular program. Just commit to a minimum of 20 minutes a day. Moderate to high intensity activity in bite size pieces.
Music: Have a playlist for all needs on hand during your days hi-s and low-s. And while you are at it, energize your workout with some new music. There is a great link from Julz Arney for ACE Fitness on resources that can help motivate your workout.
Sleep: Quality and quantity. Kids need sleep and technology doesn’t sleep ergo mom should sleep. Arianna Huffington wrote an entire post for The Harvard Business Review on Naps. Some places in our corporate culture have identified the importance of rest to give us an edge in business. We can’t all siesta daily but we should consider a good night’s sleep a healthy pursuit.
Laughter: Before you pick up the phone to call a colleague and vent please consider laughter a better medicine. Use your lifeline to call a friend who you know will frame the situation in humor and make you laugh till your sides hurt. Or better yet, watch a clip of a favorite show on Youtube. I suggest that by watching Bill Cosby, Friends or Big Bang Theory for 5 minutes, you will be blessed with a pick me up and a breather.
Clean Your Car: Don’t you feel like a million bucks when the inside of your car is clean? Under the kid seat are goldfish crackers that you can smell. Clean out your car weekly ( vacuum please ) and choose this time to also wipe down the ipad and cell phone too because they get alot of abuse.
Fuel: Choices! Isn’t that what we say to our kids? Well it is beneficial for moms as well. Food is fuel and having a supply of healthy fuel on hand will keep your budget on track and your car from sitting in the drive thru of regret. I always have in my car & briefcase a bag of almonds, a can of unsweetened Green Tea and a banana. I am not fond of bananas but they serve a purpose. Fuel doesn’t have to be fun or a favorite.
Easy on the Caffeine: Too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing. Caffeine will disrupt your sleep cycles and tax your adrenal glands. Plus most women I know drink high calorie and high sugar coffee drinks that feel like a treat BUT are not a good reward. For the same price of the daily drinks you can treat yourself with a massage at month end or as one mom I know did, hired a house cleaner. Jackpot!
Vitamins and Water: Invest in a high quality Multi Vitamin, a Co-Enzymated B Complex, a Stress Formula and 64 ounces of water a day. There are a few other supplements I am devoted too but the above are truly about maintaining a sustained level of energy all day long. Plus they will help fend off the need for caffeine.
Save a Vacation Day as Kid Free: This suggestion sounds crazy especially if you are using all of your vacation to cover school breaks and sick kiddos. However if at any way possible schedule 1 day a quarter to be on vacation AND kid free. Think Barnes and Noble without distraction… the beach without 2 bags, a tent and a cooler…or just lay in bed , drink tea and watch Netflix for 6 hours. Call it selfish or unrealistic but I call it a Mommy Mental Health Day. Encourage your friends to do the same and you can create your own Mental Health Co-op.
Organize your wellness plan because an awesome hard-working mom like you can show the family how to make health a priority. Happy Wednesday!!
Posted by clovebarros on June 19, 2013
https://iampromom.wordpress.com/2013/06/19/working-mom-wellness-realistic-and-wholistic/
I am going to confess something. Here goes:
Most days I am winging it.
As far as parenting my darlings go I have a Wing and a prayer. I am blessed with two young kids who are five years apart and I have no previous experience in this sort of conflict resolution. I am an only child. ‘Nuf said.
To add insult to injury, kids change. What worked 6 months ago no longer applies today. This weekend I was a mix of zany parent and screaming meanie. Now mind you that my 8 year old pulled some real doozies leading the 3 year old along but I suppose that is to be expected. What was unexpected was my regression of late into what I know to be an ineffective style of parenting……The Drill Sergeant. Yep that was totally me.
Rwarrrrr!
Are you familiar with Love and Logic Parenting types? If not then click the link here and explore a fabulous new world. I love the resources and am currently on a self correcting course back to sanity.
I found myself focused on my kiddo’s lack of impulse control yet I was falling apart at the seams in a total lack of self control. Feeling a bit nutty I had to remind myself that the fruit of the spirit is not a coconut. In other words – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and ( drum roll please ) S-E-L-F C-O-N-T-R-O-L.
Yup I was pretty much lacking um All The Above. Deep breath and a great big do-over.
Have you ever found yourself holding a one way ticket on your own personal crazy train? I sure did and do and I am sure will again.
This is what helps me get back on track: My Morning Time.
5:30 Wake and Wander
5:45 Prayer in the Sitting Up Position
6:00 Quiet Study and Reading Time with Tea
Lest you think me overly simplistic here, this is easier said than done.
I call it wake and wander because I am not a morning person and once I am up the dogs expect things of me. I shuffle, then feed the hounds so they will hush up, then circle around for a bit and then get settled. I need quiet. I need to sort myself out. I am not a morning person.
Prayer in the sitting up position is necessary otherwise I fall victim to the sleeping position. Now the wondrous thing happens that when I get closer to Quiet Study time I am kind of coherent enough to pour a cup of tea ( I prefer coffee but I broke my coffee pot at the beginning of screaming meanie day which explains alot )
By the time I am reading, I am calm and ready for the arrival of the 2 other non-morning people I birthed.
Consider it the Oxygen Mask in the Emergency Landing scenario…you know the one…make sure you fasten your oxygen mask before helping your child with theirs.
But instead of landing I am preparing our day for a successful takeoff!
Posted by clovebarros on June 18, 2013
https://iampromom.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/parenting-its-not-you-its-me/
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”
Oh, if only Shakespeare could weigh in on the dialogue in my head lately about mom labels. I have been thinking about mine in the context of how do I define myself? So many options to choose from : Mom, Step Mom, Forever Mom, Working Mom, Stay at Home Mom, Work From Home Mom, Room Mom, PTO Mom, Single Mom, Homeschool Mom, Dance Mom, Soccer Mom, Stage Mom and my personal favorite…Slacker Mom. And somehow there is an internal and at times external judgment based on stereotype.
So does one label vs another make me a bad mom or a better mom? Mostly I would qualify as a Work Outside Of and From My Home Mom. That’s a mouthful. And I am embracing that being the primary breadwinner in our family means that I am also including Career Focused Mom into my identity. Balance Schmalance!
You can read the crazed headlines about whether being a working mom is good or bad for kids. I am tired of entertaining that conversation. To be totally honest, I at times wish I didn’t have to work. Then there are weeks, like immediately following Christmas break, where I am soooo excited to head out and feel focused on my professional life. Hello!!! Kids are alot of work and that lead me to my big epiphany this week. I am Pro Mom period.
I love moms. All of em. I would love to got to a homeschooling conference and hear all the awesome resources my best friends can use to raise up their families and structure their home life. I want to talk about all of the nuances of having a nanny and the fears that can be associated with it. I read Working Mother Magazine because I enjoy reading about other moms hustling in home/ business juggling. Truly the “having it all” dream of balance is a fantasy.
My current book selection is Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. It has been applauded and panned all over the webisphere. I read it on a recommendation and am glad I did. I couldn’t put it down. Blue Highlighter all over the place, not pretty. 180 plus pages in 2 days. Some things I agree with and some I struggle with and some just made me plain sad. And you know what? All is worth discussing. Leadership for women has traditionally been a sticky subject.
It made me realize that all aspects of motherhood are valuable to the community at large. Why? Because moms are appointed leaders.
Do you work outside of home? Do you feel you have to hide the fact that you are a mom, first and foremost, when you are doing business? I spoke with a colleague a few years back over lunch. We were discussing home life when she let it slip that she had a grandchild. Then she asked that I wouldn’t share that fact with her associates, who were predominantly male and younger, because she thought it would devalue her in their eyes. What!? I thought she was a rock star and she was worried it was a weakness.
Are you raising you homeschooling your kidlets? You are my hero! I want to scream from the rooftops that no matter where we are in the process , raising infants to teens, it is all a part of our calling to raise a new generation who can contribute with integrity and strong minds in the days to come.
And I am definitely done apologizing ( primarily to myself ) for being more Murphy Brown than Michelle Dugger. Maybe someday I will homeschool my grandkids…. but today I will celebrate what God has given me as a working mom with a community of amazingly diverse friends and family.
Posted by clovebarros on June 17, 2013
https://iampromom.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/moms-and-labels/
Check back in on Monday June 17th
Posted by clovebarros on June 13, 2013
https://iampromom.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/coming-soon/
| Wednesday Wellness:… on Parenting: It’s Not You… | |
 | Trouble in the House… on Moms and Labels |
 | clovebarros on Moms and Labels |
 | leona laurie on Moms and Labels |
 | Christi on Moms and Labels |
i am pro mom 