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By Elaine, February 16, 2010 10:44 am

OK …this is not a post about bicycling….it is another cycle we are talking about here!

***This post will be helpful to all my female readers who wonder why they work differently during the course of the month. For all my male readers this post will shed some light on the amazing ways that women work.***

A very wise woman friend and co-worker of mine shared this productivity secret with me many years ago. She was the most productive person in our office… she met and actually exceeded targets…she was the company superstar.

I asked her how she did this month after month…year after year

The productivity secret wasn’t really a secret…it was something that we all know innately but have forgotten. This gal was aware of herself and her cycle and she applied this to her work and because of it she was able to work circles around all of us. It wasn’t rocket science….

Productivity Secret-There are specific times of the month that certain tasks flow better than others….

I have mentioned this in my presentations before. The room goes quiet, eyebrows are raised….yes…deep thinking is happening.  That aha moment when we realize that there are weeks of the month that we could conquer the world, write 100 proposals, build a school….and there are times of the month when you could bite the head off a small child…ok that may be a bit harsh but there are days when all you want to do is curl up with a good book and a hot cuppa.

So why for heavens sake do you plan strategic meetings on a week where the possibility of hurting your co-workers is pretty high?

Just for fun;

• Figure out where you are in your cycle right now
• Evaluate how your week is going
• Which of your Top 5 items are you accomplishing
• What things are you avoiding
• What would you rather be doing

Now you need to get deliberate about what you do and when you do it. For instance on power week plan all the activities that need your highest energy level, on the introspective week do your deep thinking….etc.

Here are some more great articles and resources that I have found about this Productivity Secret.

Miranda Gray- A 28-day plan to help you Boost  Productivity and Work satisfaction

Honoring the Feminine

Do the cycles of Moon affect us? I found this great resource at Evolving Alchemy

Now if you will excuse me I have to go and curl up in ball, pull the quilt up over my head and have a good cry!

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By Elaine, February 15, 2010 8:14 am

I was warned that this would happen…

People told me to be prepared…

Well that day has come…

I woke up this morning and the creative well is dry, it is shriveled up,  I don’t have one thing that I feel like writing about. The productivity of the past few months is fading fast.

Could it be that I have hit a creative wall?

Did the ups and mostly downs of the past 7 days finally take their toll?

Oh my…will the thrill of writing these posts and feeling the words flow seamlessly out of my fingertips on to the virtual paper come back to me?

I am sure that tomorrow or even later today I will feel inspired…I Hope!

How do you handle creative dry spells? What techniques do you use during the creative times to help with the not so creative days? Please share.

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By Elaine, February 10, 2010 11:15 am

creak….can you hear the video vault being opened?

I have been known to get up on my soapbox as you have seen in the last few weeks and I also love a good rant….

If you are Canadian then you have had the opportunity to see Rick Mercer in action…well…he is the king of rants. For my non Canadian readers you need to bookmark Rick’s youtube channel this guy is funny, smart and he really gets you thinking.

For today you get my rant…I am Ranting on the recession, the election of a new president and overconsumption…Please, ignore the dark sunglasses, the wardrobe gal forgot my other ones…just kidding I don’t have a wardrobe gal..it was Kim and we were just so excited to do this segment we did not think of the glasses…ENJOY!

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By Elaine, February 2, 2010 9:15 am

If you ask anyone that knows me really well… TODAY they will say that I am a Ready, Fire, Aim kinda gal….Well it has not always been that way. They will probably say that I have no fear and really do Take Charge! in my life….

It was not always so…and how does someone go from having a difficult time with decisions, becoming stuck at every turn and letting great things pass you by because you were waiting for the PERFECT time to do something….to someone who jumps at opportunities and loves challenges.

Life happens….and I am sure it happens to everyone at some point or another…mine happened one day when I could not live the life I had and wanted something different…but I did not know that yet.

I had to put the need for perfection into perspective, I had to stop being afraid and lastly I had to stop procrastinating. Procrastination is essentially postponed decisions…the last step in my evolution was to start making decisions, decisions that are right for me…and not being afraid of mistakes….

For more information on Procrastination please read this awesome article by Monica Ricci.

Finally be honest with yourself today….what decisions are you postponing and if you took a stand and made the decision where would that road lead to?

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By Elaine, January 25, 2010 6:59 am

Today while catching up on several blogs and cleaning out my in-box I was struck by a very simple message from a hard working guy,Gary Vaynerchuk , a guy who says what he means and means what he says…and these 9 words he said hit me like an ICEBERG…”HARD WORK is never not part of the formula”.

I got a visual on this very simple message right away and it was an ICEBERG. Typically only one-tenth of the volume of an iceberg is above water…that means that the 9/10 that is unseen is holding up that 1/10 that you do see…now lets compare this to the amount of work that goes into an “Overnight SUCCESS”.

Investigate any of the so called overnight successes and you will find the story behind the story;

Lady Gaga started playing piano at 4, writing songs at 13, playing in bars at 16, was rejected more times than she can count and never gave up. At 23 she is an Overnight Success!

Adam Lambert has been a stage actor since 10, at age 20 he was acting in musicals and in 2005 started his music career. In 2009 at age 27 he was runner up for American Idol…another overnight SUCCESS!

In 1990 Jack Canfield shared his vision for the Chicken Soup Series with Mark Victor Hansen, which he had been contemplating for years. After 3 years of compiling stories the first book was published and October of 1993 hit the best seller list. Was this another instance of overnight SUCCESS?

Do I need to continue..I think you get what I am saying!

Next time the little green monster shows up when discussing someone else in regards to their Overnight SUCCESSs..think about that Iceberg and that fact that you have only seen 1/10 of what that person did to get to where they are and then ask yourself if you are willing to do the HARD WORK necessary to be an Overnight SUCCESS.

Again, I would like to thank Gary Vee who’s latest post  inspired me on this post…OH, by the way you are seeing 1/10 th of the work that was put into what you are reading…

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By Elaine, October 7, 2009 9:50 am

I love doing things for the first time… today is my first time with a guest post.
Let me introduce Josh Hanagarne, World’s Strongest Librarian who I had the pleasure of meeting in September through another blog I read , Men with Pens. I immediately wanted to know more about Josh and his amazing story. My goal with this blog is to help you to Take Charge! and get rid of what’s holding you back….well I think Josh’s story will help get you back in the drivers seat… it did for me. Enjoy!

The World's Strongest Librarian

Everyone has times when they hurt.  Everyone has moments that feel intolerable. Unbearable. And yet, what feels like the breaking point is seldom anything of the kind. How can I say this? Because unless you’re breaking point kills you, it was bearable.

What do you know about it?

When I was 20 years old, my body and brain betrayed me. I was walking down the street in Washington D.C. when suddenly I hit myself in the face with all the strength I had. This did not endear me to the other people on the street.

But they weren’t nearly as surprised as I was.

About ten years before that, I had been diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome. Whatever you know or have heard about TS, it boils down to two things:

1. It makes you move involuntarily
2. It makes you vocalize involuntarily

During my teenage years, my symptoms were very mild. Lots of throat clearing, blinking, mild twitches, etc. It actually made me more interesting to people. What attention-hungry teen doesn’t like having a built in icebreaker?

Things Fall Apart

After that first punch, things never settled down again. The opposite, in fact. I screamed every 2-3 seconds involuntarily, remember until I got a hernia.  I hurt myself constantly. I couldn’t go outside. I couldn’t attend school. I was smart and competent and had all the potential in the world, but no hope.

A decade passed in this manner. Finally I got so furious with the situation that I said, “I do not care what I look like, I am going back out in public.”

And I did. And it was miserable for a while.

Two Reactions

There are two things people usually feel when I tell this story. I don’t necessarily want you to feel either one, but I’m going to tell you what the normal reactions are:

1. Wow, how inspiring!
2. I could never deal with that. How does he do it?

Inspiration

The reason I don’t intend for this story to inspire is because all I did is what everyone does when they’re dealt a bad hand.

I survived.

And while I survived, I figured out how to fight. But it took a long time. For too many years, I made the choice to mope and mourn. I didn’t struggle.  I didn’t press on. I curled up in my bed and felt sorry for myself.

How much time did I waste? How many minutes that I can’t get back? I am happy that people appreciate this story. Just bear in mind that I took far too long in resisting. I was willing to be the victim for far too long.

As to point two: maybe you couldn’t deal with it, but you don’t have to. That’s the point. You have your own pain to deal with. You have your own , where is the hardest thing in your life.

And like me, you have a choice. Do you mope or do you take charge? Do you fight or do you watch the sand run out of the hourglass?

Life it too short to deal with on its terms. Make it deal with you. Do not wait. Make a change today. If you are in a situation you cannot control, introduce something that you can control and get yourself some wins.

You’ll be glad you did.

Things are never so bad that they can’t improve.

You always have a choice. You can always choose how you react. You can always control your mind and master your perceptions.

You are not the passenger, you are the driver.

Always.

Josh The World's Strongest Librarian

About the Author: Josh Hanagarne is the twitchy giant behind World’s Strongest Librarian, a blog about living with Tourette’s Syndrome, book recommendations, buying pants when you’re 68, old-time strongman training, and much more. Please subscribe to Josh’s RSS Updates to stay in touch.

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By Elaine, October 1, 2009 2:56 pm

I am normally an energetic, enthusiastic WAHM(work at home mom) that lives on this side of optimism…rolling along with whatever comes my way and always seeing the bright sunny side to every situation.

OK…not so much lately…I have been a real Bitch…I could have used a different word or perhaps put symbols for the letters but it would not convey how I have been acting and feeling….Just ask my family… I am not me, and it has really been bothering me…not losing sleep bothering me, but a Bitchy bothering. I went through this checklist, much like Santa does just before sending out those goodies.

PMS - on certain days but not for a whole month or two!

The Scream by Edvard Munsch

Perimenopause – Could be, I am at that ripe age for this.

Depression - Been there, done that, not all the right symptoms.

I could not figure it out…and believe me after years of being in a fog I needed to figure it out!

Then…while catching up on some blog reading and more blog reading, I ended up here http://wahmbizbuilde.com/ and OMG… the answer to my angst was right there in front of me… I was thinking to myself “was she thinking of me as she wrote those words, was she watching me, did she know of my plight personally,are there other people like me”….it was as if the words were there just for me.

And there it was in a funny”Law of Attraction” kind of way, the answer found me… I had my explanation for this “situation“.  This is what I found.

“One of the biggest issues facing you as a work-at-home mom is the potential for burnout. You thought it would be easier to work from home, but why do you feel so exhausted all the time?

When you have to run around frantically every day to keep your business going, take care of your home and try to fit in family time, you’re stressed and unhappy. And you eventually burn out….”

Ok… so now I know that I am not going crazy or slipping into a vortex of depression… yahoo…wait… is that some enthusiasm slippping out… now that I have named it and claimed it, what next?

Time to pull out the strategy tool box, so here are my old stand-bys. Taking a daily walk, visiting my parents in the country (doing that this weekend), decluttering anything (I find this therapeutic)… and finally getting out of my house and seeing real people… I did that last night at the Red Whale with some other business WOMEN. This last one has not been an issue until recently, over the past 2 years I am spending less time with people and more time working on product so I am tied to the computer more that I am used to.

I love to teach others and I constantly take life situations and turn them into a classroom… my kids will attest to that…I drive them crazy with the life lessons.

Did you know there are over 900,000 self employed women in Canada, this is a 2007 statistic,  imagine what the global numbers would be today! I am part of a growing global trend , this is not a decision I made lightly and do not take it lightly or for one moment do I regret it… I would not change it for anything. However, there are times when you just need some help.

This is where the teaching and for me… learning part comes in. I will put my student hat on and would love for you to be the teacher.

Would you please share your SUCCESS strategies for dealing with WAHM burnout. Not just for me but for all the WAHM’s out there just like me who need a little help… to quote one of my all time favourite bands….

I get by with a little help from my friends…

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By Elaine, September 20, 2009 1:01 pm

“If you can dream it you can achieve it” ….Zig Ziglar

For the past six years I have been driven by a single mission. I want to show people how to get organized and not just tell them. Sometimes the things I did made sense and brought me closer to the dream and some days I felt completely lost…

As the days count down to the launch of the Organizing the Bedroom- From Cluttered Nightmares to Sweet Dreams Video set I am reminded that everyone has a dream.

The dream could be…  to meet your soulmate, eliminate poverty, find a cure for Breast Cancer, find a career that fulfills you or create a product that will make someone’s life just a wee bit better.

I would like to share a lovely inspirational montage of the journey towards the DREAM that I have shared with an amazing person… Kim Eagles,my business partner and dear friend. Kim created this awesome video that really sums up the past two years.

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By Elaine, September 3, 2009 7:37 am

I was feeling delight and joy after stumbling upon this new TV series last night while channel surfing. After spending an hour with these spunky Glee kids I want more. I laughed, I was touched, I was pissed at how badly kids get treated if they are different, and yes it brought back memories for me…. but most importantly I was inspired. High School is a caste system, kids fall into certain slots… where do the glee kids fall… in the subbasement.

Here is a quote from one of the reviewers online “Everyone is searching for something. And usually what they’re searching for is to be heard or to be seen.”

It’s witty, sarcastic, inspirational…and gosh darn the music is really good.

Glee is a show about seeing the gifts in you that you did not know you had. At the end of the day what is more important finding your passion….or having a glue gun that works…

You may not have been able to Take Charge! back in High School, but you can now. Treat yourself to this entertaining 1 hour show next week. By walking down memory lane with these spunky kids you just might be inspired to Get Rid of some of the memories that may be holding you back!

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By Elaine, August 18, 2009 1:13 pm

It has taken almost five years for me to make this first step to writing a blog. With all the blogs already out there I thought what can I say that is new or novel or interesting. I guess if you look at the individual components of my life they may seem quite ordinary, however when you combine the stuff that I have had the pleasure of experiencing it is quite interesting.

* I grew up in a hearing impaired home, we were the loud mouth baby bass family! I was the hearing abled child.
* I walked away from an 11 year career in the middle of an ordinary day, well it was ordinary for everyone else.
* My hubby works away a week at a time. I am part time single mom, having the bed to yourself is not all that bad.
* I had depression of the post partum variety, this certainly helped to put everything into perspective.
* I have a child who has allergies so bad that if I could, I would turn him into “Bubble Boy”, he has protested that one.
* I live with people who have a variety of sensory issues; shirt feels scratchy, peas are too soft, blah, blah, blah
* I have OCD, ADHD and a few other letters behind my name. Fortunately I have learned to use them to my advantage.
* Oh did I mention that working outside the home is virtually impossible so I work virtually. I am considered a WAHM (Work at Home Mom).

I will share my time saving healthy recipes, time saving organizing tips, business building ideas, introduce you to my favorite people, parenting stuff that works for us and pretty much anything that is on my radar.

Communicating and networking are two of my favorite things so please leave comments and introduce yourself. I want to follow you on twitter, we can become friends on facebook or perhaps we can connect on linked in.

This blog is going to be a journal of sorts of all the weird and wacky things that I do every day to live optimistically regardless of life’s endless stream of circumstances. They are my musings on how I can change my part of this world and I hope that you can find some inspiration in them to change yours.

So I will close today with my favorite quote by Mahatma Gandhi.

“You must BE the change you want to see in the world”.