Healthy Life
Taking Care of You
As a small business owner, your business can be operating like a well-oiled machine, but if you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re going to be stressed out. It’s ironic that when things are going really well, we typically end up spending MORE hours on our jobs because we’re just having so much fun and we’re seeing all the fantastic benefits of hard work.
To be a healthy person, you need to be a well-rounded person. Here are a handful of tips to make sure your business isn’t taking over your life at the expense of your health and well-being:
- Get physical
You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again – regular exercise reduces anxiety, combats obesity, and makes you a nicer person to be around. If you are sitting on your rear in front of the computer most of the day, you have to find some way to move your body on a regular basis. It can be as simple as a 15 minute walk first thing in the morning, or as intense as a 2 hour gym workout. Just choose something and do it. Commit to this for three weeks and you will probably develop a life long healthy habit.
- Get some rest
I’m willing to bet that at least once in the past month, you’ve found yourself up way too late, finishing one last work project, answering one more email, or putting the finishing touches on one last product. On an occasional basis, these nocturnal escapades are no big deal, But burn the midnight oil night after night after night, and you’re frying yourself. Not only does sleep deprivation make you anxious, edgy and unable think clearly, it also makes it harder for you to work at peak efficiency. Set a bedtime, and stick to it.
- Get a hobby
You will probably laugh at this, thinking you don’t have time for a hobby. But the truth is, you don’t have time NOT to have a hobby! Whether it’s knitting, canoeing, genealogy, cooking, or grooming llamas, you need something that will provide balance to your life. There will be days when the business side of things isn’t going so well, and you will need an escape. Get a hobby before you’re forced to find one.
- Connect
Connecting with those around you is critical to minimizing your stress. At the end of your life, you’re going to be worried more about the people you love and less about the business you created. Show your family and friends how important they are to you NOW by giving them their rightful share of your time. The bonus? It will calm your anxiety when you know you’re investing time where it’s going to matter most throughout your lifetime.
It will take time to get all of these items as part of your regular routine, but stick with it, if you do your health, mind and family will all be more appreciative, as will your clients and business!
Happy Canada Day!
Yesterday on News 95.7, my favourite daytime radio station (It’s a talk show and yes, I am addicted to calling in – sometimes I feel like I am in a 12 step program when I call – ahem… It’s Kathy, from Dartmouth, yes)…
Anyhow, morning host, Andrew Krystal, was asking people all morning to call in and say what they felt were the greatest things about being Canadian and he also kept on his point of view that there were 3 more distinct regions than any others in Canada – the East Coast, Quebec and the Northern Territories.
Of course being from the East Coast, I agreed on that point, but I felt (as did several callers) that other areas of Canada probably have some uniqueness about themselves as well. It’s just that we may not hear them or they may not be as vocal or visual as us! Just ask anyone at a recent conference with me… they all knew where I was from!
I have lived in several provinces and visited almost every province but four, and having lived 34 of my 42 years in Nova Scotia or PEI, I am fiercely proud of the East (and in particular Nova Scotia) and what is has to offer people who live here as well as work and visit. I am also glad to be a Canadian and living in a country that many others view as a good and fair country that values it citizens. I wouldn’t trade living in Nova Scotia, or Canada for anything.
It’s Canada Day, go out and Celebrate!
The Anticipation is building…
Well… here it is Tuesday and I am all packed and ready to go to my first ever conference with fellow virtual assistants.
I am heading to Niagara Falls, Canada for the Forum on Virtual Assistance (FoVA) to learn and share and connect with many people in the VA industry.
I have been networking online for almost a year now at VAnetworking, CVAC and several other places. I have also been working with, or creating friendships with, other VAs that I met online.
Networking online can be scary for some people but I love it. In fact, in my banking days, I had several jobs that had me connecting with others via telephone – and really it is the same principle, even if it was in the days before cell phones or email. I encountered these people daily in my job, but never face to face. I met my husband from a friend I worked with ‘virtually’ in 1988. She and I finally met, a friendship was created that still exists today; and her fiancé introduced me to my husband. If I had never taken the time to meet her at the bank function for all the departments, my life would have been very different.
My favourite aspect of online or telephone networking is when the time comes that you finally have an opportunity to meet those people in person – face-to-face. I find this really solidifies any online or remote relationship and takes it to another level.
So, my bags are ready, the family is kicking off school early to drive me to the airport and I cannot wait to get there and meet all my ‘friends’.
Watch out FoVA here I come!
Tell them … now
This is a bit of a follow-up to my post on Jan 5th…
A friend from a business networking club informed our group today that he has some serious health issues and will be out of our group for a while as he undergoes some treatments.
A shock for everyone … and then the concern for our friend hit home. With that came the realization that it could be anyone of us making that announcement.
Time and life are both very precious commodities and should be treasured. As the New Year starts off and you are taking your “inventory”, please remember not only to be thankful for your friends and family – but to tell them. Make sure people know what they mean to you, by telling them directly!
Holiday Stress… business style
Well, it’s November, and it’s probably happening again in offices all over the world, the call of the Christmas Card.
They are sitting on the corner of your desk, or even in the closet because you still have them from last year. These are the boxes of cards you bought last year will all intentions of mailing them out to your clients, but the evil of time won out again, and they stayed in the box instead of in your clients’ mailboxes. Just thinking about them, adds to your stress level in an already stressful time.
Always on your mind,because they don’t seem as important as all the other projects calling out to get done. But truly, mailing these cards out each year is a valuable tool to maintaining and growing great business relationships. However, unless you actually mail them, they are of no help.
A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a prefect solution to this problem. In a few short hours, a VA can have all your cards written out, even with a personal message, addressed and ready for your signature and mailing.
What better way to show your clients, and others, that you value their business, by sending them a handwritten card and getting in their on time.
Many VA businesses offer this service and location doesn’t matter, there is always a way to make it work. Creativity and finding solutions to doing business virtually is a trait of many VAs.
Time on Task is offering a special this season on our Card Services, so if you feel you have no time for those cards again this year, get in touch with us. Within a week we can have your cards ready to be mailed out, and on time!
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