Accepting Help
Maintaining a living space should not be a one person job if more than one person lives there. But for many of us working moms, we have fallen into the habit of not asking for help. Asking for help is difficult, and accepting it is difficult too. Here are some ground rules to get you through:
- Ask for what you need. Don’t expect others will know what needs to be done. “Would you load the dishwasher please?”
- Don’t be offended at “no”. The other person may not agree. This is OK. At least you asked, and you’re no worse off than if you didn’t ask.
- Have things that can be done. When someone offers, have something for them to do. My husband may not be able to pull a whole meal together, but he can make a mean salad. My daughter is too small to handle the vacuum, but she can scrub toilets.
- No criticizing. If someone does something, don’t criticize it. It may not be done the way you would have preferred, or done it yourself, but it is done.
- No hovering. If you’re dealing with an adult, don’t supervise the task. If a child needs supervision with a task, wait until you can teach them.
- Don’t redo anything. If the task is done, it does not need to be redone. My mother folds towels differently than I do, but they were folded, and all I had to do was put them away.
- Say thank you. Even if no one ever says thank you for what you do, you must still thank your helpers.
Photo by Sarah Parrott
Why You Should Take Your Lunch Break
I have gotten in a nasty habit of eating lunch at my desk. I spend the time eating, reading blogs, or catching up on email. What I have found is that when I eat in front of the computer, I eat more, and I am hungry about an hour later. It got me thinking about my lunch break: my client insists we take a full hour for lunch. And when I actually leave my desk for an hour, the day seems shorter, and my afternoons are more productive. If you routinely eat at your desk, here are 5 [...] Continue Reading…
Getting Started: Why Try For Inner Peace?
What Is Inner Peace?
Inner peace goes by many different names: serenity, calmness, centeredness, peace. It can be likened to a feeling of calm in the storms of life (A more complete definition can be found “What Is Inner Peace?”)
Is Inner Peace Possible In Today’s World?
Our modern lives do not lend themselves to calmness. As working parents, we are pulled in all directions all the time. Our children, our jobs, our homes, our families, everything pulls at us until we feel frazzled and ready to pop.
Why Try for Inner Peace?
Getting to activities that lead us to inner peace actually [...] Continue Reading…
Napping and Pzizz
Babies do it. Dogs do it. Cats spend most of their days doing it.
Napping. An almost forgotten art.
The funny thing is that many countries outside the U.S. take napping and resting seriously. I was lamenting to an Indian co-worker last week that Americans have forgotten how to relax in our push to get more done and stay on top of our games.
In the last week, I have found a need to nap. My night sleep has been disturbed, and I find myself flagging mid-afternoon. My first thought was to grab another cup of coffee…but with my lack of [...] Continue Reading…
Saving Time: Waxing the Shower
One of my least favorite tasks is cleaning showers and tubs. The amount of effort it takes to get even a few days of soap scum off seems disproportionate to the removed material. Even with my secret tool (Gadgets We Love: Mr. Clean Erasers), I still want to minimize this time-consuming task.
My choice? I wax the shower when it is clean to prevent the buildup of soap scum and minerals and to make cleanup easier.
Why Wax?
Using a thin coat of wax on the walls will prevent, to a certain extent, the buildup of minerals and soap scum.
SAFETY NOTE
NEVER [...] Continue Reading…
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