Behind the Scene Execs

Virtual Assistant | Gilbert, AZ

Work Habits

Keep It Simple, Like Winnie the Pooh

by

I had always enjoyed Winnie the Pooh but had never truly appreciated the lovable bear until much later in life.

Early in my marriage, I remember planning a trip to Disney World and receiving zero interest nor participation from my husband in mapping out the activities. One activity that I was adamant about doing was getting my Mickey Mouse pancakes, unfortunately, at that time, you could only get them at the Character’s breakfast.

Enjoying my pancakes, I continually pointed out all the characters to my husband.

“Oh look there’s Mickey,”

“Grumble, grumble,” from my husband.

“Oh look there is Woody from Toy Story,”

“Grumble, grumble,” from my husband.

Starting to feel slightly annoyed in his lack of enthusiasm, I hear a loud voice yell, “Winnie the Pooh!” and I see in a blink of an eye my tough, burly husband running to embrace the large yellow bear with the biggest smile I had ever seen.

So many thoughts were racing through my head, “who is this man? How did I not know this…this love of Winnie the Pooh.”  I was so intrigued.

“Why do you love Winnie the Pooh so much?”

“It’s simple, Winnie the Pooh is the greatest,” my  husband shared, “Pooh is a true friend with  unwavering love.”

“What do you mean unwavering love?”

Unwavering Love

“You see Pooh has several friends and they are all different. There’s Eeyore he suffers from depression, there’s Piglet who is narcotic, the anal-retentive rabbit, Owl, the know it all, the naïve Tigger, and the nurturing mother, Kanga with her fun-loving Ru. And with all of this compilation of personality Pooh bear always manages to keep everyone together and relaxed. Pooh keeps it simple.” he replied.

Pooh allows his friends to be themselves, there’s no judgment and he never disregards their opinion. He keeps it’s simple and doesn’t ever overthink it. Everyone should try to be like Winnie the Pooh.

Apply it to Everyday Life

I thought about that. It could be applied to everything, your circle of friends, your clients, and your co-workers. Sometimes we over complicate things trying to take too much into consideration when really we just need to respect everyone- their lifestyle, their opinions, and even their faults because we all have them.

So my friends, clients, and teammates. . . Keep it simple, like Winnie the Pooh.

When you are a Bear of Very Little brain, and you Think Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.

~Winnie-the-Pooh

Balancing Work and Family Life

by

If you are like most solopreneurs you started your business with the intent of helping or making your family life better. However, balancing work and family life is one of the hardest things to manage.

The conflict between work and family life can be one of the most common sources of stress. It is important to find that balance between both. Here are just a few tips to finding your equilibrium.

Establishing limits and boundaries

Boundaries are a line of protection to draw around yourself. Determine what is acceptable for you and your family. As solopreneurs, we tend to always be in work mode. If we are not working, it’s in the back of our mind. To help solve this, set office hours and retrain your work brain to think within those hours.

Stop answering text messages and emails outside your business hours. If you feel the need to answer then schedule the message to send the next business morning. Both text and emails have delayed sending features. When you answer your clients within your set hours they will always know when to expect to hear from you.

If you work from home the lines can get blurry. I recommend staying out of your office, den, or corner of the room you occupy when you are not working. That will help avoid the temptation.

Without boundaries in place, it is difficult to say “No”.

Build a support network inside the office and outside 

Utilize your team, family and close friends to build a support network. This will help you stay on top of the balance and provide you with the positive push that can be necessary for our busy lives.

Organization

The more you organize your day the more you can accomplish. Assign tasks to a dedicated day of the week. Accounting will be Fridays mornings. Networking is Wednesdays. If that’s getting too detailed for you, create a task list and highlight what “has to be done today”.

Be reasonable with your lists. It’s easy to try to cram too much into one day. A little tip to note is block time for the random pop-ups that occur to all solopreneurs.

The more organized you are with the day the easier it is to feel a sense of accomplishment. You can confidentially walk away from the “work” day without the guilt of what should have been done weighing on you.

Sometimes you are unable to find the balance

Stuff happens. Emergencies will pop-up, don’t beat yourself up over it. A family member may be sick or there is a deadline you need to meet at work. Take note and learn from the situation to better manage it next time.

Get help

Free up your day by delegating your work. Stop trying to fight that uphill battle of doing everything yourself. If you have redundant tasks or something you struggle to do, then find a virtual assistant to complete them and take the burden off your shoulders.

Don’t know how to delegate?

Try this short exercise on how to start delegating.

With the support of your family and implementing these few tips, you can find that happy balance.