Tag Archives: motivation

Motivating Your Team To Do Better Starts With You

Standard
Motivating Your Team To Do Better Starts With You

Putting together the right team is arguably one of the most challenging aspects of running a business these days. You can have all of the right ideas and strategies, but without a competent team to help you turn them into a thriving business, it’s going to be a daily uphill struggle. In order to help motivate your team, it’s important not to look at what they’re doing but how you conduct your business. You also need to think about how you speak to your team, how you interact with them through your work, and ultimately how you run your business:

Your actions and attitude will reflect in your team:

When people talk about company culture, they often think about how your team functions and acts as a whole. Things like ideas and attitudes tend to be quite infectious, and they usually spread throughout an office. But where does that chance come from? It’s certainly not just your employees!

The key here is you; the boss. When you run a business, your ideas and the way you behave often reflect on your team. You’re the person that your team looks to when they need guidance, so your personality and attitude will constantly affect the people around you. This is why a motivated team leader often leads to a motivated team. As such, you need to be more diligent about how you conduct your business. Stay motivated, be positive, and don’t forget to work with your team in order to run a better business.

Think about the future of your team:

Teams should be fluid. They should be able to change and adapt to market conditions and you should be open to trying new things in order to stay ahead of the curve. It’s a good idea to think about using brands such as STL to help you train your team and motivate them to learn new skills. New knowledge is great because it helps your team members be better employees, but it also provides them with a sense of safety and security knowing that you’re willing to invest in them. In short, think about how you want your team to be in the future. Think about the responsibilities you want them to have and consider the skills and knowledge they need to carry them out.

A healthy boss means a healthy team:

One of the most underrated ways to start protecting your business is to look after your health. When you pay more attention to your personal health, it leads to a much stronger business because you’re able to make decisions quickly and efficiently, and your focus on personal health will extend to your team members. A business can’t function correctly if it’s not healthy at the core. Think about how much you push yourself and your team, and always take frequent breaks to ensure that you’re not overdoing it. Look after your health and take note of team members who are stressed or struggling with their work.

A great team starts with a great boss so always strive to improve yourself so your business can improve too!

Featured Image By: Unsplash

Advertisement

Getting Motivated To Move House

Standard
Getting Motivated To Move House

Don’t like your home? Keep talking about moving, but never do it? Many of us put off moving for years. Now could be the time to finally take the plunge and consider moving to a home where you feel happier. Below are a few tips to help motivate you to move:

Prioritize your mental/physical health:

If a home is bad for your mental or physical health, this is a sure sign that you need to move. For example, if you feel unsafe, if you are being kept awake by noise, or if you are struggling to get up and down stairs to your home, these could all be good reasons to move.

Sometimes problems can be solved without moving. For example, you may be able to secure your property to make you feel safer, reduce neighbor noise levels by stopping by and having a conversation, or install a stair lift to a staircase. However, these may not always be viable options, in which case you need to move to prevent further damage to your mental or physical health.

Realize there may never be a right time:

Some people put off moving because there never seems to be a right time to make the move. However, sometimes you have to accept that there may never be a right time. While it’s true that you need to be able to dedicate a lot of time and energy to the moving process, you need to realize that there may always be other events to work around. While it can be stressful preparing for a move and also preparing for a new child, starting a new job, or handling a family loss, many people manage it – and you’ll feel much better once it’s done.

Get the right professional help:

Because moving can be such a monumental task, it can often be worth hiring professional help. If you’re planning on selling your home, you could enlist the help of agents or selling directly to a home buying company. If you need help with decluttering, there are skip hire companies and professional declutterers you can use. There are also companies that can help tidy and stage your home. It does mean spending extra money, but it could take away the stress, which can be a big turn off when it comes to moving.

Know when to accept financial loss:

Many homeowners will put off moving because they haven’t built up enough equity and are worried that the money made from selling their home won’t cover the expense of moving costs. Others even find that their home has lost value over time and stay put. Meanwhile, many renters will stay to the end of a contract to avoid having to pay penalties.

While in many cases it’s worth avoiding these financial losses, there may be times when it’s better to accept them. A good example is when your health or safety is at stake – it’s not worth sticking it out in a home that is potentially dangerous to live in. Similarly, if you’re spending huge amounts of money on repairs or on bills, you could find that you actually save money in the long run by moving.

It’s hard to find motivation for such a huge task like moving but, once you do, there will be no stopping you from moving into your dream home!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Top Tips To Start Your Day Off Right

Standard
Top Tips To Start Your Day Off Right

Are you a morning person or do you find it impossible to feel energized and motivated until at least 10 AM? Getting the morning off to a good start sets the tone for the rest of the day. If you struggle to get up or you feel like you rarely start the day with energy and enthusiasm, here are some simple tips to help you make positive changes:

Establish a sleep routine:

Most people don’t want to jump out of bed as soon as their alarm goes off because they are tired, and staying under the covers is a much more appealing option. If you experience tiredness in the mornings, it’s a good idea to review your sleep routine. You might not be getting enough sleep or your body clock may be out of kilter. Try to establish a routine, which involves setting a time to go to sleep and get up in the morning. Stick to those times as much as possible to enable your body clock to adjust and ensure that you get the rest you need.

Stretch:

Stretching is a brilliant way to make your body feel more alive and get your mind ready for the day ahead. Take five or ten minutes to stretch your body, do a yoga session, or enjoy benefits from Surya Namaskar sun salutations. Stretching is beneficial for your joints and muscles, it increases flexibility and suppleness,  reduces stress, and makes you feel calmer and more focused. The beauty of daily stretching is that you can do it whenever and wherever you like. You can follow workouts or guided sessions or simply do your favorite stretches when you wake up, you have a break at work, or there are a few minutes to spare after dropping the kids off at school.

Eat a healthy, balanced breakfast:

Most of us are familiar with the old adage, ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’. Eating breakfast fires up your digestive system and it can help to raise energy levels and prevent you from experiencing hunger and a lack of energy and motivation later in the day. Try to opt for nutritious foods and meals such as wholemeal toast with poached eggs or avocado, oatmeal, whole grain cereals, omelets, and fruit and natural yogurt. Foods that release energy slowly will help you stay fuller for longer.

Get organized the night before:

Stress and anxiety can make it difficult to sleep. If you know you’ve got an important meeting the next day, you won’t have time to go out and buy lunch, or you need to look sharp, get organized the night before. Make a wrap, salad, or sandwich to take with you, decide what you’re going to wear, pack your bag, and take half an hour before you go to bed to de-stress and relax. Run a bath, read a book, watch TV, listen to music, or meditate. Avoid checking emails, scrolling through social media, or doing anything that will stress you out or stimulate your mind late at night.

Some people jump out of bed in the morning ready to attack the day, but for many, it’s a struggle to get motivated. If you find it hard to approach the day with energy and vigor, use these simple tips to get every day off to the best possible start!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Spring Cleaning: It’s Never Too Early To Start!

Standard
Spring Cleaning: It’s Never Too Early To Start!

Although spring time feels like it’s just around the corner, we still have a while to go until moderate temperatures and beautiful flowers blooming. However, it is never too early to start some spring cleaning to breathe some freshness into your home after a long and claustrophobic almost year of living during a pandemic. I, myself, did a fair bit of pre-spring cleaning during a random day off last week and once I was done, the atmosphere in my apartment felt much more relaxed from pecking away at the clutter. I plan on utilizing the following mental bullet points I came up with as I continue to clean up my place:

Get Prepared:

This may seem like a no brainer to have all of the necessary supplies handy to employ in your cleaning but, sadly, it’s not for me because I always forget to buy them when I’m grocery shopping! Trust me, your motivation to clean will quickly dissipate when you realize you don’t even have a sponge. Prior to your cleaning day, make sure you have everything you will need. Whether this be renting a dumpster bin through Bins Toronto for a massive haul away or picking up all of the products to deep clean your bathroom with, it’s better to do it beforehand. This way, you won’t be scrambling (Or completely not want to clean!) on your planned spring cleaning day.

Work In Sections:

Lighten the mood of the overwhelming dread that comes with saying “I’m going to clean the house today” to “I’m going to clean the living room today”, instead. Breaking your cleaning process up into sections will make it much less daunting of a task. You will also be able to really deep clean if you work room by room as opposed to a lighter cleaning all over. Before I did my pre-spring cleaning, I decided that I wanted to put all of  my laundry away and clean the kitchen and coffee table that were both very cluttered. I set an achievable cleaning goal and I felt good about the fact that I spent the extra time to do it the best I could.

Providing individual attention to each room will make your entire house feel more open, lighter, and relaxed.

Make It Fun:

Cleaning is hard work but it doesn’t have to be a totally miserable process! I always seem to get my best cleaning done when I have music playing. Then, not only am I cleaning but I am also starring as lead vocals, back up vocals, and guitar in all of my favorite songs. Hey, whatever works! Whether it be listening to music, motivating yourself with Starbucks, or dictating your memoirs – do what you can to make cleaning an, if not enjoyable, than slightly less awful of a chore for you.

Starting your spring cleaning early will make it feel like your house fast forwarded into April and, I don’t know about you, but that sounds great to me!

Feeling Blah? Change Things Up!

Standard
Feeling Blah? Change Things Up!

Hey! I don’t know about all of you but, some days, I just feel totally blah. The weather is gloomy, COVID-19 makes me so worried, and the state of the world is very stressful. It’s also easy to feel even more down and out when all of your normal activities with friends, families, and clubs have been postponed until safer times. I’m sure that all of us are itching for a big change and, until that happens, it’s up to us to keep ourselves positive and motivated. Small changes that you can accomplish, despite everything going on, can really help perk you up. So, how about trying the following:

Your Furniture Layout:

If you’re getting sick of being in the exact same living room or home office that you have been confined to for months, switch it up! Rearrange the furniture, hang up some new art work, or create a photo collage with all of the pictures that you’ve been meaning to get developed. It won’t be as nice as a complete change of scenery like going to the beach but it will make the space you’ve been stuck in different and that’s all that matters.

Your Hair:

Perhaps you’re not bored with your location but your appearance. I know that I desperately miss getting all dressed up but, since there’s nowhere to be, the concept of “looking nice” has been long forgotten. If you are interested in changing up how you look, then now is the perfect time to try that new hair style or color that you have always had in the back of your mind. If it doesn’t turn out exactly how you want, it’s no matter – your hair will be back to normal by the time it’s safer to be in public.

Your Perspective:

Whenever I am feeling blue, I try and think about all of the good things that happened to me even though I am at home. For example, last week I went grocery shopping and I told Johnny that despite everything going on I’m thankful that I have him, a fridge and pantry full of food, and a roof over our heads. It’s important to still remember all of the positive things that you have no matter how small they are. If nothing else, be thankful that you are safe at home and preventing your loved ones and perfect strangers from becoming sick.

Your Hobbies:

I think that all of us can agree that watching Netflix or your preferred streaming service is a universal favorite hobby right now. But, getting lost in TV every day is doing your mind and body no favors. Dedicate at least an hour per day to work on your mental and physical wellness. Take a walk around the neighborhood, meditate, or call a friend. I know everything is so monotonous right now but you have the tools to help break that cycle if you choose to use them.

Your Goals:

Creating new goals for yourself can be an exciting way to fill free time and it’s even better when you begin accomplishing them. Make yourself a dream board with all of the things that you want to achieve in the next year or so and work on making it happen. Once you have an idea and a plan, all that needs done is for you to carry it out. What will you be putting on your dream board?

Changes big or small always help me shake away the blahs and I hope that some of the ideas above help make you feel better too!

What do you do when you have a case of the blahs? What are you thankful for? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

5 Ideas To Fill Your Free Time With

Standard
5 Ideas To Fill Your Free Time With

It’s safe to say that, at the moment, we all have more free time than we ever have had in the past – especially if you are unable to work due to the restrictions that are currently in place or are on furlough. That’s a lot of free time to account for! Back in normal times, you may have spent evenings or weekends with friends and family, going to different events or meetings, or just being out and enjoying different activities. With all of those options depleted, we all need to be able to find new ways to fill our free time. Here are five ideas to inspire you:

1. Reading:

If you know that you usually spend a lot of time watching Netflix or different TV shows and movies, maybe you want to shake that up and choose to read, instead? Reading can be really relaxing, it can help you to expand your horizons, and it’s enjoyable too. It also allows you to have an adventure with the characters in your book!

2. Learning Something New:

Maybe you want to challenge your brain a little more? It could be that you would love to learn something new. Could learning how to speak French fluently be a goal for you? Or how about mastering a new piece of computer software that you have always wanted? This can be a fun and very beneficial way to kill time.

3. Furthering Your Career:

Being on pause from your job can be a bit strange and it can also leave you thinking about what else you want to do in life. If you’ve found that you don’t like where you’re currently at professionally, it will be nice for you to think about what you can do to try and change that or drive your career forward. Maybe you want to earn an mph degree online or learn new skills that will help you to apply for a new job? Sometimes, a career change could be what you need to fill your free time.

4. Something Creative:

It’s always fun to get more in touch with your creative side. So maybe you want to paint something, make something, or sew something? You don’t have to have been into crafts your entire life to turn to a creative pastime and really enjoy it. Why not pick up knitting, drawing, or cross-stitch? There’s no better time than the present!

5. Launching A Business:

It could even be that you’ve always been interested in starting a side hustle. So this could be perfect for you and just what you want to be able to change your career or start something new. Maybe you love baking? Or do you enjoy writing? Or you love the idea of consulting? If you have the time now, why not dedicate some of it towards this? You may find that you not only enjoy it, but it can really take your life in a new direction too.

Use the ideas above to help motivate yourself and turn your time away from work into something equally as productive!

Featured Image By: Unsplash

Lacking Motivation For Your Blog? Get Your Mojo Back!

Standard
Lacking Motivation For Your Blog? Get Your Mojo Back!

Hi! Maintaining a blog is hard work. Creating content, staying relevant, and letting your presence on social media platforms be known can be a daunting task. With so much to do, it’s easy to throw in the towel – especially if you’re lacking motivation or are suffering from a case of writer’s block. So what can you do to get your mojo back, baby? So glad you asked!

Create A Schedule:

My writing schedule is crucial to the maintenance of my blog. I am such a schedule oriented person and if I falter from that, my day just seems off. Because I post new content daily, I write my next pre-written article around eight or nine every morning. This works for me. But, you need to create a schedule that works for you and stick with it. This could mean writing every other day or once a week. Create your schedule and let it be known on your blog when new content will be posted, which will hold you accountable.

Treat Yoself:

The reward system is a great way to gain some motivation for a blog post. I do this as often as I can afford! If I’m hankering for a treat for myself, I think of it as a new article on my blog. This could be a swatch post with the lipstick you just bought or an OOTD with the clothes that you couldn’t pass down at your favorite store. We’re only human, and sometimes we need a little incentive to do what needs to be done. With a reward, you get something new along with something to talk about on your blog. Just spend wisely, please!

Enjoy Yourself:

Blogging should first and foremost be fun. If you’re genuinely struggling to write and it seems more like a chore than a pleasure, then there is no shame in taking a break. Don’t beat yourself up about it and get back on the horse when you’re ready. The blogging community is a supportive one and we will be so happy to see you upon your return.

Of course, there is something to be said for just powering through and creating content despite not feeling good about it. And, sometimes, this can be really helpful. Once the juices start flowing a few articles in, you’ll wonder why you ever stopped at all. This is my preferred method of dealing with a lack of motivation and I always find myself feeling better after I’ve sat down and written something for my readers.

Open Your Eyes:

Writing is all about finding something that excites you during your day to day life. Whether it be the gorgeous floral arrangements at the market or taking a brisk hike through the woods, find what gives you that little spark and hone in on it. What did you feel? What were your surroundings like? The noises? The smells? Take note of it and create from there. When I’m out and about, I am constantly scanning what’s around me, because an idea for a blog post could be there if you know to look for it.

Motivation makes all of the difference when it comes to maintaining your blog and hopefully this post gave you some inspiration to keep the ball rolling! 🙂

How do you stay motivated as a blogger? What do you do when you have a case of writer’s block? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: TeamBonding

Pacer Progress

Standard
Pacer Progress

Hi everyone! Roughly fifty days ago, I downloaded the Pacer pedometer app on my iPod. Since then, I have been dedicated to reaching 10,000 steps or more every day. Of course, this hasn’t always been possible, but I’ve been trying my best and I’m happy to say that I’m still motivated even after close to two months.

On the app, you can see insights into your progress each day or over a span of time. I only just discovered the page where you can see your steps since downloading the app, and I was really happy with what I saw:

  • Total Steps: 382,550
  • Total Calories: 9,502
  • Total Active Hours: 58
  • Miles Traveled: 127

(I am also prewriting this so my stats are higher than this by four days!)

It’s easy to feel like 10,000 steps a day is nothing. But, when it was put into perspective of  just how many miles I walked or how long I was active for, it makes a big difference. I am hoping to reach at least one million steps by the end of summer and I know that with my motivation to keep making progress, my goal is more than achievable.

Who else uses a pedometer app on their smart devices? How do you fit more activity into your day? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Woman Crush Wednesday: Sasha Cohen Edition

Standard
Woman Crush Wednesday: Sasha Cohen Edition

Helloooo everyone and welcome to the newest edition of Woman Crush Wednesday – Sasha Cohen style! For those of you who don’t know, I figure skated competitively for ten years and the lovely Miss Cohen was and still is one of my biggest inspirations. Check out this gorgeous routine that I picked solely because she’s wearing one of my all time favorite skating dresses and then let’s discuss my woman crush:

Dear Sasha Cohen,

Beautiful little Sasha, where do I even begin? I guess I have to ask if you remember me, for starters. We met when you came to visit at the Wooster skating rink. We took pictures together and you signed my skates, a hoodie from a previous competition, and my copy of Skating magazine with you on the cover. You were just as sweet as I hoped that you would be and you were even smaller than I thought! You have the most darling petite figure and it was pleasantly surprising for you to be the same height as me when you stood up to give me a hug. Meeting you was one of the highlights of my skating career/life in general and I’ll never forget it. Your exquisite grace and beauty on and off the rink is extraordinary. You skate with such genuine emotion and elegance and your talent is undeniable. I always wanted you to get the gold in the Olympic games…I daresay I wanted it for you just as much as you wanted it for yourself! Your career as a figure skater motivated me to push myself on and off the rink. You taught me the importance of hard work and dedication and for that I thank you so much. I can’t close this love letter without also mentioning how hard I laughed at your cameo in Blades Of Glory when you caught Chazz Michael Michaels jock strap…It was truly a moment for the ages. 😉 I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!

sasha1sasha3

^^^ She’s just divine. Lord have mercy on a gal!

So there you have it, this week’s Woman Crush Wednesday: Sasha Cohen Edition! Who is everyone’s #WCW this week? What was your favorite routine skated by my woman crush? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah