Tag Archives: pros and cons

Aug18

Decision Making 101

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Decision Making 101

Howdy!! I don’t know about all of you, but I have a very difficult time making decisions. I stress, ruminate, and let anxiety build up until I just keep doing the same thing without making any changes. It’s understandable – any kind of change can be scary and I find a lot of comfort in the same old, same old. This past week, however, I had to make some really big work related decisions and it sucked lol. I am pleased to report that I made it through on the other side. I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t still feeling some residual stress about it, but I know that I will feel much better in time. These are some of the things that helped me as I made choices and maybe they will help you too:

Deep Breaths:

If you’re like me and simply the thought of major changes puts you into a tailspin, then first and foremost, you need to chill. Sound decisions can’t be made when you are in distress so try and relax. Take deep breaths, sip a cup of tea, or have a hot shower. Whatever you need to do to put you in a calmer state of mind. Then, you can revisit the decision that needs made when you are feeling less frazzled.

Pros & Cons:

The most common way to make choices is to weigh the pros and cons and there is a reason for it – it is always effective. Grab a pen and paper, pull up a notepad on your phone, or type on the computer and start thinking about the good and bad that could come with each option. It will be so helpful to see your thoughts right in front of you rather than let them swirl around your head. Your initial pros and cons might be subject to change so don’t make a split decision immediately. Give it a day or two, revisit it, and see if anything or nothing needs reevaluated.

Think About You:

There is a high chance that whatever you are struggling to decide might effect other people. This can throw a huge monkey wrench in the process because, of course, we don’t want choices to negatively impact others. This is where I have the most difficult time and often just resort to doing the same thing. However, you need to think about yourself. Sometimes, what’s best for you isn’t best for the people that it might effect and that’s okay. Yes, you read that right: It’s okay. Doing for you isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary if you want to keep moving forward in a positive trajectory.

Go With Your Gut:

Maybe you have weighed your pros and cons and are still nowhere closer to a decision. If that is the case, think about your gut, heart, and mind. This is what it ultimately boiled down to as I made my work related choice. I knew exactly what I wanted and I had a hard time working up the nerve to just do it. Listen to yourself and what your body is telling you. The answers you need are all there so don’t swamp yourself down with the “what ifs” or you might end up getting stuck. I admit that I was stuck for over a month until I was able to do what I needed to do for me. All it did was cause me more stress as the situation festered in my head and that could have been easily avoided. Changes take time, though, and if you need extra time that is totally fine but it might make making the choice even harder if you drag it out.

I feel good about the decision I made because I know it will be good for me, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now. I also feel like I have a better grasp on making choices for the next time a situation arises – hopefully!

How do you make decisions? What is something you struggle with? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr5

Here (Sort Of) Comes The Sun OOTD Bloopers

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Here (Sort Of) Comes The Sun OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Here (Sort Of) Comes The Sun OOTD! Although, I will correct myself right there because the bloopers from this shoot aren’t all that bad and, no, I’m not just flattering myself lol. For the first time in the almost four years that Johnny and I have been together, I had to take pictures using a tripod because he wasn’t feeling well. There were some definite pros and cons to this method, one of the pros being that I could actually see how I looked when I was taking each picture! Let’s discuss further:

Pro:

I could have a go at new faces that I might not necessarily try during my rapid fire shoots with Johnny. They didn’t turn out picture perfect, but that’s nothing a little practicing in the mirror can’t solve!

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Con:

The tripod is not as tall as Johnny so trying to find just the right position for my body in relation to the camera was a bit difficult. Sometimes I had a peahead, other times I looked way bigger than I actually am, and it would take me a minute to find the position again after getting it just right.

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Pro:

It was somewhat rewarding to take these pictures by myself. I also was able to give myself less work in terms of scrutinizing each pic afterwards because I could see what I was doing! When Johnny takes my pictures, I just hope for the best and see what comes out of it once we’re done.

Con:

One of the HUGE cons of taking pictures with a tripod is the constant back and forth. Set the ten second timer, run back into position, hope I ended up back where I was standing before, figure out a pose and face, take the picture, rinse, repeat. I was seriously sweating by the time I was done and this was a major turn off for me for tripod pictures.

Pro:

If my husband photographer is ever under the weather on photo shoot Saturdays, I’ll still be able to create content by myself and that’s great! I depend on these weekly OOTDs to keep my daily writing streak (almost four years!) on lifewithlilred going and that is always a plus.

Con:

Taking pictures with Johnny is so familiar to me. I know how he holds the camera, I know where to stand in relation to him, and I like the way my body looks in the pictures he takes. Tripod shooting will definitely require a lot of practice for optimum success as well as investing in a new one with a bit more height. Honestly, I’d really rather not do either!

Con:

Tripod shooting was time consuming! When I shoot with Johnny, it takes about five minutes. Shooting with the tripod took at least twenty and I didn’t love that.

Will I try using the tripod again in the future? If it calls for it, then yes. However, I much prefer photo shoot Saturdays with my darling blog husband and will continue to call on his point and shoot expertise whenever I can! ❤

Do you like taking pictures with a tripod? Who takes the best pictures of you? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Nov2

The Pros & Cons Of Still Keeping Paper Documents

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The Pros & Cons Of Still Keeping Paper Documents

We’re constantly surrounded by digital technology in every aspect of our working lives. Most of your job is spent using a computer or another electronic device. You send emails instead of letters and deal with a lot of digital data. And yet, some workplaces still keep paper documents. These can be bills, contracts, or anything else that might be important for your company. Unfortunately, keeping paper documents comes with its fair share of drawbacks and problems. But, you could argue that it also has some advantages. Is it worth maintaining a collection of physical documents in your workplace? Let’s look at the pros and cons:

Pro – A fail safe for lost digital assets:

What happens if a computer breaks down that contains lots of key documents or data? It had a list of clients on there with their addresses and contact details. Or, it contained all of your bills for that quarter. You didn’t back anything up to the cloud, so it’s lost forever. Paper documents provide a fail safe in case of any digital issues. You have copies of important documents that you can now look at and use. This can be so helpful in situations when you’re trying to manage your books but can’t find the digital versions of bills and transactions.

Pro – Some customers/clients prefer physical documents:

Not everyone enjoys getting things digitally. Some of your customers may want actual physical copies of contracts and other key documents. If you only provide them with digital versions, it might lead to some annoyance.

Con – Easier to lose/damage:

The big problem with physical documents is that they are far easier for you to lose or damage. All it takes is some bad weather or an accident to spill water on a box full of documents. Immediately, they’re damaged almost beyond repair. Sure, you can use expert contents restoration services to try and bring them back to life, but it might be too late. Just like that, you’ve lost some truly important data or information that you’re unable to recover. When things are stored digitally or in the cloud, it is almost impossible to damage them. You can keep numerous copies on multiple devices to ensure that, if one copy does get damaged, there are many others to call upon.

Con – Harder to keep track of:

Keeping paper documents is a lot harder than keeping digital ones. You need a document management system that keeps everything neat and tidy at all times. Already, this poses some issues relating to your workspace. Is there physically enough space for you to have multiple filing cabinets to store all of these documents? Then, you have to consider how hard it is to keep track of all the documents. When you need a specific thing, how quickly can you find it among your paper documents? You’ll take a few minutes at the very least – and that’s if you have an awesome system. If things are stored digitally, they can be found in seconds by running a search.

Con – You use lots of paper:

Paper usage should be decreasing as we look to fight for a more sustainable planet. In fact, one of the simplest ways to make a business more sustainable is by becoming paperless. You drastically decrease the demand for the paper industry, meaning fewer trees get cut down and turned into paper. If every business went paperless, we might have a genuinely positive impact on the planet. So, keeping paper documents means you technically increase your carbon footprint by a tad. If you want to use less paper around the office, perhaps you should consider getting rid of paper documents and going digital.

All things considered, paper documents don’t really have that many advantages. It can be handy to keep some physical copies of important things – like supercritical contracts, licenses, etc. But, in the grand scheme of things, most businesses shouldn’t have a huge collection of paper documents anymore. Instead, the focus should be on taking your old documents and digitizing them! They are safer when stored on devices and stored in the cloud. The world is going paperless, maybe it’s time for your business to follow suit?

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Mar4

Is Exercise Good For Your Skin?

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Is Exercise Good For Your Skin?

Being physically active can have many health benefits from boosting one’s immune system to reducing the risk of heart disease. But is it good for your skin’s health? There are pros and cons to exercise when it comes to maintaining healthy skin so let’s explore this more:

The Pros:

Being physically active can prevent pressure sores:

It’s a well known fact that lying down or sitting down for too long can cause pressure sores (sometimes known as ‘bed sores’). People who are bedridden are most at risk of this and professional carers must regularly turn them to prevent these sores from developing – failure to do so is viewed as neglect and could warrant hiring a nursing home abuse attorney.

If you’re not bedridden, you shouldn’t really be developing these sores. However, many people with no mobility issues still develop them simply by working a physically inactive job or sitting on the couch all day. This is why it’s so important to stay moving – never sit in the same position somewhere for more than three hours!

Exercise can relieve stress, which can relieve skin problems:

Exercise is a well known stress buster. It releases endorphins which can help to cleanse our body of the stress hormone, cortisol. Stress is known to make inflammation worse – many skin conditions like acne, eczema, and psoriasis are triggered by stress. By exercising regularly, you may be able to stop these skin conditions from flaring up.

The ‘post-workout glow’ is a real thing:

Many people report noticing a ‘glow’ to their skin after working out. This is because exercise promotes blood flow to the skin. On top of making you look more rosy-cheeked and youthful, this increased blood flow can physically make your skin healthier by supplying it with increased oxygen and nutrients.

Exercising outdoors can provide many skin benefits:

Jogging outdoors or exercising in your backyard could have increased skin benefits. Sun exposure helps to increase vitamin D production, which is necessary for skin cell growth and repair. The fresh air also helps to oxygenate your skin from the outside, also helping with skin cell repair.

The Cons:

Sweaty skin can increase the risk of spots and acne:

When we sweat, the PH balance of our skin changes, causing bacteria to grow and thrive. Sweating also causes our pores to open up. Bacteria can get into these pores along with dirt or makeup and this can lead to spots and acne. Fortunately, there are a couple of things you can do to counter this: 1) Try to avoid wearing makeup while exercising as this can clog pores and 2) Take a shower immediately after you exercise. Should your acne not be improved through good skin care habits alone, it might be a good idea to consult with a dermatologist. They will be able to prescribe more potent skin care or a Doxcycyline Prescription to help heal your skin and allow you to get back to your best self.

Conditions like rosacea are made worse by exercise:

Skin conditions like rosacea are caused by an increase in body temperature. Our body naturally warms up when we exercise, which can then lead to rosacea flare ups. Is there any way to prevent rosacea flare-ups when exercising? Keeping well hydrated and exercising in a cool environment can help (i.e. a well air-conditioned room or outdoors when it is cool).

Chafing can lead to rashes and blisters:

Certain forms of exercise like running can lead to chafing of the skin. This can lead to painful rashes and blisters. Wearing the right clothing may prevent chafing – moisture-wicking clothing is designed to take away sweat from the body, preventing clothes from rubbing against the skin. You can also try adding Vaseline or talcum powder to areas that are prone to chafing.

Outdoor exercise may increase the risk of sun damage:

As mentioned in the pros, our skin does need some sun exposure to help us get the vitamin D we need for skin cell repair. However, too much exposure to the sun can result in harmful UV rays burning the skin. Sunburn isn’t just painful and unpleasant to look at – it can increase the risk of you developing skin cancer. If you are exercising outdoors for long periods, it’s very important to wear high factor sun cream or to choose times of the day when the sun is less intense.

The Verdict:

Exercise can lead to issues like acne, rosacea flare ups, chafing, and sunburn. However, you can reduce the risk of these skin problems by taking precautions when you exercise. Overall, exercise is very important for your body and does have some major skin benefits such as reducing inflammation and helping skin cell repair. You shouldn’t give up exercise to protect your skin – approach exercise in the right way and it could make your skin healthier.

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