Tag Archives: stressful

May6

Self Employment 101

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Self Employment 101

Hello! In a recent post, I shared my pro tips for Working From Home 101 and I thought I would share my thoughts on self employment as well. For close to a decade, I have been working under the best boss in the world – myself! At times, it is stressful and difficult, but it is also so rewarding and I truly couldn’t imagine working under someone else ever again. I love what I do as an Independent Provider for people with special needs and as a Content Creator and I have had years to perfect my method. All of the following works for me and maybe it will be helpful for you too:

Organization is ESSENTIAL:

When you are self employed, it is up to you to handle everything and if you struggle with organization, it can be a struggle. Thankfully, I live to organize and thrive with a fairly strict schedule, making this aspect of self employment one of my favorite things. Sticking to a schedule and staying on top of things eliminates any surprises from interfering with your work flow. To keep myself in check, I follow these steps:

Paperwork: Getting behind on your paperwork is one of the absolute worst things that you can do. This is why I refuse to end a day without completing all of my forms both tangible and online. I also set aside time at the end of every month to complete my mileage log for my taxes. I am very meticulous about my paperwork and keep everything organized in a filing cabinet in my office. It just makes things easier to have everything I might ever need at the ready and even if it is annoying sometimes, my businesses wouldn’t thrive otherwise.

Scheduling: One of the benefits of self employment is making your own schedule. This freedom can be utterly intoxicating if you are used to waiting around for a schedule from a previous job. However, don’t enjoy it too much! Falling into the trap of “I’ll do it tomorrow” or “I have plenty of time to get it done” sets you up for failure. Creating a schedule that works for you and that you know you can commit to is only going to help you!

Taxes: Filing your taxes is going to be different than usual when you’re self employed and I cannot recommend getting familiar with this process enough. All year, my “tax” file in my cabinet gets a lot of use and by the time tax season rolls around, I have nothing left to do but schedule an appointment. When you learn what things can be “written off”, you can not only save money but step up your record keeping game. It’s a win/win and, of course, if you have any questions along the way, call the person who does your taxes!

Stay Cool:

When you are self employed, you are making the plunge from “employee” to “business owner”. It is very easy to get overwhelmed by this and the best thing that you can do is to keep a level head. Staying cool, calm, and collected allows you to make rational decisions for your business and it’s never good to make these calls when you’re stressed. As the owner of two businesses, I know firsthand that juggling so many different things can be intense. Whenever I notice that I’m feeling the pressure of this, I allow myself to take a break, clear my head, and start fresh.

Keep Learning:

Even if you are your own boss, you should never stop trying to learn new things to improve your business. Find a mentor, take classes, do your own research, and ask questions. You don’t want your business to plateau, but grow! My mentor has helped me SO much in skill development, educating myself, and mastering new things. Finding someone to take you under their wing or at least brainstorm with can boost your business in ways that you might not have even considered. Be curious, ambitious, and willing to learn – it will take you far!

Enjoy Yourself:

Being self employed is something that not everyone has the luxury of doing and it’s something that I feel very lucky for. I remember this often and even on crazy busy days, I am still happy that I am doing it all by myself. Shifting your mindset from “this is too much” to “this is pretty awesome” will make your days so much more enjoyable, even under stress. On rollercoaster days, just put your hands up and enjoy the ride because you never know where your business will take you!

My businesses have thrived from being highly organized and highly motivated and I feel so proud of that. These tips help me out every day and gives me the drive to keep going forward in my own self employment!

What are some of your self employment pro tips? What is your dream job? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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Jan10

How To Recover Stress-Free After A Work Injury

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How To Recover Stress-Free After A Work Injury

Injuries can happen at any workplace, no matter how safe the environment is. If you find yourself injured while on the job, it can be a scary and overwhelming experience. However, there are steps that you can take so that your recovery is as stress-free as possible. Let’s get started:

Stay Calm:

The first step in recovering from a work injury is staying calm. It may be hard to do this in the heat of the moment, but remaining calm helps you think more clearly and make better decisions about your next steps. Take deep breaths and focus on staying present until help arrives to make an informed decision about what comes next.

Document Everything:

As soon as possible after an injury occurs, document every detail, including when and where it happened, what caused it, who was involved, and any other information that might be important. This documentation should be completed while everything is fresh in your mind so that you have accurate answers if any questions arise later. In addition, be sure to document all conversations with supervisors or other personnel related to the injury incident.

Seek Medical Attention:

When an injury happens at work, seek medical attention immediately if necessary. Even if you don’t feel like anything serious has occurred, it’s essential to follow up with a doctor for further evaluation and treatment if recommended by a health professional. Make sure that any medical visits related to the injury are documented for further review by employers or insurance companies if needed.

Understand Your Rights:

After being injured at work, you must understand your rights when going through workers’ compensation processes or filing a legal claim against your employer if necessary (depending on circumstances). Researching relevant laws ahead of time will give you a good idea of what type of compensation is available so that you know what steps you need to take to receive them (if applicable). Keep all your medical documents related to the injury and any paperwork from your employer in one secure place. It is also essential to be aware of personal injury law and understand if you are entitled to compensation for injuries sustained at work.

Follow Up With Employer:

Once medical attention has been sought out and documented accordingly, follow up with your employer to check that all paperwork related to the injury is filled out correctly and filed within the required time frames (depending on state laws). Keep copies of all documents related to the injury for future reference and check back with your employer periodically for updates or changes regarding the incident that may have occurred since its initial reporting date.

Take the time to research the protocol for your employer about work related injuries so you will know exactly what to do if getting hurt on the job ever happens to you or a coworker!

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Oct23

Shake The Holiday Time Stress – Plan Ahead!

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Shake The Holiday Time Stress – Plan Ahead!

Hi! While the holiday season can be the most wonderful time of the year, it can also be the most stressful. All you have to do is visit a store in October to know that the countdown to the holidays are fast approaching because Christmas decorations have taken over. Some people may thrive on leaving holiday preparations to the last minute and that is okay! But it is so not me and if that doesn’t work for you, either, try the tips below to sail smoothly into the holiday season:

Start Shopping Now:

One of the best ways to shake the holiday stress is, of course, starting your shopping early. In fact, I know some people who start shopping for the next Christmas with the end of season sales in January! You don’t need to be this extreme but shopping a few months in advance is a must. This will eliminate any anxiety about if your packages will arrive before your celebrated holiday. It also provides for extra time to return damaged or not as good as you thought presents.

Shopping in advance doesn’t just ensure that all of your prezzies will get to their designated giftee in a timely manner – it is better on your wallet too. Breaking up your buying between several months will also get rid of the stress of a huge credit card bill come January first!

Sort Out The Spread:

Maybe your holiday stress stems from having to prepare a big meal for the family and your guests. Although you can’t buy your food way in advance, there are some things that you can do now. How about sending invites to your holiday dinner that people have to RSVP to? Don’t forget to ask about any allergies! This way, you will know who all will be in attendance so you don’t end up cooking way too much or too little.

Once you have a firm idea of who is joining your holiday dinner and their food preferences, you can plan out your spread accordingly. It might not hurt to have some back up recipes in place just in case you can’t get your hands on a ham or turkey at the grocery store.

Know When To Excuse Yourself:

If you have a strained relationship with a family member or guest at your Christmas gathering, this can be a HUGE stressor. Develop a plan now for what you can do to protect your mental health if this is the case for you and practice it. This could be sticking with the cool cousins for the gathering, arriving after a triggering person has left, or simply knowing when to step away to compose yourself. You have every right to an enjoyable time and having a plan thought out prior to the big day will add a sense of security since you won’t have to wing responses or reactions on the spot.

The holiday season is a joyous time but can it be stressful? Big time. Plan ahead now to eliminate the mad dash feel. Then, when everything is in place: Sit back and relax – you have earned it! ❤

What are your holiday season stressors? How do you prepare for a family gathering? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep10

One Of Those Days

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One Of Those Days

Helloooo everyone and happy Thursday! I, for one, am so glad for a fresh start today, because my Wednesday was stressful as all get out!! Enjoy this terrific song by The Raconteurs to sum up my feelings about yesterday and then let’s discuss:

SO, on Tuesday night, I discovered that the battery to the Little Red Love Machine was completely shot. Thankfully, my dad was able to call AAA to give my baby a jump and got her to the nearest repair shop in time to fix her up. However, this meant that I had literally no gas in my tank to make my drive to Cleveland for school possible. My dear old dad notified me that a gas station that was close to the highway had a decent price, so I decided to go there to fill up. My breath was held the entire time because I was literally running on fumes. I had the LRLM ready to turn left into the station and breathed a big ol’ sigh of relief that I had made it. But, unfortunately, I should have held my breath just a little bit longer.

Halfway through turning into the station, I saw that there was a sign prohibiting left hand turns. “Well shit,” I thought, “good thing there’s no cops around!” But lo and behold, a minute later, a cop pulled in behind the LRLM to tell me what I already knew…That I suck at driving and made an illegal left hand turn. LUCKILY, this cop was AWESOME! The first thing out of my mouth when he approached me was that I knew what I did wrong as soon as I made the turn. I then explained to him my situation of almost being completely out of gas and how I needed to be in Cleveland for school very shortly. I also made sure to call him “sir” a lot! The kind officer checked my license and record and told me that because it was almost flawless (only one speeding ticket, baby!), that he would let me off with a warning and that he hopes I make it to class on time. I was so incredibly thankful to him for being so understanding…But I didn’t make it to school on time. -___-

My French class at Tri-C began at one today and I made it to campus at about 12:45. I hurried into the building that I assumed the class was in and figured that I had enough time to refund a book at the campus bookstore before class started. WRONG! With the influx of students making their purchases and returns, things took longer than anticipated – but I was just too damn far in the process to leave and come back!! By the time I got my refund, I realized that I was in the complete wrong building, a whopping two minutes before class started. Lord have mercy on me…

I power walked my sweet tookus to the right building in the heat, in my all black ensemble, and with a handful of supplies and a full cup of coffee to juggle. I had never been in the building that my French class was in before and I felt like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. EVERY HALLWAY LOOKED THE SAME! At this point, I was shweatzing my ass off, my coffee had spilled at least three different times, and my frustration levels were through the roof – the roof, I tell you! I finally made it to class fifteen minutes late looking a hot and sweaty mess. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!!!

billyy

As I mentioned in previous posts this week, I have completely lost my voice and it refuses to come back. Because of this unfortunate medical malfunction I sounded like a boy who is trapped in the evil clutches of the puberty monster. I was hoarse, squeaky, sweaty, miserable, coughy, shameful, and annoyed – those are the names of the seven dwarfs, right? Anyways, the entire class I felt like a total goon and my throat hurt like the dickens. Can my voice come back now, or? #PLEASE

So obviously, my Wednesday can only be described as One Of Those Days! Lol, it’s whatever! Has anyone had a rough day similar to mine? How is everyone’s week going so far? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah