Mindset Monday: Dealing with Distraction

Distractions can be relaxing. Distractions can be harmful. How you deal with distractions determines if you can manage your time or watch it slip away on you. This week, keeping myself focused has been challenging, but I’ve been able to stay on task by working on three key things.

First, I divide my life into compartments to avoid distractions. My personal life stays in its own room and my work life lives in another. This week a close relative has been very ill and I’ve been tired from running errands on her behalf. The situation has been stressful for the family. I’m constantly worried about how she’s doing. However, when it’s time to work, I mentally go into my work room, close the door, and focus only on the task at hand.

Second, I deal with negative distractions by making a list of priorities and assigning an amount of time for each priority. What work tasks do I need to get done by today and which tasks can be done another day if an emergency arises? Sometimes I need to drop what I’m doing and deal with the family situation. Often this means letting go of original plans and revising my list of priorities and tasks to complete.

Third, I set aside time for self care. You could also say I give myself time to become lost in happy distractions. Most times I can keep different aspects of my life in different rooms, but sometimes my mind wanders while I work and I start to worry about my family and how we are all coping with the situation. Setting aside time to do something you enjoy, such as listening to music, watching a movie, or savouring your favourite dessert is a needed break.

What do you do when distractions pull you in multiple directions?

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How to Make New Year’s Resolutions You Will Keep

Should you make New Year’s resolutions? A quick search on the internet revealed that only 8% will achieve their resolutions for the year. That statistic suggests that it may be easier not to make resolutions at all! However, by making one small change, you can make New Year’s resolutions that you will keep.

I admit that I’ve made resolutions in the past and failed to achieve them. Over the years, I’ve alternated between making resolutions and deciding they are a hopeless cause. For 2021, I’ve decided to return to making a few New Year’s resolutions that I will achieve by year’s end. Here is my strategy for making this year a successful one for setting goals.

Firstly, I’m going to make my list compact and realistic. I have a habit of making an ambitious list with 10 to 20 items, a smorgasbord of personal, professional, health, and financial goals. The list was more of a description of my ideal reality instead of what I really could accomplish. For example, writing a fiction novel was one of my resolutions for many years. But as the years progressed, time and time again, I got sidetracked with writing projects that immediately paid the bills.

This year, I’ve chosen three main goals that are achievable. To check if my goals are achievable, I’ve made a list of questions for myself. For example, is my goal aligned with my career priorities? Is my goal aligned with my life priorities for 2021 (not any time five years into the future)? Have I made a step-by-step plan that I can easily follow from day to day and week to week? Goals are easier to complete if you break them down into smaller pieces.

With only three main goals, it’s easier to track what I’ve done. Each week, I’ll check how much progress I made on my goal. I will reward myself for working on the goal, even if my progress is as small as baby steps. Sometimes we judge ourselves too harshly and we become discouraged if we don’t get as far as we like.

Finally, have a clear end point in mind. “Writing a bunch of blogs” does not have a clear end goal, but “writing five blogs a week” is crystal clear. If I have been writing five blogs a week for twelve months, then at the end of 2021, I will have succeeded at my goal.

Flexibility is important also. If I find writing five blogs a week is too overwhelming, then I’ll change or modify the goal to make it more achievable. For example, I’ll write five short blogs instead of long ones, or write only three long blog posts.

Resolutions are achievable! Keep your resolutions simple and realistic and constantly track your progress.

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Pandemic Year Fashion: What to Wear New Year’s Eve

What will you be wearing to say goodbye to 2020 and to usher in the new year? After nearly a year of working from home and spending most days at home, I’m craving sparkly party dresses, heels, make up, and a night about town. A return to the normal, so we can pretend this past year never happened.

Reality has different demands. In this part of the world, large parties have been cancelled and at-home celebrations with immediate household members have been encouraged. That demand from health authorities may be a relief to some.

Especially in a year of economic hardship, this year may be more difficult than in the past to out-do yourself with party planning. Elegant New Year’s Eve wear and extravagant NYE events can be stressful for more than your pocketbook. Now we have an excuse to tone it down and not spend hundreds of dollars on fashion and venues.  

If you’re planning on your party at home with your family and household, will you be dressing up for a night about town home? I want to be optimistic about the coming year. We all want life to return to normal.

Let’s celebrate that and put on our best New Year’s Eve party wear. For you, that may be New Year’s Eve formal black tie or cocktail wear. Or it might be your best shirt and jeans. Doesn’t matter. Mindset is what matters on the inside. On the outside, we project what we believe. Let’s look our best to say goodbye to 2020 and an optimistic hello to 2021.

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What Job Skills Should You Improve On If You Don’t Have a Job

This year – 2020, the pandemic year – was a rough one. If you’re one of the thousands who lost your job and you’re not having any luck finding another, what should you do with your time? Working on your job skills is one option, but what skills should you improve on?

Learning a whole new profession is probably not the best option unless you’re absolutely sure that your current career doesn’t hold a future for you. A new profession would mean learning a new set of skills and building a new network of professional connections.

Instead of a complete change, you can work on a new skill or skills that are similar to the skill set that you currently have. For example, if you were working in the marketing field, learn something new about social media or branch out into affiliate marketing if you weren’t working on that before.

Look into taking free courses such as those offered by HubSpot and LinkedIn, paid courses, or educational YouTube videos. I’ve learned new job skills, new ways to find work, and new platforms and software just by investing a few minutes each day into my professional development. Don’t forget about reading some juicy books that will teach you new skills or a new mindset as well.

Other options include joining Facebook groups for specific fields and industries to find work. These are a source for job leads as well as learning about job finding tips and trends in job hunting and in your industry.

Subscribing to online magazines are another source of information about trends in specific industries as well as the latest information on job hunting.

By learning about latest trends, you can stay on top of the skills that specific markets are looking for. These skills or this software should be the ones that are top of mind for what you’ll learn next.

Don’t forget to read job postings in your field that you aren’t interested in applying for. Maybe you aren’t interested in working for that company or the job isn’t an exact match for what you want, or you aren’t yet qualified for the job. However, it will give you ideas about what is available in the job market and what jargon to use in your job application. 

Volunteer work is also another way to build your skills. Work on projects to develop new skills or keep current ones fresh. Add these projects to your resume.

Improving on your job skills will help you find work in the same or similar fields. It will also keep your resume current and may even open doors for jobs that you didn’t qualify for before your skills upgrading.

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What Should You Do If Your Career Takes A Wrong Turn

Regret is a powerful motivator.

Recently my memories seemed to morph into the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. I thought about the career I used to have, and how stable and comfortable that job had been. It was my dream job, but things changed, and I found myself looking for a new career.

I had decided to take my skill set and become an entrepreneur instead of taking another job, building up my career from scratch at another company, and risk being laid off again. Today, just a week before a new year begins, I face an uncertain future. The future is scary.

It’s scary because so much is unknown about it. Will the pandemic come to an end? Will the economy improve? Will I need to make more pivots to my business so that it will thrive?

When I first started my business, I made some mistakes. Looking back at the wasted time and the wasted money is painful. The regrets are painful. But looking forward, I see a chance to do things better. More wisely. More efficiently.

If you’re thinking about changing careers, or your future is unknown because of COVID, consider these tips whether you’re looking for a job, or working on a business like I am:

  • Assess your financial situation. How much do you have in savings? How much debt? Should you borrow money to pay expenses while you work to get your career back on track?
  •  Look for options in which you can develop your skills while working. Can you use your current skillset to get some employment while you continue to build on your skills by taking courses or learning on the job?
  •  Build a professional support network. I’ve joined Facebook groups and attended online network meetings to get to know people. Through these connections, I have found clients and work opportunities.
  •  Work with a mentor. A career coach or someone with more experience than you in an industry or field can guide you. They can point out what you need to work on, steer you away from making potential mistakes, and share important wisdom with you.

A year from now, I want to feel like 2021 was the year I made progress. At that time, I will look at the past fondly, the present with satisfaction, and the future with bright hope.

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