Work Smart Live Smart with Beverly Beuermann-King

I love de-junking. There is nothing better than getting rid of clutter and unused items. It changes my perspective. It helps me to think more clearly. I feel free.

Every couple of years I attack my closets. I get rid of the clothes that I no longer like, are worn out or have ‘magically shrunk’.

I often look at the bags of clothes in front of me and think, “What a waste”. However, it is not a waste. In most cases, these clothes have seen their share of special occasions, lounging days or workplace meetings. It is not a waste, because these clothes are donated to others who will continue to appreciate their beauty or their warmth.

I live where there is truly a winter. It takes a lot of money to stay warm and healthy in this bitter weather. Some can barely make ends meet and the clothes that we donate help them to survive.

Here Are Today’s Hot Tips For Building Your Resiliency And Celebrating The Great Warm Up

De-Junk and Simplify. The Great Warm Up is a call for everyone to look into their closets and pare them down. Donations of coats, hats, scarves, mittens and boots are desperately needed, as are blankets and sleeping bags.

Donate to agencies, like the Canadian Mental Health Association in Toronto, that purchase hats, scarves and mittens and deliver them to the homeless and those with mental health issues at Christmas time.

Think twice before buying something new. Is it a need or a want’?

Looking for more tips to build your resiliency? Look for my book on Amazon called Stress Out! 52 Weeks To Letting More Life In.

Tis the season to think about what we are thankful for. It is also a perfect time to share our compassion. Being grateful is the number one personality trait that leads to happiness. And being compassionate to others has been found to be protective to our own mental health.

Within our communities there are many who are experiencing homelessness and hunger. No one should have to worry about whether they will have food on their plate or a roof over their head. But the reality is that hunger and homelessness are widespread problems that affect far too many people.

Here Are Today’s Hot Tips For Building Your Resiliency And Celebrating National Hunger And Homeless Awareness Week:

Practice daily gratitude. What are you thankful for?

Show compassion. Find ways to contribute to supporting those facing the challenges of homelessness and hunger.

6 children a minute are dying from a hunger-related disease, but this is not just in famine-stricken countries. 1 in 5 children in the US live in poverty and 1 in 8 families in Canada struggle to put food on the table. These families live in a state of food insecurity, which means they do not have reliable access to adequate amounts of safe, good-quality, nutritious food. Food banks are an important method of addressing this need. They may not be best solution, but they are necessary right now. So consider donating or volunteering.

Don’t forget that you can find more tips for coping with mental health issues, by checking out my Live Smart Blog at worksmartlivesmart.com

Our freedom is not something to be taken for granted. We could say that we are lucky to have the freedom to choose any religion we want, the freedom to be in a relationship with the person we love, the freedom to vote for our government officials…the list goes on.

We are not lucky. People fought for our rights and our freedoms. Our freedom to chose should be celebrated, and that’s what World Freedom Day is all about.

World Freedom Day was first observed to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of loved ones separated by differing ideologies.

Here Are Today’s Hot Tips For Building Your Resiliency And Celebrating World Freedom Day:

Read, listen and watch news stories about what is happening around the world. Expand your knowledge so that you can appreciate what you have because of the freedom to choose. Recognize that many people in the world who are still fighting for their own freedoms and liberties.

With Remembrance Day only a few days away, give appreciation to all those who had and have the courage to insist on a better future for themselves, their families, and their country.

Want to make sure that you don’t miss out on any of my weekly postings? Follow Work Smart Live Smart on FaceBook

Wouldn’t it be nice to have ample time…Really?

More than enough time to get the things done that we would like to be able to get done?

Do you remember the 1996 movie “Multiplicity” with Michael Keaton? 

I would love to have several clones of myself all existing at the same time to get all of the many things done that I wanted to get done.  There would be the Magnificent Mom. The Grateful Gardener. The World Renown Stress Speaker and the Magnificent Marketer who could pump out websites and create marketing materials faster than a speeding bullet.  I am sure that I could think of more me’s that I would need, but even 1 or 2 would be a great start.

Since this is not likely to happen, Here Are Today’s Hot Tips For Building Your Resiliency And Celebrating Ample Time Day:

Know what your priorities are in each area of your life.  Write them down.  Once we know what is important to us, it is a lot easier to make decisions about how we use our time in the best way possible.

Watch out for ‘black holes’ that seem to suck a lot of our time away.  These activities may be enjoyable, they may be part of your relaxation program, but they also tend to eat up more time then we allocated or expected.

Finally, make sure that you are taking care of yourself, otherwise you will be tired out and lack the energy to use your time wisely. 

Looking for more ways to build your resiliency? Take my free on-line Vulnerability Test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the Resources And Courses tab.

One minute you’re changing diapers and wiping noses, the next minute they have moved out and on.

“empty nest,” does not need to mean an empty life. At least I hope not. With my two sons starting to venture out on their own, I am actually looking forward to our new life.

For many parents becoming empty nesters can be a “joyous” time.  A time for exploring, getting involved in new activities and new developing their adult relationships.

When much of your life has been defined as a parent it can be hard to adjust to life without kids in the home. Research points out that some parents have a hard time adjusting and they do experience depression and emotional distress when their children left home.

So Here Are Today’s Hot Tips For Building Your Resiliency And Celebrating Empty Nester Month:

Grieving is normal. Be gentle with yourself.

Explore other activities that can give you meaning and purpose.

Did you have any hobbies that you slowly gave up as parenting took over your life’

Coming to terms with this new phase in your life can be tough. But most parents find they’re able to adjust to their new roles as being parents of young adults and they develop a new sense of normal.

Looking for resources to build your resiliency? Check out my Live Smart Blog at worksmartlivesmart.com

This is the time of year to start drafting your letter to Santa. Letters to Santa Claus have a magical Christmas power all their own — they share a child's hopes and dreams, contain wishes innocent enough to bring tears to a parent’s eyes and can save the day like in the classic holiday film, "Miracle on 34th Street."

One letter went like this Dear Santa, I have been good for the last week or so…let’s just focus on that.

Even if you don’t believe in Santa, what would you wish for?

Here Are Today’s Hot Tips For Building Your Resiliency And Celebrating Dear Santa Letter Week:

Try writing a letter of all of your wants for the upcoming holidays.

Don’t expect them to be delivered on Christmas morning. That only happens in those sappy Hallmark-movies, but it might actually do you some good to take a moment to think about what you really want and put it in writing. There's something to be said for putting into words the things you want in your life. It can be an eye-opening experience as you may find that your priorities are made clear. You may also find that many of the things that you are wanting are within your control.

Looking for more ways to build your resiliency, take my free on-line Vulnerability Test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the Resources And Courses tab.

Some days I am so tired that I can’t think straight or even focus my eyes. This is an awful feeling, especially if this fatigue hits while I am driving. Has this ever happened to you?

Over 60% of adults say they have driven drowsy in the past year. And 4% have had an accident or near accident because they were too tired, or they actually dozed off while driving.

Drowsy Driving kills

Here Are Today’s Hot Tips For Building Your Resiliency And Celebrating National Drowsy Driving Prevention Week:

Know that even one night of sleep loss or poor sleep can put you at risk of drowsy driving. But certain people have a higher risk of drowsy driving than others. So be aware if you have a sleep disorder, work shifts or are taking medications as these can increase your risk for drowsy driving.

Rolling down the windows or turning up the volume on the radio will do little to increase your alertness while driving. So try to get a full night of seven to eight hours of sleep before driving. Avoid driving late at night or alone. And if you need to pull over at a rest stop and take a nap.

Looking for more tips to build your resiliency’ Look for my book on Amazon called Stress Out! 52 Weeks To Letting More Life In.

Why is common sense not so common?

Common sense is one of the most revered qualities in the workplace.

People with common sense are seen as reasonable, down-to-earth, reliable, and practical but here's the catch.

Common sense is neither common nor sense.

If common sense was common, then most people wouldn't make the kinds of decisions they do.

Every day people wouldn't buy stuff they couldn't afford.

They wouldn't smoke cigarettes or eat junk food.

They wouldn't gamble.

In other words people wouldn't do a multitude of things that are clearly not good for them.

So Here Are My Hot Tips For Building Resiliency In Celebrating Use Your Common-Sense Day:

Trusting in common sense can cause us to make poor rather than sound judgments.

Gather the facts.

Look at past experience and talk to others before making decisions which could have dire consequences.

Keep an open mind to all the possibilities, rather than just confirming the solution that you want to see.

And finally, while we often think with our emotions, this can lead to negative outcomes.

There are times when it's better to think with our analytic brain instead of our heart.

Looking for more tips to build your resiliency? Look for my book on Amazon called Stress Out! 52 Weeks To Letting More Life In.

Sometimes when we try to multi-task, we may actually freeze up, lock up or quit performing at our peak.

There is so much pressure to get things done in a day, that we try to split our focus and work on several things at once. 

Researchers have studied human multi-tasking for the past 25 years or so and have found that the brain cannot fully focus when multi-tasking.  We take longer to complete tasks, often double or more the time, and are predisposed to error.  

Here Are My Hot Tips For Building Resilience and Celebrating ZeroTasking Day:

Today is the day to take it easy, give up multitasking, and try doing nothing. Not for the whole day. But try for an hour. And if that is too long, try 20 minutes. See how you feel and if being anxious was the only thing that you could focus on, know that being able to be still for a moment and quiet your mind and body takes practise. If you weren’t successful, try again next weekend.

Finally, let go of the idea that the more we tackle at any given time, the more productive we will be.

Maintain your productivity by setting your priorities for a focused period of time and don’t let distractions take you off course. 

If you like today’s wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app.

Don’t forget that you can find more tips for coping with mental health issues, by checking out my Live Smart blog at worksmartlivesmart.com

Does your company have a happiness engineer?

Should it have one?

Big Viking Games in London, Ontario hired happiness engineers to create a low stress work environment in a high-stress industry.

Their arsenal of happiness includes daily catered lunches a soft-serve ice cream machine and even puppies.

The founder hopes that this will help them to attract the best people.

His theory seems to be proving itself.

His company was named one of the Top 10 Medium Business Employers in Canada by the Great Places To Work Institute.

Hiring a happiness engineer may not be an option for all companies however, all companies can benefit from upping the happiness factor in their workplace.

So Here Are Today's Hot Tips For Building Resiliency And Celebrating International Games Day:

Bring fun to your workplace. It may include games or challenges.

Ask your team what suggestions, large and small, will create a happier workplace for them. Even small steps are noticed and appreciated.

Remember you will not be able to please everyone or make everyone happy, but the majority will respect your efforts.

 

Looking for resources to build your healthy workplace? Check out my top ten tips under resources and courses at www.worksmartlivesmart.com