Mommyfest

Simple Ways for Moms to find Happiness

I’m sure you have heard the saying … “Happiness is just a state of mind.” Is it, really? If it is, it tells me that happiness has something to do with our brain and the way we think. Happiness can improve everyone in various ways. It can make them healthier and become more productive. Below are seven simple ways you can easily achieve happiness.

1. Recognize everything that you are thankful for. Create a gratitude journal. All it is – is a notebook or diary where you write things that you are grateful for on a daily basis. You can reflect on your day before you go to bed at night and think of the things that made you happy. Read your gratitude journal whenever you are feeling down. This will help you see that there is more to life than feeling blue and sorry for what you do not have.

2. Identify things or activities that you enjoy. If you need to, go to a quiet spot and take a moment to write down all the activities and things that you love and enjoy doing. Once you have a clear list of things that you enjoy, it is easier for you to try to do these things on a regular basis. Place it somewhere you can see it everyday. If you engage in activities that you enjoy, there is no reason to be unhappy.

3. Stop comparing yourself to others. Other people have different circumstances and it won’t be fair to you if you compare yourself to them. The things that make them happy are different from what makes you happy. What makes them happy may not necessarily make you happy and vice versa.

4. Listen to music that makes you happy. This will instantly change your mood. Often times upbeat music will help you get rid of feeling blue. Listen to happy music while going through your regular daily routine – while doing housework, while driving, and while exercising.

5. Increase your physical activities. Have you ever noticed that kids are generally happier than adults? This is because they are more active. They love to run, play and just have fun. Exercising regularly helps your body produce endorphins, which helps you have not only a healthy body and attitude but also works against depression. When ever you can, play more and laugh more and you may be a happier person.

6. Hang out with happy people and avoid negative people. If you are already feeling depressed, there is no reason for you to hang around depressing people. Smiling and laughter are usually contagious. So is depression and anger. Go and watch a funny movie with a friend. It will automatically switch your mood from feeling blue to feeling fabulous.

7. Choose to be happy. Your happiness is truly up to you. When you notice that you are feeling sad, turn around and change the situation. Look at the tips above and apply them to your life. Pick yourself up and give yourself a kick in the butt – only you can make yourself happy.

Work at Home Mom Stress

By Aurelia Williams, author of Balancing Work and Family

The trend of moms working from home to be near their children has grown in the last couple of years. Now that they have found jobs or businesses to run, they’re starting to realize that working from home is not as easy as they thought it would be. The work they do is hard to separate form their personal lives, which makes it hard to schedule time for work responsibilities and home duties.

The workspace these moms use to do their jobs at ends up being a part of their household, so that makes dividing work and home life even more difficult to do - and one of the motivating reasons for creating my Balancing Work and Family guide. Imagine that your office is a part of the dining room, which also happens to be the room where you eat your meals as a family. How easy is it going to be for you to leave your work life to be with your family when the office is 5 feet away from the dinner table?

The realities of dividing work and personal life can get smudged for work at home moms. When that happens, one’s stress level is sure to rise, which could jeopardize one’s sanity. To prevent your sanity from leaving, you should find ways to ensure that separation takes place between your job/business and your family life.

Assess the current situation. Try to find an area, within your home, to have your office so that it won’t interfere with your family life. The home office needs a room with a door where you can be apart from the rest of the house. A den or a garage can be converted into office space that is exclusive to your business. Some people have resorted to placing their office in the laundry room, just because it has a door! When that is not an option, set up shop in your bedroom to keep it away from the family areas.

Organization is the next step. A messy desk can be a huge distraction when trying to work. Everything needs to have its place. If you worked in an office, your boss would not stand for a messy work space. There’s no difference when you’re office is at home and not at the worksite.

Use inexpensive organizing items, such as baskets with separate compartments to help organize the odds and ends on your desk. You can keep rubber stamps, letters, invoices, pens, pencils, and the like in here. Organization makes finding things much easier, which results in a more relaxed work day.

Keep your business phone separate from the family phone line. When using the same line, you run the risk of your children answering business calls or picking up the phone during a conference call. This causes your professionalism to fly right out the window and takes your customers or employers along with it.

The same goes for the computer. It’s best to keep your business computer separate from what the other family members use, but budgets don’t always allow for this. In that case, make sure that the business/job files and documents can’t be easily accessed by anyone but you. This will help prevent some of the stress that could be brought on by family members stumbling on a client’s important document and accidentally deleting them.

Be sure to use calendars or planners as they are very helpful when trying to keep track of business appointments or deadlines and family appointments. This will lessen the stress of setting up family appointments when you’ve forgotten about business deadlines you have.

Consider hiring a sitter on days you have a lot of work to do. Being a work at home mom gives you the benefit of controlling your own schedule. Having a sitter keeps the kids away from your office and gives you quiet time to focus on your work and gives your kids a chance to have fun without you feeling too guilty.

Mixing business with family in the home setting can be a major source of stress. Keeping the business side of your life organized and separate is crucial to success in keeping your stress levels down and your sanity intact.

Get More Help:

Working at home can be extremely rewarding, but it’s challenging. Get the help you need with Real Life Guidance to Balancing Work and Family. It’s your practical guide to tracking your time, setting priorities, learning to say no and achieving that balance you strive for.

Balancing Your Home and Business Life without Having Super Powers

By Aurelia Williams, author of Balancing Work and Family

For moms who work from home, balancing the home and business sides of their lives can feel downright impossible, especially when the reason they began working from home was so they could spend more time with family.

However, many home businesses actually fail because moms don’t manage to balance business and home life. How can you juggle your family’s needs, your business needs and occasionally find some time for your needs without being a super hero?

The first thing any mom should do to achieve balance is to get the family involved. If your children and husband support you, you will find that they interrupt less often and are more likely to pitch in to get household chores done. You’re probably thinking that will happen the day the moon turns to blue cheese, right?

However, if you mention that you need to get a major project done and will be able to buy a pizza and rent a video when you are paid, you may be surprised at how quickly everyone pitches in to help out.

If you have young children, they may not be able to understand the concept of waiting for a reward. To get your younger children involved, try explaining what you are doing in very simple terms and having them help you.

Set up a small desk or table for your toddlers and add crayons and paper so they can help you with your work by drawing some pictures or writing a letter. Children that are a bit older can put stamps on envelopes and seal them, paperclip papers together or do other simple organizational tasks.

Of course, no matter how supportive your family and friends are, they are not going to be happy if you work 15 hours a day.

Make sure that you ask for uninterrupted time to do your job or run your business, but also make sure that you schedule time for your family and friends. While you are making up that schedule, don’t forget your significant other. If you sit at your computer all evening after the children are tucked away for the night, you may end up with some serious relationship issues!

Once your family and friends are involved and you’ve scheduled time for them in your life, it is time to consider a few ways to make the most of your valuable work time.

While you may be tempted to work non-stop during the time you have dedicated to your business, you should actually try to take some breaks. Taking a half-hour walk or having lunch away from your desk can really help you recharge your mind and keeps your body from growing stiff and tired. When you sit back down, you can do so with a clearer view of your goals and fresh energy and focus.

Also, don’t be afraid to make a “to do” list for your business. Write the four or five items you absolutely must do on your list and promise yourself that you will get them done before you visit your favorite forums or check your email. This can really help you get more work accomplished in less time.

So, although you may not have super powers, you can still have a home life, a business life and some time for yourself. The next time you are feeling overwhelmed, take a deep breath, ask your family for some help and try out a few of these great ideas for balancing your life.

Get More Help:

Working at home can be extremely rewarding, but it’s challenging. Get the help you need with Real Life Guidance to Balancing Work and Family. It’s your practical guide to tracking your time, setting priorities, learning to say no and achieving that balance you strive for.

What in the Heck Can a Personal Coach Do?

By Aurelia Williams, Certified Life Coach

I just wanted to spread the word about Life Coaching and what it can do to help just about anyone. No, not every coach is suited for every client but the right coach/client combination is such powerful tool.

I hear different variations of the following questions and statements a lot:

“What can a coach do for me?”
“I can’t afford to pay a coach!”
“What does SHE know that I don’t know?”
“I don’t need a stinkin’ Coach!”

Ok, well I tossed the word “stinkin’” in there (smile) but I do know there are many people who could benefit from the power of coaching but feel they don’t need it.

Well hopefully the following can open some eyes to the magic of this wonderful tool!

Coaching is an effective process used to support individuals in creating something new for themselves. I work side by side with my clients coaching them by providing perspective and support for self-knowledge as they accomplish their business and personal goals.

I personally help women achieve balance and cultivate the tools necessary for them to evolve into a life filled with happiness and serenity. I believe all women have the tools they need inside to lead a more fulfilling life. I simply guide them along an empowering path that will awaken these tools, focus on their passion and ultimately lead them to a more fulfilled self. If you are ready to find your way to a more balanced you, I will be your guide.

Life coaches are great and act as your personal cheerleader. There are many benefits to having a Personal Life Coach and here are just a few. Coaching is a valuable process for people looking to:

Design life intentions that include both your business and personal goals.

Make meaningful personal changes that reduce stress and simplify your life.

Free up energy and other resources to attract what you want for your life now.

Enhance the quality of your communication and relationships.

Work through a career or life transition.

Achieve better work/life balance.

Gain clarity, focus and direction.

Coaching is also for those that are successful and growing entrepreneurs, where everything is going really well, and you would just appreciate a neutral sounding board who will give you straight-up honest feedback and on-going support.

Next Steps:

If you need an extra hand getting what you want out of life, contact Certified Life Coach, Aurelia Williams. She’ll help you design a life that allows you to reach your business and personal goals; cultivate more fulfilling relationships and that elusive achieve work/life balance you’ve been striving for.

Click here to learn more about her coaching program.

Positive Ways to Deal with Anger

By Aurelia Williams, author of Journey to Joy

“This is making me a headache!”

That lovely line above came out of my now 5yo’s mouth when he was frustrated over the daunting task of trying to learn how to tie his shoes. He blurted the sentence out then tossed the sneaker across the room. I walked over to him and talked to him about his frustration (Heck, getting those loops just right is hard work — smile). I explained to him that while it is OK to get angry and frustrated that there are proper ways to do it.

Anger is a completely natural response to frustration. Let’s face it, life is filled with things that can become frustrating, and most of those things are totally out of our control. What we do control is how we deal with those issues. In this message that I also share with my Journey to Joy students, I wanted to touch on positive ways that we can deal with, express and release our anger and frustration in positive ways.

Think it out - When you begin to feel angry — sit down, relax and then try to think about how you can solve the issue.

Talk it out - Talk to a friend, coach, counselor, or a church member. Expressing your anger by talking to someone about it is a great way to get the anger out.

Write it out - Keep a journal about your feelings. It really helps to get your feeling out of our head and heart and onto paper.

Let it out - Find a place that is secluded and SCREAM!! Yes, let it out - you can scream into a pillow, punch a pillow or stomp. Sometimes a good temper tantrum is in order.

Channel it out - Find some creative way to channel your feelings. Listen to music, paint, turn on the music and dance! There are many ways to creatively channel out anger.

Chill out - Try listening to calming music, taking in slow deep breaths, meditating or doing yoga.

Work it out - Do something physical. Get out and run, go to the gym or go for a brisk walk.

Please keep in mind that anger isn’t always a bad emotion but sometimes the way we deal with our anger is bad. There are many times where anger can be good and is quite appropriate. At can be protection from allowing other people to manipulate or dominate us. It can also motivate us to take action when needed.

Next Steps:

For more help, instantly access your instantly access your Journey To Joy tools for a happier and more fulfilled you. This inspiring eBook with accompanying audio recordings, worksheets and easy-to-apply action steps shows you you how to eliminate stress and lead a productive and satisfying life.