From Good to Great in 2008
Wow, I can’t believe my last BLOG was posted back in July! I have been super busy myself and focused on other parts of my business and personal life. But now, it’s a new year. I’ve challenged the readers of my e-newsletter to join me in my journey to go from good to great in 2008. I’m raising the bar. I’ve asked readers and clients to share their stories on how they’ve raised the bar in their super busy lives. So, check back here often to read what others are doing and use it to inspire yourself to go from good to great in 2008!
(I like catchey rhymes because it helps me remember things better)
Drop me an email at natalie@nrgcoaching.com with your commitment and actions you’ve taken. Just let me know how you’d like it posted on this BLOG to share with others.
Work? Life? Must we Choose?
Business Week ran an article on June 28, 2007 titled, “WORK? LIFE? MUST WE CHOOSE?”
In essence, this article was about a speech Mike Bloomberg made as he spoke to graduates of City University of the NY College of Staten Island. Mike told these graduates and their familes that…”If you’re the first one in in the morning and the last one to leave at night and you take fewer vacation days and never take a sick day, you will do better than the people who don’t do that. It is very simple.” And he joshingly admitted that the parenting thing wasn’t his bag. He said “I’ve managed to raise two daughters who have turned out very well, thanks to their mother, no thanks to me. …”
In my opinion, this success is geared toward financial gain and more about workaholism than work-life balance. Of course, I’m not earning anywhere near Bloomberg’s earnings, yet I can proudly say that both my husband and I are actively involved in raising our children and doing meaningful work that we mostly enjoy. We live a comfortable life and have a pretty solid marriage.
So, for people like Michael Bloomberg, their strong work ethics combined with innate abilities and passion, are really their idea of success. Even when many of them don’t have to work that hard anymore because they have more money than they and their great- great-grandchildren can spend, they continue working long hours because work gives them an incredible sense of balance and joy.
Bottom line, it’s all about using what you’ve got to leverage the success you define you want. Make choices based on what’s most important to you both today and in your future! Realize that many of the financially successful pay a big price of divorce and lonliness because they lack true meaningful relationships.
That’s my 2 cents worth….do I get change?
Sincerely yours,
Coach Natalie Gahrmann
natalie@nrgcoaching.com
End Sleep Deprivation in your Super Busy Life
Super Busy Parents too often sacrifice sleep due to their busy lifestyle. Over time, this can result in sleep disorders. According to the Institute of Medicine, up to 75% of people with certain sleep disorders go undiagnosed. Many more are misdiagnosed. Fact is, seven out of every ten American women say they frequently experience a sleep problem.
I’ve read that women are more likely than men to experience sleep problems. Why??
Women tend to be the nurturers of their family and have more family responsibilities. Plus biological factors like menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause contribute to the gap between men and women who experience sleep disorders.
Many symptoms may be signs of more serious sleep disorders. If you suspect you may be suffering from a sleep disorder, it is important to seek help from your doctor or a trained specialist. Watch for dizziness, headaches, lethargy, forgetfulness, and other key symptoms.
Dr. Carol Ash, DO, Medical Director of the Sleep for Life center in Hillsborough, NJ is frequently a guest expert on local and national media speaking about good sleep habits. Her sleep tips for someone with a behavioral type of disorder include:
- Maintain a regular bedtime and wake-up time, even on the weekends.
- Establish a restful bedtime routine, like soaking in a hot tub, listening to soothing music or reading a book.
- If you wake up in the middle of the night, don’t watch the clock or toss and turn–try sitting and reading in another room. When you begin to feel sleepy, go back to bed.
- If you have racing thoughts at night, write them down and reflect on them in the morning.
- Avoid eating and exercising up to three hours before bedtime. Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol close to bedtime.
These tips may not be easy to implement in your super busy life. But, if you are committed to making changes and getting more restful sleep, you need to take action and start making changes now!
Pleasant dreams!!
Yours truly,
Coach Natalie Gahrmann
Meal Planning for Super Busy Parents
Improving your eating habits needn’t take more time from your super busy schedule. Fact is, most of you are eating anyway (I hope!). So, why not make healthier choices about what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat.
In a follow-up article I found related to the exclusive interview President Bush had with Hannah Storm on CBS last week, our President commented about how young he feels because he commits to rigorous exercise. Bush says that people who claim they’re too busy to exercise regularly really just haven’t chosen exercise as one of their priorities. He said, “I don’t buy that. I think you set priorities in life, and if exercise is one of your priorities, then you do it.”
Bush points out that a fitness culture “starts with families” and said “I exercise a lot because it’s good for my mind and it’s good for my soul.”
Plan your meals in advance so that you make smart choices for yourself and your family. Prepare fresh fruits and vegetables, when possible, but when a quick trip to the produce aisle is just too much in your already too busy schedule, have frozen varieties on hand for a quick delicious and nutritious meal. Avoid the trap of fast food for convenience and save it for just the special treats. But, when it’s the last remaining option (which sometimes happens in super busy lives!!), choose the healthiest options on the menu and avoid extra sauces and condiments that tend to add hollow calories.
Here’s to healthy eating!
Best regards,
Coach Natalie Gahrmann
Priorities even a President makes time for!!
I caught the tail-end of an interview on CBS Early Morning show the other day with Hannah Storm interviewing President Bush. Bush, being a super busy person as the President of the United States, had emphatically managed to incorporate fitness and nutrition into his life. So, I wonder what will it take for everyone else to stop making excuses?
President Bush said, “I think that you set priorities in life. And if exercise is one of your priorities, you’ll figure out time to do it.” We all have different priorities…our family, our work, our education, our spiritual growth, etc. Knowing your priorities will help you fully commit to living them.
I wonder why self-care wouldn’t be a priority to everyone. Without this, we really can’t be our best in any role in our life. We compromise our health and our well-being when we don’t make it a top priority.
Read the full story about President Bush’s interview and his commitment to fitness here.
Be the example for your family that exercise is not only good for them, but essential to their overall performance and well-being. Stop making excuses but make priorities instead!
Sincerely,
Coach Natalie Gahrmann
Women Leaders Getting Better at Juggling
I read an article yesterday that was published in the Miami Herald. It was in the Balancing Act section and was about how top women business leaders are good at juggling. Although I avoid endorsing juggling as a strategy and opt for rebalancing or integrating instead, the key point that I extracted from the article is about women talking more to each other and sharing solutions. Women today are finding more work/life solutions because we’re supporting each other better!
As women climb the career ladder or start their own business, the importance of having a diverse network of supporters both inside and outside of the workplace increases as does their responsibilities at work. Those who have been most successful at achieving an overall life satisfaction have learned to incorporate effective strategies for enhancing performance and productivity.
Even as women are building businesses and advancing on the career ladder, an ever-increasing number are also achieving work/life balance — A whopping 61 percent of women business leaders interviewed for this article claim they are satisfied with the balance between their career and personal life, up from 51 percent in 2006, according to the 2007 survey released by FIU’s Center for Leadership and The Commonwealth Institute.
Talking with other women and learning about potential strategies that work has helped women adapt effective strategies for better balancing their lives. The universal challenge of findingmore work/life balance is easing as more and more women talk honestly and openly about it and determine creative solutions. As women set more realistic expectations, we they are permitting ourselves to have time for our self and to ask for (and accept) help both inside and outside work, when needed.
Women need to stop hiding behind the facade of being perfect and be real instead. There’s so much more we can learn from each other when we’re open and honest!
From one working mom to many others….
Yours truly,
Coach Natalie Gahrmann
natalie@nrgcoaching.com
Women in Leadership
I read an article in the Star Ledger last week (Thursday, Feb. 22) titled “Ms.-Fortune for women in leadership: Slip from long-term trend; state’s top ranks suffer loss”.
The trend I read about in the article regarding the decreasing number of women at top leadership positions is disappointing. Although this wasn’t something that I ever wanted, I know many powerful and bright corporate women who could fill corporate officer and board director positions. Fact is, we even have our first women (a mother!!) running for the Presidency and a somewhat slow growing number of women in government leadership positions at the local, state, and national levels.
However, in the Fortune 500 companies the numbers of women in officer positions shrank from 16.4 % in 2005 to 15.6 % in 2006. And, where I live (NJ), we can no longer claim a single one of the 23 women CEOs in the Fortune 1000 since Lucent’s Patricia Russo transferred to Paris to retain her job with France’s Alcatel when the companies merged.
My experience working with women in the highest leadership positions reveals the ambivalence these women sometimes face between wanting to climb the corporate ladder and wanting to be with their kids more. The demands of higher level positions are usually heavy and difficult for those with a family. Many of the women in the highest leadership positions have partners who stay home with the kids and/or full-time live-in nannies who handle much of the childcare and household responsibilities.
Women are the ones who have the kids and are genetically set to do most of the nurturing. Women leaders tend to make many sacrifices. “Work/life balance is a big challenge; we are the ones who have the kids, and that’s not going to change. Corporate careers are complex and women have a lot of choices, and that’s a good thing; if we want more women to stay
More and more women are opting out of corporate America and starting their own business where they can set their own path and achieve more of what they want when they want it!
I’m curious, what are your thoughts about the decline in top leadership positions by women? Would this be something you’d want? Email me to share your views.
Yours,
Coach Natalie Gahrmann
natalie@nrgcoaching.com
Re-aligning your Priorities in your Super Busy Life
If you find there’s little time left at the end of the day, you’re not alone! Here’s a remedy I found on the internet (Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Indra_Books) for those who want to maximize their time:
1. First evaluate the amount of time you actually spend working, commuting, sleeping, eating, spending time with your family, attending children’s activities (i.e. baseball, dance lessons) , running errands, visiting friends/relatives, making purchases, etc.
2. Make a list of all of the things you do that take up the non-work related remaining hours
3. Sort the tasks by type of activity. Feel free to make up your own categories.
o Family
o Home Repairs/Maintenance
o Errands/Shopping
o Social Activities
o School Activities
o Other
4. Asterick the ones you would rather not do.
5. Estimate how much time it takes you to do each task (per week).
6. Make a list of all of the things that are on the perpetual “to do” list that never seem to get done. Sort this list, as well. (Having things that are constantly waiting to be done, does nothing but add stress to your life.)
7. Now here comes the difficult part. Giving up control to get control. You are really going to have to put on your positive change attitude to make this work. Ready???? If so, circle the items that can be hired out. The possibilities are endless. If you are serious about change, then you will not be making excuses at this point as to why someone else cannot do the job. Do NOT, use money as an excuse at this point. You can’t afford to do that. This is your life you are talking about. Here are some suggestions:
o Lawn Care
o Home Repair Specialists (painters, handyman etc)
o Errand Service
o Personal Shopper/Concierge
o Nanny/Babysitter
o Car Specialists
o Financial Specialists
8. Make another list of things you would like to do but never have time to do.
9. If you successfully completed Step 7, you should now be able to make a new list of things to do each week that include your “wants.” Can you replace the “have to” items with the “want to” items? If you answered yes, you did a great job and are well on your way to taking back control of your life. If you answered no, then we still have some work to do.
Now some of you are probably saying, this is easy for her to say. Well, no it isn’t. I have helped many clients do this so that they can have time for the items at the top of their priority list. I, myself, had to hire out some things in my business that I don’t have the skills or expertise to handle and I really don’t enjoy doing.
Stop now and take stock of your life and priorities. You may find that when you reprioritize you only need some reorganization or you might have bigger problems that would benefit from the regular commitment with a professional coach, organizer, or life management consultant.
If we at N-R-G Coaching Associates can be of assistance, please contact us to discuss your needs.
Best regards,
Coach Natalie
Work-Life Initiatives
In analyzing the needs of today and tomorrow’s workforce, work-life balance is high on the list of issues facing both employers and employees. It is a critical issue at the forefront for both families and for Corporate America (actually not just Corporate America…it’s a global issue!)
Balance is really about being in control and feeling comfortable with your choices not about a juggling act. There are numerous studies I have read. They indicate a direct correlation between strong support of work-life balance practices and positive employee retention, productivity, and customer service ratings. Even so, work-life balance is not simply something a company can do for its individual employees. It also includes what individuals do for themselves in attaining meaningful achievement and enjoyment in everyday life.
However, keep in mind some inherent realities I picked up from a BLOG called “Brother in Arms” that I tend to agree with wholeheartedly:
• Not everything is of equal importance in your life, and perfect balance probably does not mean equality.
• Your life is constantly changing and you constantly need to reallocate your resources.
• Things happen that are out of your control, but it is up to you to respond to these external forces.
• Change in one area probably impacts all others, so be flexible and proactive.
• Recognize and accept that you will probably drop a ball or two now and then.
Explore your corporate and organizational work-life initiatives. When both company and employee efforts are complementary and sincere, true work-life balance can be achieved.
Managing the Homefront in your Super Busy life
I’ve been coming across more and more women who have husbands who have left the work force to be home with the kids. For some, this is the perfect solution. This tends to work real well when there are more career opportunities and ambition by the woman but a desire to have the children primarily cared for by their parents.
What I find happens in some cases is sort of a disconnect. There’s somewhat of a role reversal to the former traditional model of the father as the bread-winner for the family. This may create feelings of resentment, jealousy, frustration on the negative side or feelings of appreciation, support, encouragement on the positive side. Neither feelings are right or wrong.
The problem comes when these feelings are not discussed honestly and openly. Someone feeling negatively really needs to be heard. Otherwise, this may adversely effect the relationship, and ultimately the family unit.
Many of the women I know who are the bread-winners of their family tend to be controlling. Not necessarily a ‘control-freak’ or not necessarily consciously but by default. Husbands in the role of a stay-at-home dad may relinquish their role and behave in a subservient manner. The frustration for women comes when they not only work long hours in their career but are also expected to oversee or manage the household despite having someone capable at home.
I don’t think there are any quick solutions but a need for constant communication. Both parents need to be clear about their roles and contributions to the family unit. They need to be in touch with their feelings and recognize when they’re not feeling good about something; then address it without placing blame or judgment.
Beings this seems to be a growing area of interest and concern, I’d love to hear from those of you in this type of situation. Please email me to describe your situation as well as what’s working and what’s not. I’ll continue updating a BLOG discussion on this topic as I hear from more of you.
Thanks,
Coach Natalie
