Parenting Archives - Sharon M Weinstein

August 19, 2022 By Sharon Weinstein

What are you waiting for….

The wait is over!

You are invited to a Zoom webinar Book Launch!

When: Sep 7, 2022 -12:00 PM Eastern Time (the US and Canada)

The Book for which you’ve been waiting…. Think Differently…18 Ways to Fix Broken Thinking

Register in advance for the launch – follow this link!

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KEEr94rRQhuX-lUL4oDL9Q

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

The Launch you do not want to miss…coming to a Zoom screen near you on September 7th and within your reach!

– GAMES…Yes!
– Lots of prizes
– Win a free workbook
– Win an Amazon gift card (value $100)
– Win one hour of one-on-one Coaching with Dina or Sharon
– And, SO MUCH MORE!

And, if the invitation is not enough, here is a short sample of what’s waiting for you…

June 20, 2021 By Sharon Weinstein

The Big Reset…who owns a great work environment?

It’s been more than a year since we pushed the reset button. During this time, many of my clients and colleagues began to be “home-based” members of a team. Moms have been pushed to the limit with work, schooling, child-care, and stress. There was a time when it was taboo to talk about the stressors of work/life balance in the physical workplace. My clients report that now is the time when it is okay to make the personal professional. After all, how many times, when on a Zoom or Teams call, has a child entered your workspace (whether it is a real space, the kitchen island, or a bedroom)?

Some companies pushed reset by shuttering satellite offices, knowing full well that employees are perfectly capable of maintaining productivity in a home setting.

We have become much more flexible, and there are many facets to flexible:

Shifting work hours or job-sharing to accommodate school schedules and drop-offs plus the formidable child-care crisis that occurs between 3 and 5 pm
A shorter workweek which has been successful in Europe for many years
Support for those who work from home, including a budget for a desk, chair, or desktop monitor

Who owns a great work environment? It is a shared responsibility that is owned by the employer and the employee. It’s time to push reset and acknowledge that shared responsibility. The employer can ask direct reports about their preferred styles of working and what support they may need. Continue to schedule remote or hybrid team meetings to enhance engagement. If onsite, maintain a safe setting and reread the three facts of flexibility!

The employee can maintain boundaries, advising kids and partners of dedicated work time, and may need privacy. Keep regular hours, whether remote or in-person. Take the time to take care of yourself, allowing downtime, hydration, and small talk to support your own physical, emotional and social needs.

It’s been more than a year, and we are ready to return to the workplace or to maintain a more flexible workspace no matter where that may be. The Big Reset is here…and we all own the responsibility for making that work environment a great one! Are you ready to push reset?

March 20, 2020 By Sharon Weinstein

Life as a Balancing Act…working/schooling at home

Coronavirus has given us a new appreciation for our “spaces.” While many of us are fortunate to have a designated home office, others are not. While some have a designated play space for kids that can be converted in to a mini-schoolroom, others do not. What can you do to keep the balance while confined during this pandemic?

Tips from B is for Balance, 2^nd edition offers this advice:

Create a Designated Work Area at Home

When you are in your home “office,” that’s the time to work, to respond to calls, complete electronic banking, update social media, and reply to electronic mail. When you are finished, walk away from the office and computer. Set aside specific times for checking messages. Then, reward yourself with personal time.

Master Efficiency

Many of us are teleworking; keep in mind that many professionals find it difficult to adjust to working from home, even those who have done it forever. The freedom of working in casual clothing (or not getting out of your pajamas), of not reporting for work at a specific time, and of not being directly supervised by others creates an environment that may become lax. You must be responsible for your own efficiency, effectiveness, and efforts. Is your work environment efficient and ergonomically correct? Does it lend itself to a high level of productivity in a short time span? Are you a morning person—someone who works best in the early hours of the day? Set a schedule to plan your work at home, and then work according to your plan.

Manage your Time Wisely

You schedule appointments with other people in your personal planner, so why not schedule time with yourself? Make appointments for regular exercise or meditation (even more now than ever before). Regardless of whom we are and what we do, we still have the same 24 hours in each day. Do you delegate, or you the one who must do it all to get it right?

Know What Is Important and Why

In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey showed that for many of us, the day is filled with tasks that attract our attention and seem urgent, but they may never need to be done. Weed those out and make time for the important tasks. The important duties that are also urgent require our immediate attention. Learn to prioritize. Know which of the things you must complete today, or this week, are most important and engage in systems that can help you to stick to your schedule. This is a great time to master prioritization; you may be “in” for quite some time.

Identify homeschool space

Perhaps your peers have homeschooled for years; suddenly, you find yourselves in the same situation, and by chance, rather than choice. Identify a dedicated space where your child or children can work on class assignments with good lighting, connectivity, and a sense of ownership. Encourage downtime, and recess; for yourselves and your kids.

And, for those of you out of work, again not by choice, and struggling with what to do to maintain a sense of calm, I offer these tips:

No one knows you better than you; work that to your advantage
Become a master of efficiency
Identify those areas of life most important for your well-being and balance and integrate them within your lifestyle
Know your limits
Treat yourself with kindness

What matters most is, do your best! There is no playlist…hundreds of thousands of moms, dads, and grandparents will be forced to balance homeschooling with their day-to-day work responsibilities. Life is a balancing act─ now more than ever before. All of us need downtime…be sure that you take the time in your day to appreciate life, be grateful, and be kind.

April 5, 2017 By Sharon Weinstein

Use Your Words…starting with “A”

How often have you told your kids to ‘use your words?’ When we were raising our now adult offspring, we really did not use that term. We noticed it when our kids became parents themselves, or when we watched the movie entitled, Parental Guidance with Bette Midler and Billy Crystal.

Whether we are raising kids, engaging employees, or collaborating with partners – we want to emphasize positive words. In comparison with good words, “angry words send alarm messages through the brain, and they partially shut down the logic-and-reasoning centers located in the frontal lobes,” write Newberg and Waldman in the book Words Can Change Your Brain.

So, I started with the letter “A” and I discovered these positive A words: ‘able, acceptance, accepting, action, activate, active, add, addition, adorable, advantage, affirm, ageless, agree, agreeable, aid, aim, abundance, accountability, accomplished, achieve, acknowledgement, adaptability, adventurous, agility, alertness, ambition, anticipation, appreciative, authentic, awesome, admirable, accommodating, ample, appreciative joy, actability, affable, alacrity, amiable, astounding, attractive, alive, achievable, acts of kindness, adaptable, adaptive, adequate, admirably, admiration, admired, adored, adoring, adoringly, advanced, advantageous, advantageously, affability, affably, affinity, affirmation, affirmative, affluence, affluent, afford, affordable, agile, agilely, agreeableness, agreeably, aligned, alluring, alluringly, altruistically, amaze, amazement, amazes, amazingly, amiability, amicability, amicable, amicably, amusing, appeal, appealing, applaud, appreciable, appreciated, appreciates, appreciation of beauty, appreciatively, appropriate, approval, approve, ardor, art of appreciation, art of stillness, art of well-being, assurance, a reason for being, accommodative, amiably, accolade, acumen, adjustable, admirer, admiring, admiringly, adorer, adroit, adroitly, adulated, adventuresome, and ambitious.’

Think about the words that you use on a daily basis. Are they positive or negative? How do you make others feel with your words?

Whether it is Parental Guidance or Words Can Change Your Brain…give positive words a chance. Use your words to reflect your attitude in parenting, in business, and in life!

July 27, 2016 By Sharon Weinstein

Your Environment…your choice!

Your environment is your space…it is your body, and the settings in which you live, work, and play. Your body probably started out on an even playing field 25 or more years ago. And, your home and work settings have influenced your body’s ability to adapt – to thrive and survive today and forever. Think about where you live, work and play, and think about the sources of stress that present on an almost daily basis and influence your ability to be well and to stay well.

Let’s begin with choice! The choices that you make, about what you put into your body and that with which you surround yourself, impact your outcomes – how well you feel, how productive you are, and how good you look. Are the choices that you are making healthy, or will they impair function? For example, is a can of soda on your desktop – eager to turn your body into an acidic environment that will slow you down, swell you up, and put you to sleep? I hope not!

The work-life connection

A crisis exists today. Millions of people are unwell, suffering from the stresses that are part of modern living: lack of sleep, poor nutrition (and obesity), exposure to dangerous pollutants, no exercise, and time pressures. And people — millions of people — are looking for solutions.

Workplace wellness programs are beginning to earn their place among necessities within the environment. Model programs for disease management are decreasing days lost from work, enhancing lifestyle, and increasing performance. As workweeks are expanding and stress levels are rising, more hours are spent at the workplace, and health takes a toll.

One of the greatest sources of stress for workers, regardless of professional role, is work-related. We all have the same requisite number of hours in a day – only 24. And yet, we try to extend those hours and make them equal 36 or more. It is virtually impossible, and our productivity demonstrates our failure to adhere to the ‘work day’ as a somewhat normal work day.

A workplace is only as good as how it treats its workers. Today’s employers are constantly seeking ways to assist their workers in managing their job responsibilities and their personal responsibilities and needs. Strategies for work/life balance help create supportive, healthy work environments; strengthen employee commitment and loyalty; and result in more productive workplaces and improved customer satisfaction.

As professionals, we have expectations from our work environment, from those with whom we work, and our future. Oprah Winfrey suggests that, “right now you are one choice away from a new beginning—one that leads you toward becoming the fullest human being you can be.”

If your path is paved with good intentions, but your work is unrewarding and your time is not your own, negotiate. Think things over and make a change. Negotiate for change in the workplace; work with your employer to improve the environment, your outcomes, and the company’s success.

As workweeks are expanding and stress levels are rising, more hours are spent at the workplace, and health takes a toll. Initiatives aimed at producing a healthy workforce, enhancing recruitment and retention, decreasing overall healthcare costs, and enhancing productivity and bottom line are evolving. Workplace Wellness Programs provide the structure, encouragement, incentives and ongoing support that many individuals need in order to make lifestyle changes. Embark on the journey to workplace wellness…and begin by treating your staff well!

It’s your choice! It’s your business! It’s your future! Make it a healthy one…