Welcome to the Workin My Way Community

This newsletter is intended to be a source of inspiration and ideas to help you follow your dream to create a better life that honors your values, talents and desires.  Check back to the web-site and blog often for more resources, articles and workshops to help you get there.   Feel free to ask questions or comment to jane@lifeandworkbydesign.com
 
I don't know about you, but up here in the Mid-Atlantic Coast area we are not sure that Fall will ever come.  But, just in case it does, order a snuggy long-sleeved Workin' My Way tee-shirt to proclaim your independence. 

There are several designs and a hoodie available in my store at Cafe Press.   Follow the link below.....   

News and Announcements

Do you need help sorting out your interests, dreams and career ideas?  Don't hesitate to take me up on a free 30 minute consultation.  I guarantee a fun conversation , and it will help you clarify your thoughts and identify just where you are in the process of making creative changes in your life.  Just send me an e-mail and we'll set an appointment. Times are available in the evenings and on Saturdays.     Contact me at jane@lifeandworkbydesign.com 

If you are ready to start making real changes and want to bring your dream to life, consider joining the Fast Track Your Dream community at Changing Course.com.  This comprehensive program gives you all the tools, resources and support you need to move forward before the end of the year.  2008 could be the "Year of The New Me"   (see book review below)

Click the link below for more information. 

  

   

Book Review

I know that you, dear reader, have never broken a New Year's resolution, but in case you know someone who has, buy them this book pronto. :)  M.J. Ryan, who also wrote Random Acts of Kindness, has created a small but mighty handbook for successfully making whatever changes you desire in your life.  The title is This Year I Will.....

Whether you are trying to lose weight, break a bad habit, have more free time, be a better Dad, or read more good books, her strategies and inspiration will get you there.  Once you understand your own personal approach to learning and change, you will be able to make promises to yourself that you will be able to keep.  

She suggests motivating exercises like:
writing a letter from your future changed self to your present self;
creating a frame for a specific time period (The Month Of Household DeClutter);
signing a contract with yourself spelling out what you will do and the rewards for doing it. 

Sprinkled throughout are examples of real people trying to deal with real problems that we all face sometime in our lives.  Ryan shows how we each have unique ways of affecting change for ourselves and that once we recognize that, we can deal with anything.  She explains how we learn and why we procrastinate. 

This is one of those books that now has little colored page markers scattered throughout - there are lots of great ideas I don't want to forget!  This Year I Will... is a must read for anyone who  struggles to make positive changes successfully and that is anyone who is human.    

  

Notes and Tips from My Journal

Focus - Focus - Focus!  How many time have I  heard my clients complain that they just can't seem to keep their focus on whatever new venture they want to work on? The onslaught of busy schedules, work, kids, clubs, exercise, housekeeping - the list goes on - and the "quiet" work of thinking, planning, analyzing and organizing a business or personal growth project just keeps getting pushed away.

Well, for the past two weeks, I have been experiencing commitment overload myself, and my focus had truly disappeared once I finally got back to my desk on Monday morning.  I will admit that I spent most of the day aimlessly shuffling papers, sorting through e-mail I didn't want to read anyway, and just generally whiling away more than several unproductive hours.   

Then I saw my FOCUS list and I was able to move forward again.  This is a critical strategy for anyone who's trying to work at several things at one time and let's face it - that's all of us! The idea is this. Once you have decided what your goal is, and have planned how you are going to go about reaching it, you make a list of the next 3 or 4 steps in order. 

These can be tiny, little steps like just looking up a contact phone number or ordering new business cards.  You post this list in an obvious place - mine is usually written on the white board in front of me - so that the next time you have any time to work on your project, you know exactly what you can do to move onward and upward.  Once you start taking action, the next steps will usually fall into place.   

Another trick is to keep an idea notebook that you can refer to when you hit a mental block.  This is a small notebook that will fit in your shirt pocket or purse. When an inspiration hits or someone suggests an idea you like, you can quickly make a note of it.   There is an obvious advantage to having your ideas in one place rather than scattered around the house and car on various napkins and scraps of paper.  This way you can use those times while you are waiting in traffic, a queue for coffee, or that long wait at the Doctor's office to brainstorm your ideas.  Whenever I hit a block, I just start thumbing through my little book and invariably find something brilliant that I had forgotten in all the hubbub!        


My third technique is to set a mood for the work I need to be doing.  I have discovered a wonderful web-site at www.pandora.com where you can create your own on-line radio station that will play all your personal favorite music right on your computer.  I have different stations set up depending on what I need to do.  Right now, while I am writing, I am playing my Jim Brickman jazz piano station which is quiet, has no lyrics and just sort of flows.  When I am filing e-mails and doing more routine busywork, it's the Beach Boys (yeh, I know)  and some great rock and roll.  When I am reading, I have a classical station playing.    I find after about a month of doing this that the right music for the task keeps me going at it until I'm done.    I highly recommend it.  The service is free on your computer and available by subscription for your phone or Ipod.      

Just like many aspects of working alone on something, you need to help yourself be successful.  If you have trouble keeping your focus, try some of these techniques.       

My Dear Jane letters

Dear Jane: I am a stay-at-home Mom with a 9 mo old baby and looking for some way to keep my skills fresh, earn a little income and stay in touch with some grownups for a few hours a day.  A friend mentioned something called a Virtual Assistant and I would like to know more about how they work.  

Hi Elizabeth:  Virtual Assistants are one of my favorite ways for Moms to stay at home to work.  There are many varieties of the species - some specialize in areas like accounting, web-design, internet marketing, public relations or writing and editing.  They work on either an hourly or a project fee basis and can be employed by anyone anywhere in the world.  If you have particular skills that small business folks could use, you can be in business tomorrow.  There are several sites you can go to for more information such as:  www.ivaa.org (Int'l Virtual Assistants Assoc); www.virtualassistantnetworking.com (their version of a global chamber of commerce);  www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/article 71516.html (an article about how to get started).
For those of you who are considering  at-home businesses, a couple of other good sites to visit are www.fabjob.com and www.hiremymom.com





   

A Quote To Ponder

You will develop your abilities faster by learning to make and keep promises or commitment.  Start by making a small promise to yourself; continue fulfilling that promise until you have a sense that you have a little more control over yourself.  Now take the next level of challenge.  Make yourself a promise and keep it until you have established control at that level.  Now move to the next level; make a promise; keep it.  As you do this, your sense of personal worth will increase;  your sense of self-mastery will grow, as will your confidnce that you can master the next level.        -Stephen R. Covey