A new book, "THE MORE YOU DO, THE BETTER YOU FEEL" by David Parker, offers powerful strategies for overcoming procrastination; through utilizing both cognitive and behavioral techniques for people who are struggling with procrastination and disorganization in their lives.
When habitual procrastination is allowed to grow unchecked, it can overtake its victims. As a result of an ever-mounting number of undone tasks, the procrastinator may feel guilty for his or her self-inflicted predicaments, and overwhelmed by the person's emotions, which can combine to the point where s/he feels helpless and hopeless.
Imagine a person who only takes care of his or her responsibilities when forced to.
Try to picture this person in your mind. How would s/he describe themselves to someone else? Do you think s/he would call themselves a "take-charge" individual? Do you think s/he would be in good spirits, or might s/he feel low? What would s/he look like? Would s/he look cheerful and in control, or might s/he cast their head down--as though perpetually gazing at their shoes?
Avoidance and anxiety ruled the roost, and while s/he's "to-do" list might have contained only a few complicated tasks, the majority of it was comprised of less important tasks. As time passed, the "to-do" list became the "things I hadn't done" list.
Simple tasks turned into tremendous burdens, complicated tasks seemed impossible to deal with, and one only dealt with tasks when faced with the threat of severe penalties, or because other people or institutions required actions.
Because loss of interest in normal everyday activities is a common symptom of depression in some individuals, procrastination can actually cause depression.
Because procrastination can be more of a "hidden problem" in contrast to many of the more typical problems that a therapist usually encounters, the therapist may not see the connection between the patient's depression and the procrastination which may be causing their depression. And so, there is the potential that no substantial progress in the patient's fight against depression may be made.
When you don't feel connected to your tasks, it's easy to become distracted and to float away from them. In order to put an end to your habit of floating, you'll need to consider taking up a new behavior, one that's the opposite of floating, which will help you stay grounded in reality.
To help overcome floating and habitual procrastination, this simple technique can easily keep you focused on "just one task" at a time. That technique is just one of the methods to learn and practice in the book, "THE MORE YOU DO, THE BETTER YOU FEEL."
For specific "things to do" on time management, self-knowledge and other important subjects, consider purchasing one or more of the paperback or ebooks below including the "Workbook Edition" of "When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women:" (Paperback Edition for $13.09)
Increasing technological advances tend to be the consequence of living where everybody is trying to do more in less time. Conversations are routinely interrupted by cell phones and text messaging, people are pressing one another to be constantly available and world-wide access means many people are holding very early morning or very late evening meetings.
Our research tells us that it is a mistake to believe that time management is simply about working more effectively, prioritizing or planning ahead. It is all of that and much more. Of significance is doing what is important, using your strengths, disciplining yourself to stay focused, and having the ability to say 'no.'
To be more effective, most organizations and individuals believe they need to focus on improving their time management skills when what they really need to concentrate on are personal choices. As executive coaches, who help people to live a better life by taking control of their own behavior, we know this will take some dedication---but the benefits will be worth every bit of your effort.
The meaningful and practical recommendations, in theself-coaching booksbelow, will allow you to get to where you want to be both in your personal and professional life. What operates in the background of our time management behavior is discussed in these books to help you learn what you don't know about how you make choices and compromises.
It is our hope that by selectively applying these time management insights, you'll be able to gain a better work/life balance.
Often a career woman has to kiss more than one frog before meeting her prince.
Are you ready for a mature love story between a man and a woman who fall in love with each other for the first and last time in their lives?
In her new book, "A Real Love at Last",author Victoria Leigh Gabriella uses real-life inspiration to tell the story of the struggle to find true love after the discouragement of severed marriages and heartaches. Even later in life, men and women can still find real love.
"It is almost impossible to find a decent and nice man who can play nicely as Prince Charming for the rest of his life," Gabriella said. "Hopefully, people who are a bit later in life can still find the real love they want even though they may have been unlucky in love in the past."
"I hope it will give women a romance story they can enjoy, laugh at and relate to as women who have gone through many of the same situations," says Gabriella. "A Real Love at Last" emphasizes that love is not always easy, but finding true love after heartbreak and even divorce is possible.
For specific "things to do" on time management, self-knowledge and other subjects, consider purchasing the paperback "Workbook Edition" of "When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women:"
Incredibly, nearly all the people in our lives have subtle, or not so subtle, expectations of us.
Some expect us to do certain tasks. Others expect us to act in certain ways or to respond to certain situations in a prescribed manner. We have accepted some of those expectations willingly, even joyfully, while others under protest. Deep down inside, we need to admit that we cannot possibly meet all the expectations heaped upon of us.
We know that the more we try, the more disappointed we become in our inability to satisfy them all.
On top of the expectations from others, we also have our own expectations. Some are rooted in the way we were raised, some are influenced by our gender, and some are misperceptions about how someone in our position is expected react. Let’s take a closer look into these expectations—we may be surprised at what we see.
In our culture, women have been raised to be caring, flexible, intuitive, facilitating, and cooperative. We see what needs doing and we aren’t shy about getting it done. These are terrific characteristics. They are skills that women have been socialized to provide, and they are valuable in business. Unfortunately, these expectations wedge women in a double bind.
Even though we might like to compete and hit home runs, we are still expected to emulate society’s ideal of what our role should be: to behave properly, love babies, entertain beautifully, excel in the kitchen, keep a smoothly running and attractive home, remember all family birthdays and anniversaries, remember all family members’ appointments, volunteer, tutor the children, carpool, prepare for holidays, serve as timekeeper for the family schedules, plan vacations and parties, and serve as the entertainment coordinator. And this list is an over-simplification!
Having said that, even though we have been told we can be anything we want to be, as we enter the workplace, we soon discover the Catch-22: no matter how stellar our performance, we are still expected to conform to societal norms. We must host wonderful social events, smooth over bumpy relationships, cooperate even when it is inconvenient, know our place, and complete our tasks in a timely manner. And the workplace doesn’t give a woman credit for balancing work and home.
All the while, at home, most women are given little or no credit for their demanding role at work. We are still expected to be a supportive wife, an exceptional mother, a good friend, a happy homemaker, an effective community volunteer, and an ideal daughter.
What can we to do about all these expectations? Panic? Run away? Drop everything? Grin and bear them?
In the past, those might have been our options, but we’re here to tell you that you can do what you need to do, and still have time to do those things you want to do.
Choose what is right for you.
Let’s face it, it is impossible to be all things for all people.
Acknowledging that fact, we must decide what activities and priorities are most important. Our list may fluctuate frequently, and it definitely will change over time, but we need to be aware that we are making a choice—even if we do nothing more than retain the status quo. Keeping our priorities in mind will help us make good choices in the use of our time, energy, and resources. People who have satisfying lives have chosen to be in the driver’s seat of their lives; they choose what they truly desire, and then they act on their choices.
Every now and then a person runs across a great book that really helps improve the quality of life. This is such a book! Written by top coaches of executive women, Barb McEwen and John Agno, the goal of When Doing It All Won’t Dois to develop solutions and strategies to help women’s lives be easier, richer, happier, and saner.
It’s based on the premise that doing it all won’t do. If you are a woman who is weary and stressed and taking on too much and struggling to juggle it all, this book is dedicated to helping you find the enjoyment and satisfaction you expected with your success.
Well-organized with real solutions and a helpful workbook section, this book focuses on developing your signature talents to do what you do best, developing a formula for success, and prioritizing your values and goals. A great read!
The study found that only 15% rarely or never experience troubled sleep.
In March 2015, LHH surveyed 714 workers throughout the U.S. via an online poll and asked “Is work-related stress negatively impacting your sleep?” The results are as follows:
Almost always
28%
Frequently
26%
Sometimes
31%
Rarely
11%
Never
4%
Jim Greenway, Executive Vice President at Lee Hecht Harrison stated, “The negative impact of work-related stress on sleep can lead to a downward spiral on performance at work, from lost productivity, to impaired decision making, illness, frayed nerves and mistakes. It’s imperative that managers are watching and listening for cues that might signal if stress is impacting the heath and performance of their employees.”
Organizations can take direct actions to increase the resilience of their workforce so that employees are better able to manage stress.
Every now and then a person runs across a great book that really helps improve the quality of life. This is such a book! Written by top coaches of executive women, Barb McEwen and John Agno, the goal of When Doing It All Won’t Dois to develop solutions and strategies to help women’s lives be easier, richer, happier, and saner.
It’s based on the premise that doing it all won’t do. If you are a woman who is weary and stressed and taking on too much and struggling to juggle it all, this book is dedicated to helping you find the enjoyment and satisfaction you expected with your success.
Well-organized with real solutions and a helpful workbook section, this book focuses on developing your signature talents to do what you do best, developing a formula for success, and prioritizing your values and goals. A great read!
House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement on Equal Pay Day, which reflects how far into the current year women must work to match what men earned in the previous year:
“With nearly 61 consecutive months of job growth, the labor market continues to expand and provide Americans with more employment opportunities, but despite this tremendous progress, wealth inequality in our country continues to grow. This rising inequality is only exacerbated by the gender wage gap. Nearly 50 percent of our workforce is not attaining their full earning potential simply because they are women.
“On this Equal Pay Day we are reminded that the wage gap is a reality that millions of women across the nation have to face every day. Women on average make 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, causing a $10,876 annual gap between full-time working men and women. For women of color, the statistics are even worse: African American women on average earn only 64 cents and Latinas on average earn only 56 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men. The wage gap is costing families over $400,000 over a woman’s career.
“The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, signed into law in 2009 by President Obama, provided women and other workers with the ability to justly challenge unlawful pay discrimination in the workplace. This was a landmark step in the fight for wage fairness, but it was just the beginning. Republicans and Democrats must join together to ensure that every hard-working American can earn a living and fair wage, regardless of gender. That is why I urge my colleagues in Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which will ensure equal pay for equal work. Wage equity is essential to strengthening our middle class and building a lasting economic recovery that benefits all Americans.”
We live in stressful times. That is not an understatement. Things we have little control over.
"Is everything as urgent as your stress would imply?" Carrie Latet
We are keenly aware of all the many things we are responsible for---from managing the home, maintaining relationships, handling workplace issues, looking after our health, to name a few. Then there are all the expectations that others have of us, from spouses, to children, to relatives, to employers, to teachers and neighbors.
Although most of us recognize that moderate stress can help us to perform at a higher level, persistent stress can be debilitating and dangerous. Stress eats away our ability to manage both our time and our responsibilities. Hopefully, you are not one of those who want to wear their stress as a badge of honor to show how much you can handle!
Beware: Stress has a major impact both physically and psychologically. When we are continually under chronic stress, our body reacts whether we are aware of it or not.
Each of us has a limit beyond which stress becomes toxic, even deadly. Our resistance is lowered, our performance declines, our mental wellbeing gets derailed. There isn't a quick fix but successful people learn how to manage their stress.
Manage your life, manage your stress. Routinely create some healthy distance from your difficulties and the expectations of others. Participate in activities that give you pleasure. Nurture friendships with those people who make you feel good about yourself. Try laughing more. You could also start a Gratitude Journal. Each day for at least a month, write down three new things you ar grateful for.
Take another perpsective. Look at the stressful situation from various perspectives rather than just your own. Get input from others. Explore all the possibilities. Be determined to take action and embrace the change.
We're not talking churchology or religiousity. Whatever your belief system, it is important to believe in something greater than yourself. For some, this spiritual journey will be through their religious pursuits. For others, it will be a commitment to practices that illuminates their life signature. Then there are those who will simply want to acknowledge that life is a gift and to recognize the importance of taking care of your body with exercise, extra sleep and healthy food. It is recommended that you commit to the type of spiritual practice that helps fuel the light that is within.
Isn't it time women recognize that they are doing too much; too busy, too tired? As Dr. Phil would say, "How's this working for you?"
If it isn't, then it is time to focus on what is important to you. Never let the things that matter most be taken over by things that matter least.
Your life is not a dress rehearsal. Life is the real performance and you need to allow yourself to enjoy the journey. Shut the door on "superwoman." Open the door to the life you want. Several times during the day, ask yourself if what you are doing is the best use of your time and talents.
Stop blaming yourself. When you fail to get everything done, there is always another day. Things are never so urgent that you need to put yourself under all that pressure. Say goodbye to stress by not thinking that every problem you encounter is your responsibility. Remember, choose what is important and what needs your attention. Decide what others can do for you, for themselves, and for others.
"Happiness is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by the little advantages that occur every day." Benjamin Franklin
"I will be happy when..." is the way many people go about living their lives. Happiness is being aware, not only of the positive events that occur in our lives, but that we have choices in how we respond to unfortunate occurrences such as illness or accidents.
Happiness isn't off in the future.
It is living in the "now" and loving the moments of our daily experiences. We form an impression in every business or personal interaction. In the business world, we don't speak much about the heart. Yet, the purpose of doing our life's work should come from the heart--since all businesses are ultimately people serving people. We all need connection, belonging and meaningful contribution.
Happiness isn't something that happens to you.
Happiness is inside you now. We are all motivated from within. You only have to allow happiness to surface. You can use the power of your thoughts to focus on potentially positive outcomes, instead of potentially negative ones, and change your life.
Math matters when it comes to happiness: H = K x D x L
Five years after the introduction of the pill in 1960, 41% of "contracepting" women had a prescription, according to The Power of the Pill, a 2002 analysis by Harvard economists Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz.
Today, 4 out of every 5 sexually active women in the U.S. have taken oral contraceptives at some point in their lives. As birth control became widely available, women began delaying marriage and investing in their education without fear of pregnancy or commitment to abstinence, which led to higher female employment rates and better careers.
Bottom Line: The pill has had a singularly profound effect in advancing women's economic freedom.
Share of U.S. working women in management or professional occupations:
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