Healthy Work at Home Tips For Homeschooling Families

I’m continually struck by the number of men who rocket to success in companies where the majority of people are women. What is that about? From my perspective it’s about many things. The one that comes to mind first is that in most families, men have to ability and the option to be mono-focused on business. In my family, even though I’m obsessively focused on my business at the moment, because I’m loving the process and the results so much, I still have to be a wife and a mom. Even though I wake up in the morning just itching to get to work, I still have to feed, dress, pack, sunscreen, toilet, etc…my child. And that’s if I’m getting her ready to be gone for the day. If it’s an at home day, then I do all that in addition to puzzles, painting, fairy games, dress-up and starting next week, our home school curriculum.

I’ve spoken to many of the men in my company. They tell me to create “massive action”. They talk about how they get in their car and visit prospects all over the state and country, sometimes driving thousands of miles in one week. They talk about doing 15 meetings per week. Yes, they take time off to be with their families. In fact, this industry allows them the opportunity to travel and vacation and still maintain their momentum and income. It’s a beautiful thing. But still…when they go to work they say, “Honey, I’m off to Arizona for 3 days and then on to California. I’ll be back in a week. We’ll talk tonight” and then they’re gone.

This past weekend I attended a national training event and was gone for 4 days. Prior to leaving I needed to arrange for childcare during the weekdays, make lists regarding lunches, sunscreen, phone numbers, etc…I had to pay some bills, arrange for the milk delivery, sort out the laundry and I have a really, really helpful and involved husband. My point it that as working women with families, we do not have the flexibility to just pick up and go. If my husband’s job required him to be elsewhere on those days, I would have needed to stay home. This is not a complaint. It is a fact which I believe is true in most families.

That is why I was so impressed by what occurred at the training I attended. My company included a training session presented by women and focusing on the differences, the struggles and the benefits of how women approach this business. In addition they will now be having a “By Women, For Women” weekly training call. I’m thrilled. Beyond the soundness of the business and product, I knew from an emotional and spiritual perspective that this way the right company for my. That knowledge has now been even more solidified.

The path to being a women on top, may be different. But it is equally valid and ultimately more satisfying to do it in our own unique manner rather than doing it like the men. Work at home moms are very powerful women. Click here to read a blog post specifically about this topic.

I’m assuming that most who read this blog are working from home. What type of business are you in? There are so many different options these days that allow you to work in your PJ’s and not commute. I met some people today who do software development for a newspaper in Boston, yet they live all over the country and move frequently to satisfy their need for adventure. There are those who do data processing at home. People run daycares or consult on the phone.

Regardless of what you do, most businesses need to be marketed. Someone, somewhere needs to know what you have to offer and then desire you product or services. The most common method of marketing is to sell people on your offering. But people hate to be sold and not many like to sell either. What if there was another way to connect and network? What if you could bring people into your sphere and get to know them and their needs first? Doesn’t this sound like more fun?

When I’m not wearing my clinical social worker hat, or my mom hat I work in network marketing. I don’t sell. I don’t accost every friend and family member with my product or opportunity. Instead I spend my time building relationships online and offline. Sometimes I can help people. Sometimes they help me. Occasionally someone wants to know about my company and I tell them. It’s easy and fun and puts me in touch with interesting people from all over the world. (I make money too, but it just happens naturally). I call it attraction marketing. The way that I network with people can be learned by watching a series of free videos. Click here if you’d like to watch them. I believe what you’ll learn can be valuable in any business that requires marketing and people skills.

What type of Business are YOU in? Please answer by sending a comment. Also include how you juggle your business and your homeschooling, if that pertains to you.

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I took a vacation. It wasn’t an exciting vacation. I didn’t even leave my town. But I took time off from working on the computer and blogging and writing articles. I spent time reading books and playing with my daughter outside of our homeschooling time. This, is the beauty of self-employment. This is also why there have been no new posts in a couple of weeks, but that’s OK. I work for myself. I create a stream of residual income. Money comes in even when I take a break from my day-to-day work.

When one talks about balance in life–a delicate synthesis between work and play, childcare and self-care, not enough money and just enough to feel blessed–what one often thinks about is developing one or many passive streams of income that allow freedom of time and finances. I recently read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki for the second time. If you have not read it, I’d highly recommend that you do. He reframes the way that one looks at money, wealth, time, education and jobs in a way that is enlightening.

As homeschooling families we already have moved to a different manner of thinking in terms of educating our children. We have walked away from the mainstream education system in order to better prepare our children for the real world, as it is today and to inculcate them with the values that we hold dear.  Being self-employed, creating residual income, having multiple streams of passive income are all means for living that life that we desire and value without sacrificing our health and our family.

It was great to take a vacation from the computer and all the writing that I do. It was wonderful to know that I could do that, just because I felt like it and that the networks and structures I’ve set up both online and off would continue without my constant diligence. That is beauty of self-employment in the field of network marketing

The article below was written by Jen Laemmel, a holistic nutrition and wellness coach. She available for consultation by phone and can help you with your nutritional needs anywhere in the country. Her contact information is at the bottom of the post.

Hello, my name is Jen Laemmel. I’m a Mom of an almost 6 year old daughter, a wife, I run three businesses and am in the throws of starting another (business that is.) I mostly work out of my home and wow is it ever a busy life. My expertise is in nutrition and I am constantly trying my hardest to practice what I preach! I have found myself famished in the afternoons and realize that I forgot to feed myself. I was so busy making breakfast, packing lunch for my daughter, cleaning up and heading right up to my office that I forgot to eat. Isn’t breakfast the most important meal of the day? That sure is what I was taught and what I tell my clients. So, I’m turning over a new leaf and it truly is making a difference in my days and my life. I would like to share with you some of the very basics of what we all need nutritionally as well as some of the tricks I have come up with to actually meet those needs.

We all know eating well is so important and that we will be much happier and healthier if we make better dietary choices. Unfortunately, we all have that “busy” thing in common and it oftentimes gets in the way. So, I propose that we all pay attention to a few things at a time, such as making sure we ALWAYS eat breakfast, steer clear of those simple carbohydrate kid snacks, add some healthy fat to our meals, take out the trans fats (aka partially hydrogenated oils), try eating three healthy meals a day with good snacks in between, stretch and meditate for 10 - 20 minutes each day, stop eating 2 hours before bedtime, get plenty of sleep, drink more water, eat 80% organic, eat less red meat, exercise at least 3 times a week, and so on. I have found it best to only pick a few things to start with. Do it for a month. Really FEEL the difference it makes and then gradually add a few more good-for-you things as time goes on.

Although all of us are unique, our basic dietary needs are similar. Seven to ten servings of fruits and vegetables is a great number to follow. Focus on a variety of colors and various cooking methods. Fresh raw and lightly steamed vegetables are best with fresh frozen next and canned last. I also strongly recommend organic due to the higher nutrient content in these foods amongst many other reasons. We also all need whole grains in our diet. My rule of thumb is to buy bread that has been the least amount processed and has the smallest ingredient list. Stone ground and whole grain bread and pasta are wonderful once you get used to them and so much better for you! Choose brown rice over white rice as often as possible with white rice as an occasional treat. We need around the same amount of servings of grains as we do of vegetables and fruits per day. Dairy and protein requirements are about 2-3 servings per day. I would suggest lean means, nuts and legumes for your protein requirement and organic dairy or dairy alternatives. Good fats (essential fatty acids) are very important as well. Don’t be afraid of fats, especially the healthy ones like olive oil, flax seed oil and avocados.

So how on earth do you cram all of those foods in during the day? Well, first of all it doesn’t leave much room for the bad-for-us snacks does it? I always make a giant salad each night so there is enough left over for myself and my husband to take to work the next day. I put them in separate containers so they are ready to go. I also always have a big bowl of fresh fruit on my counter. If I have time when I get home from grocery shopping I pull the stickers off the fruit and wash them before putting them in the bowl. Anything to make it easier to grab and go, right? Before I leave the house I try to pack a bag of healthy snacks for my daughter AND myself. I also pack water bottles for us. This is key to keep from grabbing quick non-healthy items from the convenience store. We all deserve to treat ourselves well and be healthy. We all deserve to take time out for us. We all deserve to feel good and enjoy a long quality life! With just a few changes, you can truly notice a difference in your wellbeing!

Jen Laemmel, BS. MS. is a holistic nutrition and wellness coach.
She lives at almost ten thousand feet in the Colorado mountain town, Crested Butte. She lives there with her husband and daughter and together they enjoy a life of recreating, hard work and peace. Jen gained her passion for nutrition several years ago when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. This journey with her mom made her more and more aware of how important diet and wellness are. She received her bachelor of science in food science, human nutrition and dietetics. She recently completed her master in holistic nutrition and is currently undergoing a PHD. program in philosophy of nutrition. She recognizes how important continued education is, especially in an everchanging field like nutrition. Education is also the main focus of her practice. By giving people the information and clearing up the confusion, clients are able to use these tools to make better decisions for themselves. Her practice also focuses on the positive. So many times, people worry about what they should NOT do, what they should NOT say, what they should NOT eat. Let’s focus on what we do well and what we can do and good things will come our way. So working with Jen will be positive, exciting, new, and a bit oovy groovy, but it will also be scientific and will provide the most current information available. Contact us today and get started on your path to wellness!

contact Twist Nutrition by clicking here

If you’ve ever been to Europe you may have noticed that the European’s relationship with food is very different than ours is here in the US.  Here, food is often whatever we can throw in our mouths easily while also doing something else.  In other countries food is about nourishment of both the body and the soul. Meals are prepared, tables are set and people eat sitting down (at a table, not in the car).  The eating of food in old world cultures is about more than just calories, it’s about social connection and taking time to honor oneself and be thankful for the bounty on the table.

When you think about it that way, our quick dash through the drive-thru or the toaster tarts we eat standing up for breakfast, begin to appear rather obscene. In keeping with the theme of good nutrition for busy moms,  how do we keep all of our balls in the air and also change our relationship with food?  To begin I think we need to change our belief system. You are worthy of a sit-down lunch. Many months ago I wrote a post about taking care of yourself. One of the ways to do that is to honor yourself with a real meal and time to eat it.

It may be a meal by yourself while your kids are outside or working on their schooling, or it may be one where you all sit down together. People are becoming more interested again in creating time for family dinners, I’m also talking about breakfast and lunch. Think of the message you are giving your children if they see you making the effort to cook a nice meal for yourself and then sit down and eat it without doing anything else at the same time. Isn’t that the way you want them to treat themselves when they grow up? As I’ve written before, modeling a type of behavior is the best teacher.

So start small tomorrow. Decide which meal it will be. Pick a menu. Have the kids help you cook. Arrange your business appointments with a block of time set aside for a meal. Use glass dishes and put flowers on the table. Chew your food and savor the flavor. You’ll realize that the extra 1/2 hour you just spent gives more to your day and to your life, than it takes away.

Even with the best intentions it’s often hard to get all the nutrients that we need. Watch this blog for an upcoming post by a Master’s Degree level nutritionist. She is will be writing an article about how to choose healthy foods and cover all your nutritional bases. In the meantime, there is a vast amount of evidence that shows the necessity of at least 7 servings of high quality fruit per day. High quality means fruit that is grown organically or wild, and in non-depleted soil. The fact is that this is not the fruit we purchase at the grocery store. Our supermarket fruit has often sat in trucks and warehouses for weeks before ending up in our homes. It is often grown with large amounts of pesticides, in soil that has not had a chance to regenerate in many years. There is a product that I drink every  day that solves this problem. Just 2 ounces twice per day gives me the equivalent of 7 servings of wholesome/organic fruit in terms of antioxidants and phytonutrients. I really love this juice. If I skip it for a few days I can feel my energy level dropping. The product is called Monavie. Here is a link to read more about it. You can also purchase it directly from the company, on this website if you would like to try it. Click here to learn more.

OK, be honest here…how many of you eat the bread crusts your children leave behind and call it lunch? Or what about the half eaten apple, or the very bottom part of the banana? I have a friend who makes beautiful box meals for her kids when they are away from home for lunch but she is lucky if she remembers to throw some almonds in her pocket when she is running out the door. At least it’s almonds and not M & M’s!!

Let’s look at the difficulties involved with eating nutritiously as a busy mom. Personally, I’m not a food lover so if I am really busy, feeding myself is the first thing I “forget”. I also have a child who likes to eat constantly. I figure that if I nibble on her small left-overs, that should be enough to hold me until dinner. Thank goodness my husband likes to cook, and likes to eat meals as well. No corn flakes and milk for his dinner. So every night he cooks us a nice meal and we all sit down and eat together. Family time and nutrition in one easy package.

I do not feel I am alone in this manner of eating. When we have a ladies night out, we often share stories about nibbling on the lunch box remnants in the car on the way home. Are we really that self-sacrificing that we cannot take time to nourish our bodies? Work at home moms are especially prone to this problem since we are often don’t spend much time with other adults. If you work in an office, at lunch time most people eat. They either go out, or sit together and enjoy the meal they brought from home. Lunch at the office is both nourishing and social. Office people also take coffee breaks. Even though excess caffeine consumption can be a concern, these breaks are primarily about snacks and socializing.

At home most of us do not do this. We are so focused on our children, our home schooling (if we are doing that), our home business and all the other responsibilities of caring for a family that we often do not create a schedule that includes breaks for ourselves specifically designed for eating.

So what’s a mother to do? Stay tuned to the next few post and learn some nutrition basics, some time savers and some healthy eating tricks. By the time this nutrition series is done, hopefully we will all be taking better care of our bodies and our health.

It does not matter if it’s in the kitchen or the office; there appears to be a difference in the way that men and women handle multiple tasks. No offense to all you dads out there reading my blog, but I believe that most women feel that we do it better. (Please dads keep reading…I have good things to say about you as well).

Recent psychological studies have looked at this perceived difference.

A study by Dr. Glenn Wilson (2005) was performed for Hewlett Packard to explore the productivity of multitasking. What he discovered is astonishing. The average worker’s functioning IQ, a temporary qualitative state, drops 10 points when multitasking. That is more than double the four point drop that occurs when someone smokes marijuana.

Interestingly, the functioning IQ drop was more significant in men participating in the multitasking study by Wilson. This brings us to the controversial debate over if there are differences between genders in their abilities to multitask.

Below are some excerpts from a study performed at Missouri Western State University in 2006. The results are summarized in the abstract and the brief discussion below. They make for some interesting thoughts which I will share with you.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN MULTITASKING
BRANDY R. CRISS
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
Missouri Western State University

So what does this mean? In my life as a mom with a home business and a child that I’m homeschooling, I find that I am more likely to multi-task than my husband. I often play with my daughter, make lunch and answer the phone all at the same time. My husband finds that he has trouble focusing on making dinner unless our daughter is occupying herself. Most moms I know can get the whole family out the door to go skiing and arrive at the destination on time with everyone’s ski gear, warm clothes plus assorted snacks. Most of the dads I know would choose to live in Florida if they had to do that.

Moms tend to multi-task because they have to. Since they don’t often have the opportunity to do just one thing at a time, they have learned how to do many. The downside is that men seem to be more able to screen out other needs and distractions and truly focus on a task. As the research stated, their productivity is just a good as women’s. I think in some ways men might ultimately be more efficient since their focus is more directed. Then again, women might have the capacity for the same level of efficiency (or even greater?!) when they have the opportunity to focus uninterrupted.

When you work home, whether you are male of female, it is important to clear space when you can concentrate on your tasks for the day without distractions. Especially when you need to make business phone calls, or do any kind of writing or analysis, having clarity of thought allows you to be more professional and proficient.

In terms of overall brain functioning, there are a number of herbs and fruits which appear to help. Ginko Bilboa is one. Another is a relatively unknown (in the western world) Chinese fruit called schizandra, which is stated to be a superior “brain tonic”; and mental function enhancer.

Schizandra develops the primary energies of life, and generates vitality and radiant beauty when used regularly for some time. If used for 100 days successively, Schizandra is said to purify the blood, sharpen the mind, improve memory, rejuvenate the Kidney energy (especially the sexual functions in both men and women), and cause the skin to become radiantly beautiful.

Schizandra can be found in the new liquid Ayurvedic formulation called Zrii. You can read more about this Ayurvedic drink and it’s nutritional benefits by clicking here.

Whether you are multi-tasking or singularly focused working at home with the addition of homeschooling takes its toll on the best of brains. Remember to take time for self-care. That means good nutrition, exercise, sleep and fun.

Most  of this post has been taken from the Jan/Feb/08 issue of Mothering Magazine. They can be found in the feature called A Quiet Place, by Peggy O’Mara.

“Wanted: Men and women volunteers. No experience necessary. No predictable schedule. Situation often out of control. Long hours. Unpaid. No Training. No praise. Will be expected to work to an incredibly high standard with little support. Everyone else will think they know better than you, yet you will be the only one blamed if something bad happens. A totally improvisational position. ”

Here’s the better version….

“Wanted: Men and women volunteers. Develop the mental and emotional capacity of an entire generation. Potential to inexorably affect the quality of life on the planet. Potential to improve the envitonment, ensure world peace, eliminate nuclear war. Job is like no other yet will prepare you for anything. May hasten enlightenment. Valaue of job is beyond money: payment is made in memories, self-esteem, personal transformation. Individuals are handpicked for the position.”

The last one is truly the job of being a parent. It’s the job that I see myself doing, though the first one surfaces now and then. As we begin a new year we can make choices within ourselves that positively effect our families, our communities and the world. What view of parenting do you have???

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By now hopefully the shopping is done, the crafts are complete, the presents are wrapped, the cookies are baked and the house is cleaned and decorated. It’s wonderful when the four days remaining before Christmas fall on a weekend. It’s an even better excuse to stop working and just be still. Even if Christmas is not the holiday your religion celebrates at this time of year, there is something magical in the air right around now.

The shortness of the days gives the light a different glow. The waxing moon creates a beautiful sparkle on the snow. ( I happen to live in a town that recently got 4 feet in one storm…so snow is a large part of the magic here).  People generally are walking around in good cheer. There are parties and gatherings, singing and home cooked meals.

Winter solstice was traditionally a time of family, warmth and celebration that the darkness of winter was shifting and the days were going to begin getting longer again. Decorating with lights developed from the ancient traditions of bringing light indoors to  illuminate the long, cold nights.  Trees were brought indoors to remind people of the look, feel and smell of nature, hidden for a time beneath the white.

There are four days left until Christmas. It’s the weekend. Be conscious of the this special time. Take a break from the holiday busy-ness and from your business. Be with your family, be quiet, watch the light change as the sun sets on the shortest day of the year. Remember all the blessings of home, family, friends. Pray for peace and love to be the dominant forces of the coming year.

Happy Holidays to All!!!

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We all have them. The dreaded to-do list. There was probably a time in your life, prior to having a family and homeschooling and working your own business, that your to-do list was a nice little thing that helped you remember that your best friend’s birthday was next week. For many busy mom’s I know now, their to-do list is crucial to their day-to-day survival. If picking up Suzy at violin lessons at 3:00 is not on the list, Suzy will be sitting with her violin teacher for many hours to come. Some of these lists are so long, that only 10% of the things to do actually get done on any given day. The other items get rolled to the next day and the list grows exponentially. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Here is another way to approach the to-do list. First of all, do you remember the family calendar and the individual day-timers that I wrote about in the last post? It is here that all the appointments and scheduling need to happen. Your daily homeschool time, music lessons, doctor’s appointments, etc…should all be on the calendars. Your to-do list is for something different.

Just by removing the scheduling piece, your to-do list should shrink noticably in size. Now you need a new notebook that’s fresh and clean with no scribbling in it. You want to have 3 sections. Some people divide each page into three columns. Some people have three distinct sections of the notebook. Do what works for you. One section is for things that have to be done today and are very specific to today. For example, send flowers for aunt Hilda’s birthday tomorrow or sew Charlie’s costume for the play dress rehersal tomorrow. It is crucial that you write in this section only things that must be done today and that you know you can get done today. There should be no carry-over into tomorrow.

The second section is for things that have to get done soon, usually in this next week or so. so. List those things in order of priority and try to do one or two of them per day. Add to this list as you need to. Some examples might be to call the phone company to change your phone plan to a better one, or contact other parents in your homeschool co-op to discuss carpooling to gymnastics after the holidays.

Your third section is the long term list. This will include things like cleaning out the hall closet, or painting the third bedroom. As you become more organized in all aspects of your life, you will find you have time for these types of projects. Each week you can look in this section and if it seems reasonable, move one of these projects into your first or second section.

You can organize your home business to-do list in the same manner. As you do this for home and business you will find yourself becoming more efficient, hopefully calmer and definitely less overwhelmed. Getting started is the key. A clean fresh notebook and an hour or two of quiet time should get you on your way.

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