Alexia's Views

The Power of Rest

I'll be the first to confess I'm not very good at resting. I love to stay busy and productive. I even label myself a producer (a title I snagged from my amazingly productive mentor, Rhonda Shasteen). I feel good when I have things to show for my work at the end of my day. So, I don't like to lie around that much and rest, that is, unless the objective of my time is to do nothing but rest. I've written about R&R before, but find it valuable to revisit the subject from time to time since it is so easy to forget.

I devour non-fiction books on personal growth, business, faith, foreign language, or anything that is teaching me something. I almost feel guilty reading fiction;however, in the many non-fiction books I read, I've come across a recurring theme...REST. 

There is so much value in taking a day to rest from all things you consider to be work. It can be your job, your side job, or your exercise routine. This advice hit me so much to my core that I decided to try a new approach and take one day of the week as a dedicated a resting day. Christianity and Judaism call it the Sabbath. Regardless of your belief system, a 24-hour period to allow yourself time to recuperate and recharge will allow you a more productive week. There are even studies that show people who rest one day a week are more productive the other six days than someone who works without resting.

Now that I carve out one day, I don't have to wait for a day that just isn't busy, to rest. If I wait for a slow day, it will never come because I love staying busy. On my day off, I read fiction, watch TV and sleep more. I hang out with friends and spend time outside if the weather is permitting. All of these things enrich my being without necessarily producing anything other than a well-rounded, recharged, whole person, and that is worth far more than any one product from the rest of the workweek.

Find time to rest because you can!

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Are You Working to the Point of Sickness?

Are You Working to the Point of Sickness?

Many of us are guilty of doing working and pushing ourselves so hard that we make ourselves sick. I know I have.

Is entertainment selfish?

How do you choose to invest your time and energy? How do you divide your time among work, family, entertainment, exercise, and civic responsibilities? How do you invest your free time?

These are some questions I've been asking myself the last few months. Through some reading and personal reflection, I faced the fact that I was spending all my time working, exercising, and entertaining myself with friends and parties and not doing enough giving of myself to things that matter.

I found just by using a majority of my free time to entertain myself, that I was not being a good steward of my time and energy, a great gift and blessing in life.

So how do you fix things? I've learned that, as a creature of habit, my routines aren't easily changed, but can manifest growth with more gradual changes over time. That means I didn't jump into every volunteer activity known to man and over commit myself overnight, but I did select a few key volunteer opportunities and make some calculated smaller time commitments. I chose to donate my time at my church helping with the high school youth and giving a little more time to the social media and choir commitments I also have there. Additionally, I committed to helping organize events with my favorite professional group, the American Marketing Association. That also means I let a few parties and happy hours go. Sometimes I can't say yes to go out because of a volunteering commitment.

I started adjusting my schedule and giving my time, and much to my surprise I found I wasn't stressed or put out by these activities. Instead, I found they gave me far more in love and energy that I was physically able to give to them. I did not make the decisions to feel good about myself or gain something out of them. I only felt it was high time I started thinking of others a little bit more because the amount of useless entertainment I was engaging in was selfish.

Please consider if your entertainment is a little selfish. If it is, you have the power to control your decisions and actions to give a little more of yourself. It won't bite you! I hope my little lesson will encourage you to be a good steward of your time and energy too. You can!

Balance – Myth or Method?

By AmyK Hutchens

via www.lipsticking.com

This is a great pos on work/life balance

It's OK to Be Nice to Yourself

We work all day to pay the bills and support our families. We give to our friends, throw wedding and baby showers, and honor our mothers and fathers. It is so easy to get caught up in all the excitement of life that we can often forget or choose to neglect taking care of ourselves.

In effort to stay balanced and harmonized, I try to treat myself from time to time. I generally let personal pampering go far beyond the point of needing attention before I decide to take action, but when I decide to do something nice for myself I like to indulge in facials, manicures, pedicures, and long weekend trips. Often times the treat will be a reward to myself for persevering though a tough project or accomplishing a big goal.

My most recent venture in taking care of myself was a trip to the mall. I don't love to go shopping. I put it off and tell myself that I'll do it later, until one day I can't take it anymore and go for it. 

Letting things go for a while can also wear on your self-esteem and eventually trickle into your relationships and performance at work. Before things get too out of hand, STOP, and take care of yourself.

Go get your hair done, buy those shoes, play some golf, have a glass of wine, eat some chocolate, or go for that massage. It's a small investment to make in your overall long-term well-being.

When people talk about wellness now a days, it's generally meaning diet and exercise. Wellness includes the overall mental state and peace.

My cousin once told me some wise words about what to do with your annual bonus, if you get one. He suggested taking half to savings and using the other half to pay bills and splurge on yourself. It's a nice reward for a year of hard work.

Another friend is a master at incorporating life into business trips and busy work week. She may be out of town but will coordinate business travel with a friend to enjoy dinner or the hotel pool. She produces phenomenal results for her company and manages to keep a healthy balance at the same time. She's a real mentor when it comes to her approach to this, and she's always dazzling.

Be nice to yourself because you can!

Practicing Detachment

I don't mean detachment from society, but detachment from stuff and the norms you grow so used to as part of your daily routine.

I walked into my Tuesday night yoga class at the Dallas Yoga Center to discover the wall clock had been removed. "What happened?" I wondered as I suddenly realized I'd have no concept of time for the next couple of hours. For a person who is very schedule-driven like, losing track of time could be quite distressing! Fortunately I had a flexible evening in front of me, so I decided to take it as an opportunity to practice detachment from time. 

We began or practice, and I couldn't analyze every five minutes padding along the way. Since I knew I couldn't, I stopped thinking about time and enjoyed my yoga practice more than I have in months. During the practice the headstand sequence is the pose that gives back to the Earth and allows you to release your attachments in the world. I always do a mental cleanse in that pose and breath out anything that has been bothering me. Practicing detachment from time got me thinking what else could practice detaching from.

1. The Internet. Oh how the web has intertwined itself into everyday life. I might seriously have withdrawal without the immediate gratification of having information at my fingertips.

2. My iPhone. I love my phone and don't know what I'd do at stoplights without it! I confess I'm a rampant Words with Friends player and use stop lights to strategize my next move much to the dismay of the person waiting behind me.

3. Television. This one isn't my biggest challenge, but I think I'd miss it more if I didn't have it for a week.

4. Food. I'm not a big advocate of fasting from all food, though as an Orthodox Christian I fast from certain foods sometimes during holiday seasons like Easter and Christmas. Fasting from meat and/or dairy can be a big challenge to make you realize your attachment to something you expect to have readily available in life.

Detaching can be a challenging decision, but it's not a bad idea to take a detox weekend every now and then to separate yourself from things that consume your life. Peace, quiet and a change of scenery can often be just the ticket to detach from things, reconnect with yourself and recharge your batteries. Go on and let go because you can!

 

Time for Some R&R

We are hard workers, and many of us are workaholics in fact. We produce and create for our companies and families. We are there for loved ones in need and take care of all the details, so that's why I'd like to stop to praise the counterpart to all that work, rest. 

I confess I'm not very good at resting because I'm not good at feeling bored. I can barely get through ten pages of a book because I get restless and start thinking of things I can do to produce like cooking, cleaning, or working on something. Sometimes the only way I can rest is if I schedule it in and resting is the task I'm meant to accomplish. Other times, I work myself so hard that I get kicked own and can't pull myself away from the sofa in some form of forced rest in hopes of avoiding illness. 

When I do rest I like to rest in a few different ways.

Naps. If life isn't too stressful or crazy or I'm visiting the family in Greece where a siesta is part of the Greek culture, I adore taking a delicious nap. That refreshed and renewed gusto to engage with the world is on of the blessings on this Earth.

Lessons from Boot Camp

A few months ago I bought the Dallas Groupon for Camp Gladiator, which is a group Boot Camp style workout complete with trainers, pep talks and a lot of really hard exercise.

I went in today saying I'll commit to at least four classes during this unlimited month of workouts that came with my Groupon. Fortunately I made that personal commitment because otherwise, I'm not sure I'd stick with it. Why?  Because it's hard, and it hurts. It's that good kind of hurt that you know you'll be happy about later because you're challenging your body.

How Do You Prioritize Your Day?

We all have a thousand things flying at us, and they make getting everything done a daily challenge. There are work and personal commitments to honor, and if you're like me at all, you have personal desires that you need to respect to help you stay a healthy, balanced person. So when life breathes chaos, how do you keep your head above water without sacrificing your health, relationships, and quality of work?

I know I struggle with prioritizing. In November of 2010, I had all the blessings of the world flowing into my life that made it a zoo. I was publishing my book, planning a launch event, moving to a new place, traveling for Thanksgiving and having some book signings; and it was ALL on top of my regular workday. It was a huge challenge, and I don't know that I was entirely successful at it, though I did manage to keep my cool, which has been a challenge for me during past stressful times.

Suck Out All the Marrow of Life

I love that phrase from Dead Poets Society when the group of young men was studying Henry David Thoreau and learning how to suck out all the marrow of life. It gives me the most physical and emotional image of carpe diem. Springtime always make me feel like I'm getting more out of life because of the gorgeous Texas weather in April and May. I spend as much time outside as possible just drinking it all in, the warmth on my bare shoulders and the bright sun in my eyes. It all makes me feel more alive.

This time of year brings out a sense of balance because people are getting out and contrasting the winter months stuck inside. Fourth quarter frenzies are over and Spring Break has arrived. It's pretty nice how nature has built in a natural work life balance for us, and it seems near impossible to say "no" to Mother Nature.

Aside from being outside, I've been blessed with meeting an amazing group of women. They work hard and incorporate joy in to every aspect of the work day as much as possible. They have meetings over dinner and drinks or by the pool when at a conference. These ladies are amazing at what they do and still remember to laugh. They blend the aspects of work and life in a new way that I find truly inspirational. They are devoted to their families and share special occasions together too. In a day when many women are reluctant to help out other women in the workplace, these ladies are a true sisterhood.

It's rare that I see this kind of powerful dynamic as a reality before my eyes. They are giving me career advice simply through observing them. Sharing time with these ladies combined with the springtime makes me feel like I am sucking the marrow out of life even when other details of life are fluid. Seizing the day can very much be about moments in the day rather than the entire day it self. 

I encourage you to listen to the nudge within, be bold, and suck out all the marrow of life. You can!