Keeping Up On YOUR Business Education

Nothing can help you and your business more than keeping educated about your product, service, programs you use, etc.

Freelance writer? Take a refresher course on grammar and writing style; as you know, even grammar changes from time to time and you should be current and updated to the social standards (think additional and new meanings to these words, for instance: sick, read, shade, and that "can't" is now acceptable).

Are you in the health and fitness field? Take an updated course on nutrition-what we thought we knew about fat and fake sugar, for instance, is nowhere near what we know now, or try out a few of the latest exercise classes.

Maybe you are a home daycare provider, you can easily brush up on child nutrition, new activities introduced by other providers and parents, you could learn about safety in your home, and always, always, brush up on your first aid skills (even THOSE change throughout time).

Businesswise, regardless of your area of expertise, take a local college course in marketing, find a MeetUp of like minds, join Toastmasters, talk to a tax consultant yearly.

There is so much you can do to stay current and on task. Take five minutes out of your time today and list those things that interest you and will move your business ahead.

Seasons Change

I've never had a period of time, since I became a mother, where I didn't have one child at home with me 24 hours a day.  At least one child was homeschooled at all times.  Wednesday, this all changes.  Our middle daughter starts college and the rest are either adults or in school (or both).  For the first time, I will have time to focus and concentrate on anything at all.

I'm nervous for the change, yet excited. We raised our kids to be self-sufficient and responsible, so there's absolutely no fear. Well, none, that is, except for me. Do I know how to be an adult?  One who is not somehow mothering (or smothering, as the kids might like to call it)?  

In my mind, I see a few things.  First of all, I know I do want to be home when the kids get home from school and my husband appreciates me and a hot meal when he comes home, too, and I like to spend as much time as possible with him before he deploys.  So, what I really see, is five hours a day that are mine to organize and manage. I can choose to relax or I can choose to be productive.

I'm a doer; I choose production.  

From the previous posts, you know I'll be spending five minutes a day on paperwork. I like to clean alone, with loud music, and deeply. There goes a half hour.  I think of it as exercise, but that's not quite enough, is it?  Another half hour to exercising at the gym or home, at least a few of the days.  A half hour to get there and and back and to lose on stupid stuff that always seems to come up.

Wow.  Where does time go when you aren't being productive?

But the truth of the matter is, when you feel good about your surroundings (a clean and well organized home), your relationship life is in order (being consistent at the end of the kids' and hubby's day), and you FEEL good (and exercising not only helps you look great, have energy, and helps maintain your health, it's actually a GREAT "anti-depressant")-you'll end up with better work in two or three hours than you would in eight without all the feel good stuff.

Yep, season's change, but I can change right along with it, and somehow, come out better than ever.

The Past... Still the Past?

I'm not a super private person, you probably know I've had a disease, COPD, for about 12 years now.  In case you ask, I've never smoked, it's from a house we had built for us, built wrong and, we had a serious crime burst into our life. Anyway, I say that so you are not shocked that I am still sick. For everyone in the house, it's come and gone, but for me, it's still here, though today is the first day I feel like this is it, I can make future plans!

One of the things I've noticed this time around is my lack of concentration. Even a good movie can't keep me attention, which is unusual and such a bummer for me personally (when you are sick, don't you love to cuddle with blankets and a good movie to keep your mind off of the pain?).  Today, though, I've managed to read a little and that's a feat, as it's been about two or three weeks that I've been off.  A GREAT sign.

As I'm reading and subsequently writing, I'm getting back into my old mold of teaching. I used to teach classes in writing and had a writers website which did pretty good in its day.  I not only love it, but I thrived.  It just so happens that the website went up for sale and the writing was off the day we evacuated that house for serious health reasons. I never stopped because I didn't like it. I didn't stop because it wasn't working. I didn't stop because I had better things to do. I stopped for the same reason I stopped being athletic; because someone was criminally negligent in building our home and someone was criminally negligent in taking what he wanted and it led to losing everything we had and starting completely over in so many ways.

I know I have so much to do. I know I have plenty to keep me occupied. I know I love what I do now, just wish I could do more and do it better... but I kind of want to teach again. I'm having a class on business management and organization soon, for people who, like me, live on federal land and have to have certain permissions and take several precautions, and, who, like me, have a significant other leaving for a year to a very scary place.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll be back in action all the way. I may not run a marathon or do flips around everyone, but maybe I can show them how and somehow, live on through them.