Do you know what you can’t outsource? RELAXATION!!!

This weekend I took the weekend off – off of work, off of parenting, off of housework and it was GREAT!! I went to the mountains with a girlfriend and we relaxed, ate yummy food and went to the spa! I don’t think I even realized how much I need the time to wind down and just have some fun.

The picture above is of a gorgeous mountain in Banff, Alberta.  I am so lucky to live close enough to take a weekend trip to Banff! It was windy and cool, but that didn’t slow us down!

So how about you, do you take the time you need to relax occasionally? Or do you constantly work, and parent and manage and prioritize just trying to get everything done that needs doing? We all have so many things going on in our lives, but even one day of complete relaxation can give you a renewed energy level and sense of focus.  I suspect this week I will be able to get more done and enjoy it more, all because I took a break when I needed one.

And remember, if you need help running your business so you can take a break – a virtual assistant can be your partner in success!

This week’s time tip is very simple, but truly powerful.  It involves two parts:

1. Every Sunday morning spend 15 minutes reviewing your calendar for the next 2 weeks.  Make sure you have no conflicts and that you know how much free time you have.
2. Now that you’ve reviewed your schedule make sure you add something to it – time for yourself!  Even if it’s just one 15 minute block during each day, it’s very important to get that little break each day.

Hope you have a great week everyone!

I’ve decided to add a new feature to my blog!

Every Tuesday I will publish a tip on time-saving. It might be about a new technology, maybe just a reminder of effective ways to utilize time, maybe I will suggest a way to multi-task.  If you have suggestions of great time-saving tips I’d love to hear them, the best way to get them to me is to dm me on Twitter @halosecretarial but you can always comment or email if you prefer.

This week’s Tuesday Time Tip is:

Keep track of your time for 2 days and see exactly where you are spending it.  Did you lose an hour to email, or get sidetracked by a colleague?  Do you spend a lot of time in meetings or on phone calls?  After you monitor your time for 2 days you need to sit down and make 3 lists.

1. Things you have to do
2. Things you can delegate
3. Things that you can eliminate

Now all you have to do is follow through (that’s the hard part – sorry!!)  And if you’re looking for someone to delegate to, remember the friendly VA who blogged this tip!!

Not that it matters much to me – the life of this work at home mama actuallys means I can work more on the weekends, when DH is home to help out!  I actually enjoy that though, I find it to work well around my family’s schedule. For some people, weekends are much more private and laid-back and they don’t want their work to interfere with weekend activities.

We do like to make Friday evenings a nice family time though, we let loose and stay up a little later than we do during the week.  This Friday we are even going to take the kids to a waterpark for the late afternoon and early evening since my husband has the day off of work after working away for the past week. The kids sure missed him and we’ll all enjoy having some quality time together tonight!

So I’m curious, how do you all spend your weekends?  Do you mix work and pleasure, work a ton, or keep your work confined solely to the traditional work week?  Is it a time to get together with family and friends or are you busy chauffering your kids to activities like soccer or gymnastics?  Do you unwind with some wine on Friday night or head out on the town?!!  Questions, questions!!!

Next week I’m going to start a theme/link post on Fridays.  The theme for the first week will be organization (all about getting organized so you CAN keep your weekends free if you want to) so stay tuned and have a wonderful weekend whatever you are doing!

Here are some pics I took with my new digital camera of my “two” home offices.

These first two pictures are from my basement office. It’s relatively organized and I love my two desks, one for thinking, bill paying, large projects and the usual computer desk with scanner, printer etc.

Really though, I do the majority of my work from my laptop in my living room. It’s easier to control the rest of my life from there (aka the three boys, lunches, dinner, letting the dog out!) Plus I personally find it nice and comfy to settle down with my laptop onto the sofa. The baby plays on the floor near my feet (or sleeps in the sling while I work!)

Soon my oldest is back to school and I’m going to set up a better routine for the rest of us so I can get my work done around naptimes, some home lessons for the preschooler etc. I really will use my basement office I think -especially since the toyroom is right next door, and in winter that does get used!

I love working from home!

Ok, it’s Monday morning and the summer feels like it is half over already. It’s time for my first goal-setting post so I can make sure I’m on track before fall catches me off guard!!

My goals for this week are simple and include some personal goals, as summer should definitely involve plenty of family and relaxing time (work-life balance!)

• Research printers for good office printer
• Decide about joining a Canadian virtual assistant association
• ask Brianna about wordpress upgrade
• comment on at least 5 different law blogs
• post 3 times on my blog
• start and devote 2 hours to the accounting course that I downloaded
• Take the boys to the lake, weather permitting (this is Canada after all!)

Despite a cranky, restless baby last night I’m feeling pretty cheerful this morning and I can’t wait to get started on my week!! It’s so nice to work for myself!