Knowing when to slow down

For a lot of us knowing when to slow down and take some time for ourselves can be a challenge. I know for me being able to understand that I have just been doing too much and giving my time to everyone else can be such a challenge.

There are times when you are going to have to just slow down and understand that you have to be there for yourself and that is the most important thing. It might not be on a schedule that you want it to be on, but you still need to understand that you are going to have to slow down no matter what. It is better to see it coming up so that you can start the slow down before your body just says I have had enough, and you are slowing down if you like it or not.

For a lot of us there are things that we want to keep doing and you don’t want to accept anyone telling us it’s time to slow down even just a bit because we think we know better than anyone else, well including our body. There are times that people around us are going to see the warning signs that we are starting to deal with burnout before we know that we are dealing with it.

Being able to understand that we all need some time to just slow down and do some of the things that we enjoy doing, such as crafting, can make such a difference on how to handle the stresses and demands that life throw at us on a continual basis. In a lot of cases being able to set aside some time each week where we do something that we enjoy can help us from totally burning out and that is, so important.

For me, I make a point of a few days a week to find a little bit of time to do some crafting, so that I can make sure that I have taken some personal time. It doesn’t have to be hours but at least knowing that you have taken that bit of time away from the demands that we all deal with is important.

If you are someone that keeps going until you totally burnout, remember that just taking bits of time for yourself no matter what you do is important. I know people that will just curl up in front of the TV and binge watch something as their break. At least it is taking some time to do something that you enjoy doing and making sure that you are recharging your personal battery before it tells you it’s empty.

Why some companies are still encouraging remote working

Something that has happened over the last couple of months is some companies have required employees to return to the office. In some cases, it is all 5 days a week and others are requiring all employees to at least be in the office Tuesday through Thursday. One of the situations that has happened is some companies have resized their office space so that few employees can be in the office at the same time.

Being able to figure out what is best for the business is very important. Do you need the employees in all the time or can you have them working remoting part of the time and then in the office at other times. So many people over the last few years decided that they wanted to escape the big city and they moved away from their office location because they figured they would be working remoting and only having to go to the office occasionally. This has happened for some people, but a lot of people have found out that they are required to be in the office more often.

What has happened to some companies was that given the change in business they had to downsize their location and that means that not everyone can be in the office at once. This is something that companies had to consider but, in some cases, it was either downsizing their location to stay in business or keep the big fancy offices and possibly must close the business. For businesses that had to downsize their location this means being flexible with how staff are going to be working.

We know businesses that have done both things of getting people back in the office either full time or most of the time and then companies that have downsized their space and now have a routine set up for various groups of individuals to come into the office or a specific day or two during the week. By doing what works best for the business is what every business needs to do. Some staff may not agree with the decision that is being made but they must respect the business owners as they are doing the best for both the staff and the business.

Being able to understand that not every business is doing to do the same thing is something that everyone must understand. Of course, there are businesses that are people facing businesses and yes, those people need to be in the office where people come to do business. For employees that have had to make decisions about their jobs because they have moved away from their former location that was something they did and must accept that will have to either move back or maybe find another position that is closer to where they now life.

The new business operation is going to depend on the actual business, and everyone must accept that there are going to be times when employees aren’t going to be happy because they must commute again maybe every day or even a few days a week. One thing employees must understand is that at least they still have a position given how many companies over the last five years had to close their doors.

Parking Garage - why should I scan?

There are so many times that I have watched to see cars run into issue because they haven’t scanned their fob before going into a parking garage. There are some of the reasons why you should scan your fob no matter if the door is open or not:

 Part of the reason the door is open is because someone has either got into the garage or out of the garage, but you haven’t seen them either exit or enter. You don’t want to have issues when you try and enter the garage.

1.     Am I willing to pay for the damage if I hit the garage door? There are times when you think that you might be able to get into or out the garage door without it hitting your vehicle, but are you willing to pay the damage to either your vehicle or to the door because you are going to be liable for that damage.

a.      If you hit the door you are going to probably have to pay for the damage to the door that you damaged.

b.     If you damage your vehicle during this time you are going to have pay for the damage that was incurred to your vehicle.

When shouldn’t I scan my fob when entering or exiting a parking age is easy. You should never not scan your fob because you do not know when someone may have triggered the device and are you within that time. You may not be certain of the timing between the scanning of the fob and when the door will close. Unless you are 100% certain that someone has either entered or exited the garage immediately when you arrive, you should always scan your fob.

For me, I will normally scan my fob unless I am either following someone into the garage or I have just witnessed someone coming out of the garage.

Making sure that you scan your fob when you either enter or exit the parking garage is extremely important. Know that you have done what is right where you live is important. We have heard people complain that the garage door has damaged either vehicle but what they haven’t said is if they scanned their fob before entering the garage So if you are going to complain about something please make sure that you aren’t the issue because it can make a big difference.

So next time you are thinking of getting upset about something, you should make sure that someone has either entered or existed the garage recently enough and make sure that you aren’t someone that is causing them an action.

 

 

Food allergies and hearing the words "Oh good"

For people with food allergies, hearing the words “Oh good” can be a hard thing to hear, especially when you are out in a restaurant. Sure, that comment might mean something entirely different from how it comes out, but it doesn’t help the person with the food allergies.  Here are some other ways that statement could be worded:

Oh good, I appreciate you letting me know – the staff stating they are happy you let them know about your allergies so they can make the necessary adjustments and let other staff know.

Thank you for notifying me – this one is an ok statement because at least you know that the server understands that you have food allergies.

Oh, I’ll be sure to let the kitchen staff know – this is the statement that I appreciate the most because the server has heard what you have said, and they are going to notify the staff that are involved in making your food.

Oh, I’ll be sure to let management know – this statement is OK, but is there a policy to let management know, and they let the kitchen staff know. This statement can be a little difficult to handle, especially when the restaurant is busy. Your food might be being prepared before the manager is notified, and they can let the kitchen know.

The words “oh good” when said alone can sound like I’m glad it’s you that has the allergies and not me. Having food allergies is a challenge enough when you are in a restaurant, especially when you have one of the common allergies, and it is in the restaurant. In a lot of restaurants that have the electronic ordering system, they have a button that they can press and enter the allergies that you have and that is sent along with your order to the kitchen.

So, if you work at a restaurant, please remember that saying the words “Oh good” can have a very negative impact on the person you are saying it to. If you can figure out a nicer way to acknowledge that you have heard what the person is saying and how to communicate it to the rest of the staff, please try and do that. It is a challenge for both the person with the allergy and the serve to figure out just how to manage saying it and acknowledging it.

Being invited to a wedding

This year we have been told to save the date to two different weddings and our reaction to both of those weddings were entirely different. One was for something that we are very close to and the other was to a wedding to a couple that we are not close to, and the bride doesn’t appreciate when people do things for her. 

The first wedding that we got the save the day for was our nephew and his finance and they are both appreciate for even the very small things that we do for them. It wasn’t just saving the date; it was they made sure to call us to let us know that they were engaged. The other thing that makes us happy about this wedding is they have made sure to let us know the date, time and location of the wedding and that made us both very happy.

Now the other save the date we received was an email from a new Gmail account that went into our spam account. Of course, this made us double check to see if it was a legitimate account and it was from …wedding@gmail.com. So, this email account was very new, and it is going to be use just for the wedding and that’s it. The other thing about this wedding is we haven’t had any communication with this couple other than through her parents since before the pandemic. We did get to see them once since then, but it was a quick dinner. So, this couple, we do know the bride, but we haven’t really had a chance to get to know the groom at all. Now the other thing about this wedding is the location isn’t close to a lot of things so that means we would have to either say at the resort where it is being held or figure out another spot where we can stay. I looked up the location, and we could only book a room at the resort within three months so it isn’t something that we could book now and know we have a place to stay. I then decided to try and figure out a location close to it and there aren’t very many places to stay so that would mean over an hour drive each way to the wedding which isn’t something either of us are really happy about. 

The wedding that we will be attending is going to be held in downtown Toronto and the reception is also downtown so that means it is easy for us to get to and from without having to figure out a place to stay other than at home. It is nice to know that we can get ready for the wedding at home and we can then return home after the wedding and that is nice.

So, if you are going to be inviting someone to a wedding there are a few things to think about:

-        How often have you seen the people you are inviting

-        Is the location of the wedding/reception easy for everything to get to and from.

-        How are you communicating the save the date, as a brand-new Gmail account could result in a lot of those messages ending up in spam.

-        How far ahead someone book accommodation at the location, lots of people want to know they have accommodations and cost of accommodations well ahead of the wedding.

These are just a few things that you need to think about when you are planning a wedding and starting to think about communicating the date with everyone. So, when you are planning your wedding make sure you have quickly communicated to the people you really want to attend and figure out any possible accommodations as soon as you book a venue if not before.

Being invited to a wedding isn’t just attending the ceremony, it is getting a gift (knowing what the couple wants), making sure you have an outfit to wear and if you need place to stay knowing here that location well before the wedding. If you are going to be sending a save the date email through a brand-new Gmail or any other email account understand that a lot of those messages could end up in a junk/spam account.

Getting in a good step count

Some days it doesn't take much to get a good step count in especially when you normally don't do a lot of walking. Recently we went for a trip to Niagara Falls for three nights and doing a lot of sight seeing wasn't one of the goals as we have been Niagara Falls quite a few times. That is the advantage of living withing two hours from here we can go whenever we want. We do try and not go down to Niagara Falls in the summer as that is when it's the busiest and most expensive. Our goal for this trip was to see a concert on a Saturday night and relax and do things that we wanted to do.

Here is my step counts for the four days of being away and two of those are travel days when we don't get normally as much walking in as the days we are staying in Niagara Falls.

• Thursday - 7,580 steps (this was a travel day and we also did do some walking along Clifton Hill and also a bit of walking around the Outlet Mall)

• Friday – 10,194 steps, this is one of our full days in Niagara Falls and even going to and from Tim Horton's for breakfast accounts for 1,700 steps so that does help. We also walked over to the old Casino and walked around Clifton Hill so that also helped with the step count.
• Saturday – 13,624 steps, this is another full day in Niagara Falls, walking to Tim Horton's for breakfast and then to Niagara Casino Resort to see a concert and back. Let's see what the step count is because seeing a total that makes me happy would be good.
• Sunday – 4,296 steps, this is walking to Tim Horton's for breakfast and then the travel day back home

Of course, we may not be reaching the 10,000-step count that some people say that you much achieve each day, but we are making sure that we can get some walking in and that is the most important thing.

Being able to see that we have been able to get some steps in each day is very important and we have to accept that not every day is going to be the 10,000-steps but at least if we have been able to continue to move our body and get some steps in it is better than nothing or just getting in 1,000 steps.

 

Vacations as a small business owner

So many people ask us how do we take a vacation as a small business owner? 

I can answer this question for us because every small business owner will do things differently and that is expected. We have friends that just take a week or two off and they hope that someone can help support their clients. Of course, that should be scheduled with the person that you are hoping to support your clients because that person might also be away at the same time. Giving notice for any vacation for support coverage is important.

Our business is in IT consulting so it will be different than for an accountant, lawyer or other types of small businesses. Each business is going to have a different way of handling vacations, and no method is either right or wrong. If the clients/customers you serve are served when they need you that is what is important.

How we manage most vacations is to take a few shorter vacations and have them either start on a Wednesday or Thursday and then be back by the end of the weekend. We are fortunate that we have clients that are great hands and eyes if something were to go wrong. We can also remote into client sites from locations in Canada to assist if something major was to happen.

We have taken a couple of longer vacations, but we have arranged for people to assist with support of our clients if it was needed. This scheduling was done at least 3 months before we went away so that we knew that we would have people available to support our clients. We also made sure to let the clients know that we were going to be away for a week, but we did have support for them if needed.

It is very important as a small business owner to understand how vacations will work for you as well as your clients. Making sure that you communicate with our clients IT department is important to ensure that you aren’t away while the main IT individual for a client is away. Sure, vacations can be different as a small business owner, but it is up to you how to manage them.