1, 2, or 3?? @balielf making me feel pretty today 1, 2, or 3?? @balielf making me feel pretty today in all these gorgeous colors! 😍
#ad This past weekend I decided to do something re #ad This past weekend I decided to do something really fun for the kids and create a scavenger hunt for them with Kinder Joy eggs at the end! They had so much fun going throughout the house and the yard finding their clues and a special surprise was waiting for them at the end! They had so much fun putting their Jurassic World Dominion surprise together (David is obsessed with dinosaurs 🦖) as well as exploring the app that comes as a download from the Kinder Joy egg! Fun little surprises like these go such a long way and making the kids feel special 💗 
#KinderJoy #JurassicWorldDominion @kinderus
Now that we still have some sunlight hanging aroun Now that we still have some sunlight hanging around after the kids go to bed, my new thing is sipping a glass of wine on the back patio while making small talk with Josh and praying the kids stay in bed.
 
I've been obsessed with cleaning our house recently but I've been so good about it, I have nothing left to clean or tidy right now and I'm left to face the things I don't really want to think about like the fact that I miss my kids when they're at school or how I really want to fill this house up with some more of them 😅 

At any rate, one of my simple pleasures in life is decluttering and purging unused things and I feel like I've accomplished a lot!! What about you?
I've been DIYing my hair for five (?) ish years no I've been DIYing my hair for five (?) ish years now and while I can't claim I've always done it perfectly, I've found a great routine that works for my hair and saves so much $$$ in the process!! Are you brave enough to DIY your hair??
Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growin Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growing up, I thought it was pretty much all I was cut out to do, which ended up being false. But even though I've learned that I'm capable of so many other things, being a mom is still one of my highest aspirations. As we're getting our home ready for fostering, I can't help but think of how the little one(s) entering our home will feel but also how David and Evy will feel. How will they react if we parent slightly differently? Will they understand that we're working to build trust and connection or will they feel indignant? These are the things I pray about and also speak to the kids about in the days leading up. We're all excited but I have the feeling of heaviness that we don't and won't understand the burden until we're all already carrying it together.
I think this hairdo is perfect 👌 for anything y I think this hairdo is perfect 👌 for anything you want to do without getting your hair in your face: eating hot wings, riding on a boat, working out, the list goes on. Plus, you can wear it up ⬆️ or down ⬇️
Wife, mom, runner, writer, artist, or just the cle Wife, mom, runner, writer, artist, or just the cleaning lady?? ​😜
Josh is an old soul 🥰 and tonight he and I are Josh is an old soul 🥰 and tonight he and I are going to get to see a band from the 70s that he loves!! Any guesses who it is??
^^ Here's a fun hairstyle for a (date) night out 🌃
I think a sleek pony is honestly so cute for date I think a sleek pony is honestly so cute for date night OR work! I'm always wearing my hair up anyway, right?? Might as well make it cute 🥰
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Family, Life & Finances, Work · August 19, 2015

8 Tips to Dial Down Stress and Turn up the Focus in the Workplace

The ultimate list to keep you from crying, storming out of the building, or hiding yourself in the bathroom until lunchtime.

1 Stop thinking about how overwhelmed you are.

Chill. Take a second, slow your mind down. Say a prayer. Do what you have to to not cry, storm out of the building, or hide yourself in the bathroom until lunchtime. When we spend time agonizing over our stress or massive to-do list, we just work ourselves up, and that leaves us with the feeling of not knowing where to begin. Instead…

2 Break it down!

Make a lists and lists and lists. If you’re old fashioned and like writing things down on a piece of paper for the love of crossing something off your list, then grab a pen and paper and get to it! If you’re a bit more techy and like your list to follow you wherever you go, I have two really great apps that I use to stay organized. One is called Trello where you can create boards with lists and checklists of things to do with due dates and all that organized crap! I have boards titled “Today,” “This week,” “This Month,” and “Eventually.” I’ve also worked with my supervisor to create a board with a daily checklist for all the routine tasks that I need to accomplish during the week. This was amazingly helpful as I first began working in my office and is still a great reminder today. 

Another WONDERFULLy helpful app is Google Keep. I use this on my phone and desktop DAILY. I create shopping lists, write notes, make voice recordings, and add pictures to my notes or lists. You can set reminders by date/time OR by location! For example, if I’m out and I know that I’m probably going to forget to preheat the oven right when I get home (but I’m not sure when I’ll be home) then I’ll add a location reminder so that as soon as I pull in the driveway, “Preheat the oven!” pops up  on my phone. Pretty nifty, right?

3 Clean up your work space!

If you have papers shrewn all over your desk and have 1000 tabs open in your internet browser, you ARE going to feel like you have no idea where to begin. Instead, create a few new folders on your desktop, then create sub folders. Name your files so that they are searchable. Grab a couple of file folders and label those too. Do what you have to to clear your space. Trust me, the more organized you are, the less you have to remember!

4 Delegate.

Ever think that the task you’re doing should really be someone’s job? Well sometimes, it actually is! Delegation can sometimes be a hard skill to learn, especially for those with a “If you want it done right you better do it yourself!” mindset. Allow yourself to let go of a couple of small tasks that you can trust someone else to handle and then report back to you once those things are done. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with how much you can get done in those few extra minutes.

5 Do your most important tasks first thing in the morning.

One of the biggest mistakes I make when I get to work in the morning is to immediately sit down and begin checking my inbox. I can easily spend a couple hours or so checking and responding to the emails that have piled up since yesterday afternoon. Studies show that the typical most productive time of the day is the first few hours in the morning and we’d simply be wasting those precious focus hours if we only spent that time reading emails. Instead, use this time to knock out a couple of those tasks that really require attention to detail and focus which can sometimes be hard to come by after lunch when we’re thinking of how long until we can go home.

6 Figure out what distracts you.

My super power is not noticing annoying sounds. Pretty cool, right? Most of the time I have no idea that the neighbor’s dog is barking or the faucet is dripping until someone else says something about it. Most people aren’t so lucky. It can be so frustrating when you know exactly what you need to do before 4:00 pm, you just can’t get your mind to work for you. For some people, listening to instrumental music helps them focus. Some need absolute silence. My advice is, when you find yourself distracted or unable to focus, try to call out what’s distracting you and remove it. Seems too simple but most of the time we just try to power through distractions which can make us end up taking twice as long to finish one task.

7 Tackle two little things, and then one big thing.

I know that in my job especially, the little things tend to add up- quickly. There is no way I can leave them all until the end of the day, because then I would still have hours of work to do. But on the other hand, I can’t tackle all the little things in the beginning of the day for the same reason. This is how I like to break things up: storm through 2 little things (i.e emails, phone calls, placing an order, whatever is “little” to your job) and then tackle one big task. This will ensure that you are plugging through your day without leaving any task- big or small- behind.

8 No matter how tempting, don’t let work spill over into your personal/family time.

Go home when the work day is done. When you’re at work, be at work. When you’re home, be home. If you come home and all you can talk about, think about, and do is work, then you’re bound to become overwhelmed. I sometimes get anxious about stopping my work because I may not remember where it needs to be picked up again in the morning. If that’s the case with you, make a list for your next moring with the most pressing task first. If you have your work email connected to your phone, turn off notifications while you’re with family. If absolutely necessary, take one night a week to catch up on extra things from work that you didn’t accomplish in the office. Communicate this to your spouse/family beforehand to minimize distractions and to let them know you are feeling overwhelmed lately and having this one night would help you lighten your workload for the rest of the week. But again, only do this if it’s absolutely necessary and if you feel like it would really help to take the load off your back.

Let me know what focus tips you would add to this list!

Chels

8 TIPS TO DIAL DOWN STRESS AND TURN UP THE FOCUS IN THE WORKPLACE

In: Family, Life & Finances, Work · Tagged: anxiety, family, focus, orgaization, stress, Work

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Comments

  1. mash says

    October 10, 2015 at 5:49 pm

    Nice post! I have realized that making an agenda really helps you keep focused!

    Mash | http://www.sarmash.com

  2. claire says

    October 11, 2015 at 1:09 pm

    I agree with all of these!!

  3. dixya @ food, pleasure, and health says

    October 11, 2015 at 7:15 pm

    i am so with you on number 1 and 4.

  4. Branson says

    October 12, 2015 at 1:33 am

    I really needed these tips tonight! I am trying to start this week off on a better note. Even though my workplace is my home these still apply!! 😉

  5. DT says

    October 12, 2015 at 6:53 am

    Always break down. I tend to forget this and stress myself because I am looking at one big project. Great list- thanks for sharing
    — DT | Here I Scribble

  6. Meredith says

    October 12, 2015 at 1:41 pm

    I think your first point is the most important to me!!!! I get so overwhelmed sometimes that I spend more time worrying about how to get stuff done than actually doing it. Great tips.

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Hi! I'm Chelsea and we're the Damon's. We spent the last two years in WA state paying off student loans and just bought our first house in SC! I love a smooth black coffee, Josh's first love is the Seattle Sounders. Our kids are huge dorks and constantly make us laugh and we all love spending as much time outside as possible.

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Now that we still have some sunlight hanging aroun Now that we still have some sunlight hanging around after the kids go to bed, my new thing is sipping a glass of wine on the back patio while making small talk with Josh and praying the kids stay in bed.
 
I've been obsessed with cleaning our house recently but I've been so good about it, I have nothing left to clean or tidy right now and I'm left to face the things I don't really want to think about like the fact that I miss my kids when they're at school or how I really want to fill this house up with some more of them 😅 

At any rate, one of my simple pleasures in life is decluttering and purging unused things and I feel like I've accomplished a lot!! What about you?
Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growin Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growing up, I thought it was pretty much all I was cut out to do, which ended up being false. But even though I've learned that I'm capable of so many other things, being a mom is still one of my highest aspirations. As we're getting our home ready for fostering, I can't help but think of how the little one(s) entering our home will feel but also how David and Evy will feel. How will they react if we parent slightly differently? Will they understand that we're working to build trust and connection or will they feel indignant? These are the things I pray about and also speak to the kids about in the days leading up. We're all excited but I have the feeling of heaviness that we don't and won't understand the burden until we're all already carrying it together.
Doing my gosh darned best to manifest spring over Doing my gosh darned best to manifest spring over here and I think it might be working 😉 Today the kids had TWOsday at school and they were so sweet. David wore a tie (I don't exactly get how it tirles in to Twosday but the kids were happy so..) and Evy "twinned" with a couple of sweet friends in her class. It's so sweet when you see your own kids building their own friendships. It just loosens a little piece of anxiety I've had about parenthood since David was still in my tummy. How did you spend your TWOsday??

Sandals @naotfootwear 💕
Today was a sweet day. Woke up at 8:30 next to Jos Today was a sweet day. Woke up at 8:30 next to Josh in a quiet house - the kids slept over my parent's last night. Got up, raced to clean the kitchen as fast as I could while my coffee was brewing. The coffee won this time. 

I recorded a Reel while getting ready. Went to the place where we were going to meet my fam a bit early so Josh and I could get in a walk. Then we got coffee, went to a huge antique store (sadly left with nothing but took pictures of my faves so I can remember to come back) and went to lunch with the kids and my parents. Love easy-going and fun days like these 🖤

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1, 2, or 3?? @balielf making me feel pretty today 1, 2, or 3?? @balielf making me feel pretty today in all these gorgeous colors! 😍
#ad This past weekend I decided to do something re #ad This past weekend I decided to do something really fun for the kids and create a scavenger hunt for them with Kinder Joy eggs at the end! They had so much fun going throughout the house and the yard finding their clues and a special surprise was waiting for them at the end! They had so much fun putting their Jurassic World Dominion surprise together (David is obsessed with dinosaurs 🦖) as well as exploring the app that comes as a download from the Kinder Joy egg! Fun little surprises like these go such a long way and making the kids feel special 💗 
#KinderJoy #JurassicWorldDominion @kinderus
Now that we still have some sunlight hanging aroun Now that we still have some sunlight hanging around after the kids go to bed, my new thing is sipping a glass of wine on the back patio while making small talk with Josh and praying the kids stay in bed.
 
I've been obsessed with cleaning our house recently but I've been so good about it, I have nothing left to clean or tidy right now and I'm left to face the things I don't really want to think about like the fact that I miss my kids when they're at school or how I really want to fill this house up with some more of them 😅 

At any rate, one of my simple pleasures in life is decluttering and purging unused things and I feel like I've accomplished a lot!! What about you?
I've been DIYing my hair for five (?) ish years no I've been DIYing my hair for five (?) ish years now and while I can't claim I've always done it perfectly, I've found a great routine that works for my hair and saves so much $$$ in the process!! Are you brave enough to DIY your hair??
Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growin Being a mom has always meant so much to me. Growing up, I thought it was pretty much all I was cut out to do, which ended up being false. But even though I've learned that I'm capable of so many other things, being a mom is still one of my highest aspirations. As we're getting our home ready for fostering, I can't help but think of how the little one(s) entering our home will feel but also how David and Evy will feel. How will they react if we parent slightly differently? Will they understand that we're working to build trust and connection or will they feel indignant? These are the things I pray about and also speak to the kids about in the days leading up. We're all excited but I have the feeling of heaviness that we don't and won't understand the burden until we're all already carrying it together.
I think this hairdo is perfect 👌 for anything y I think this hairdo is perfect 👌 for anything you want to do without getting your hair in your face: eating hot wings, riding on a boat, working out, the list goes on. Plus, you can wear it up ⬆️ or down ⬇️
Wife, mom, runner, writer, artist, or just the cle Wife, mom, runner, writer, artist, or just the cleaning lady?? ​😜
Josh is an old soul 🥰 and tonight he and I are Josh is an old soul 🥰 and tonight he and I are going to get to see a band from the 70s that he loves!! Any guesses who it is??
^^ Here's a fun hairstyle for a (date) night out 🌃
I think a sleek pony is honestly so cute for date I think a sleek pony is honestly so cute for date night OR work! I'm always wearing my hair up anyway, right?? Might as well make it cute 🥰
I video called Josh last night with this hair in a I video called Josh last night with this hair in and he asked, "Are you wearing pigtails??" And I was like, "No! .. well. Kind of."

I thought this style was super cute!! And a really quick way to do something *different* with everyday hair. Would you try it??

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