Exercise is often one of the first things to go when parents feel spread too thin. People say they don’t have time. Or that they are too tired. Or that they feel selfish taking time away from their kids. More often than not, though, moms and dads just don’t know how to fit exercise into a crammed schedule.
To fit in exercise, parents need to redefine what it means to work out.
Last week, I arrived at a small midtown cafe for a breakfast meeting with a prospective client. As I walked through the door, the host enthusiastically greeted me by name, (though I had never been there before), confirmed who I was there to meet (also by name), and escorted me with authentic familiarity to the table. His warm and engaging style made my prospect and I feel like old friends, and set the tone for an incredibly productive meeting...
My Slashie profile can look intimidating at first glance: Entrepreneur / Business Owner/Author/Speaker/Organizational Coach/Boss/Bae/Mom/Friend/Swimmer/Shower Singer. I’m used to wearing many hats and juggling numerous responsibilities with my clients, staff, family and friends. Though my to-do list is often lengthy, I enjoy the challenge and conquer my days by making every moment as productive as possible...
I’ve been a small business owner for 26 years, and when I first started my company, you can bet that I was wearing almost all the hats. I juggled marketing, sales, administration and service-- all of which generated SO much information and material, that I quickly realized that without an impeccably organized system, I would lose time, clients and ideas.
Over the holidays, I went to Puerto Rico to visit family for their annual Christmas Party. In the wake of Hurricane Maria, I didn’t know what to expect and arrived prepared for anything — from bringing fun, good energy to help my relatives take a break from the stress, to rolling up my sleeves and helping with the recovery.
In my early days as a professional organizer, my company was called Task Masters — with the tag line “we do life’s drudgery for you.” One year in mid-December, I got a call from a new prospect who wanted help preparing for the holidays. There were 2 weeks until Christmas, and she hadn’t had time to decorate her house, shop for gifts, wrap, send cards or prepare for Christmas dinner. We worked non-stop 8 hours per day for 8 days, and by December 24th everything was flawless and ready for its closeup
I am about to move, and it’s been an emotional journey. I love the apartment I am leaving. It’s the first place I ever bought. I purchased it when I became an empty-nester, as a platform for the next chapter of my life. My goal was to expand my social life, enrich my work-life balance, and give more space to romance than I had as a single parent.
As an organizer, I’m in the business of helping people organize their spaces and lives, which often get filled with things they don't use. Because of that, I am particularly aware of excess and clever marketing traps. Some might even say that I am on a constant plight to ensure there is no unnecessary clutter in my life, nor anybody else's.
Garages are notorious dumping grounds for things you used to use, thought you might use, or didn’t know where to put. It's an everyday eyesore, the door you slide past while giving friends the grand tour of your home: “Ohhh, that’s just the garage.” The financial implications of the wasted space and money spent on dormant objects, amount to a crying shame.
Several years ago Life Magazine conducted the Great American Weekend Study, and discovered that 47% of people wait until Thursday night or later to plan their weekends. I don’t even need to tell you what happens when we wait too long to plan — the weekend slips through our fingers and before we know it, it’s Sunday night, and we didn’t do anything fun or refreshing.
