You have a voice,

 You have a voice, so be sure you use it! There will be many situations that call for your opinion, and what you think about what's going right now really does matter. Keeping quiet out of fear of being challenged is counterproductive and a waste of time. So what if you're challenged? You know what you're talking about, so say what you want or need without worry. No one can read your mind, so unless you tell them what you want, how will you get it?

Being True to Myself

 Being True to Myself

Terri Meehan

My parents and I had been planning my brother's birthday party since the beginning of March. Johnny would be six years old in two days. My mom was going to bake her special chocolate cake with white icing. As I watched her, I thought, Gee, I wonder what I can do to make my brother's birthday special.

I decided to empty my coin jar and see how much money I had saved. I was disappointed to find much less than I had imagined. "Oh, no, I only have about three dollars," I muttered to myself. I knew my parents had already bought a present for me to give to Johnny, but I wanted to buy him something I had chosen myself and with the money I had saved. I wanted to buy him the paint-by-number kit I had seen at the store, but the set cost more than I had saved.


Disappointed, I went into my parents' bedroom where my dad kept loose change on top of the dresser. I stood on my tiptoes and saw some dimes, nickels, and a few quarters. I carefully counted out what I needed to make up the difference. I'm sure Dad won't mind just this once, I thought. However, I was soon overcome by guilt. Even though there was no one else in the bedroom, I felt like I was being watched. Mom was always telling us about the importance of honesty. She had even made up a short poem for us:

Always be honest in everything you say and do,
Because God is always watching over you.
When there seems to be no one else around,
that's where God is always found.

Maybe my plan wasn't such a great idea after all, I thought. My dad would be home in another hour, and my mom was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. I jingled the change around in my pocket while wondering what to do.

I grabbed my jacket from the closet and headed toward the door.

"Where are you going, honey?" Mom asked.

"Oh, just up to the corner store," I replied.

"Well, don't stay out too long. Daddy will be home soon."

"Okay, Mom."

Once I got to the store, I took the paint-by-number kit from the shelf.

"Can I help you, young lady?" the salesclerk asked.

"No . . . I'm just looking, thank you," I said.

"That's a really nice paint kit. We sell a lot of them and, as you can see, that's the last one," she said.

I nodded my head in agreement, but finally decided to do what was right.

I placed the paint-by-number kit back on the shelf and headed home.

Luckily, once I got home, Mom was busy talking on the phone, so I was able to slip past the kitchen without being noticed. I went to my parents' room to return the coins I had taken. I arranged them into a neat stack—just like they were before—and sighed with relief, knowing I had done the right thing.

I knew the paint kit would have been the perfect pres­ent for my brother. I would just have to wait until I saved the extra money I needed. I figured I could earn it by doing odd jobs around the house. Mrs. Davis, the salesclerk, had even agreed that she would hold the paint set behind the counter for me until I had enough money to pay for it.

I wasn't able to buy the paint kit until two weeks later, but it seemed extra special when I was finally able to lay my money on the counter. I smiled as I raced home knowing I had made the right decision.

Reprinted by permission of Terri Meehan ©2005 from Chicken Soup for the Child's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Hansen and Irene Dunlap.  In order to protect the rights of the copyright holder, no portion of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent.  All rights reserved.

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Your Writing Shape-up

 Your Writing Shape-up

The secret to becoming a better writer is the same as the answer to the old joke "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" Practice, practice, practice. Unless you're up against a specific school or business assignment deadline, you may be inclined to put writing on the back burner. But writing a little each day, when you're not under pressure, can improve your skills. 

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John Fitzgerald Kennedy

If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help. ~

John Fitzgerald Kennedy 

4 Tips for Avoiding Remote Work Burnout

4 Tips for Avoiding Remote Work Burnout

By this point, millions of technologists have been working from home for six months or more. Many have figured out remote schedules that allow them to effectively balance work and life, while teams have adopted workflows that compensate for a lack of in-office contact. However, the specter of burnout remains.

This summer, Dice’s Sentiment Survey revealed that, for a fairly significant percentage of technologists, workloads had increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, those workloads had virtually doubled. At around the same time, data from Blind, which anonymously surveys tech-industry employees, showed that 36 percent of technologists felt obligated to reply to work emails, no matter what the time of day.

By July, some 73 percent of technologists told Blind that they were feeling burnt-out, up from 61 percent in February. And with more businesses moving to a remote-only model for their employees (following the lead of companies such as Facebook), it’s clear that technologists may have to take steps to avoid frying mentally after too many months of hardcore work at their home offices or kitchen counters. What can they do?

Set Your Schedule
Sure, you might have hated your old commute to the office. In major tech hubs such as the Bay Area, it isn’t uncommon for technologists to sit in traffic for an hour or two (or more!) every day. Even in smaller communities, the daily grind of traveling between office and home is something to be endured when traffic’s normal.

But physical commuting has one advantage: It helps clearly delineate your home and work life. When you’re working from home, such boundaries are obviously erased; there’s nothing stopping you from debugging code or answering emails from early in the morning until late into the night without a break. Pair that with the increasing workload for many technologists, and it’s a recipe for burnout.

Fortunately, there’s a straightforward solution: Make your “operational hours” clear to your team and company, especially if you’re working in a different time-zone from the rest of your team. By clearly setting when you’re available—perhaps even by marking out the times on a group calendar—you’ll (hopefully) be able to constrain the bulk of your workday activity to standard workday hours.

That will only work, however, if you make a point of stepping away from your laptop and phone when you’re not “on the clock.” Although it’s hard to resist the urge to check your email and messaging apps for any late-breaking issues, you’ll have to do so if you want to truly regain some much-needed equilibrium.

Negotiate Your Workload
During the initial stages of the pandemic, companies rushed to radically retool their operations to meet a rapidly changing world. For example, sysadmins and other technologists who mind internal tech stacks needed to scramble to get everyone set up for remote working. Web app developers, website designers, and others who build customer-facing products needed to quickly adjust e-commerce portals to handle a flood of traffic.

Given those pressures, it was inevitable that many remote technologists would see their workloads and working hours double. Now, fortunately, many teams have established a rhythm to working from home, and managers have a better sense of long-term requirements.

If you still feel overloaded despite settling into remote work, it’s time to have a friendly conversation with your manager about how to adjust your schedule. After all, it’s not in the company’s interest to burn you out; whether it’s extending deadlines or shifting some tasks onto other team members, chances are good that they’ll be able to accommodate you.

Engage!
It’s very easy to become isolated when you’re working from home. Even the world’s biggest introvert likes occasional interaction with their teammates. While some companies have recognized the growing problem of isolation, and attempted to solve it by scheduling remote team lunches and other get-togethers, others have overlooked it. In any case, it’s important that you put in some “face time” with your colleagues, especially if you have a job that doesn’t demand a lot of video meetings and calls.

While everyone’s time is precious, scheduling a quick check-in with colleagues and teams is something that a majority of folks will welcome—after all, they’re probably feeling as isolated as you. Make sure to focus on how everyone’s doing, and listen to their concerns. You could also share updates on hobbies, interesting things you’ve seen on the web, or whatever else might have caught your collective fancy. If you’re feeling fried, some friendly chat-time could make you feel better.

Sleep and Exercise
Two big keys to reasserting a healthy work-life balance and avoiding burnout: A solid sleep schedule and regular exercise. Make a point to get up from your desk on a regular basis, even if you only take a walk around the block; it sounds simple, but it’s an effective way to maintain your mental health, especially if your day has been particularly aggravating.

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Bobby Flay

 A molcajete is a stone mortar and pestle from Mexico. They're great for grinding spices and making salsa and guacamole because they give everything a nice coarse and rustic feel. I've never collected anything, but I think I might start collecting these because each one is decorated differently. Bobby Flay

A Gift Of The Heart

 A Gift Of The Heart

Letting People Know You Love Them

It's easy to take our feelings for granted and to assume that the people we care about know how we feel about them. But while those we love are often quite cognizant of our feelings, saying "I love you" is a gift we should give to our loved ones whenever we can. Letting people know you love them is an important part of nurturing any kind of loving relationship. Few people tire of being told they are loved, and saying "I love you" can make a world of difference in someone's life, take a relationship to a new level, or reaffirm and strengthen a steady bond. Everyone needs to hear the words "I love you." Three simple words - I - Love - You. When you declare your love for someone you admit to them that you care for them in the most significant way.

It can be difficult to express your love using words, particularly if you grew up around people that never expressed their affection verbally. But you should never be afraid to say "I love you" or worry that doing so will thrust you into a position of excessive vulnerability. It is important to share your feelings with those that matter to you. Part of the fulfillment that comes with loving someone is telling them that you love them. Besides, love exists to be expressed, not withheld.

If you love someone, let them know. Don't be afraid of the strength of your emotions or worry that your loved one won't feel the same way. Besides, the words "I love you" are often best said to another without expectation of a return investment. As each one of us is filled with an abundance of love, there is never any worry that you'll run out of love if your expression of love isn't said back to you. Saying "I love you" is a gift of the heart sent directly via words to the heart of a recipient. Even though it may not always look that way, love from the heart is an offering that is always unconditional and given without strings attached. That is the true essence of the gift of "I love you.

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