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3 Tips to Start September off Right

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As labor day weekend draws to an end, we all hopefully will head back to work this week with cleared minds and hopefully some rest. September has somehow snuck up on us, and can I just say how rude of summer to come and go so quickly. As business men and women, it is essential that we take each and every day to our full advantage. Today, I’m going to offer three tips to start the month off on the right foot and make it the most productive one yet. 

A new month brings the chance to start new, set goals, accomplish more and overall better yourself. Focus on where you’re at today, where you would like to be in the future and the steps you are going to take to get there. 

Get a good night’s sleep: I’m sure you have heard this one before, but how often have you actually tried to enable it in your routine? Leave your work at work, come home and be present with the ones you love and when it is time to unplug, I challenge you to really and truly unplug this month. Leave your cell phone charging across the room, lay your clothes out for the next morning and get to bed at a decent time. Wake up a bit earlier this month than you’re used to, even if it’s just 15 minutes. Use this time to manage morning tasks, answer emails and eat a nutritious breakfast. 

Set Goals: If you don’t have goals, WYD? This month set goals for yourself or your business. Whether it be one big one or three small ones, the ball is in your court. Put these goals somewhere you will look at them multiple times a day and each time you’re working on something, ask yourself if what you’re doing aligns with a specific goal. If it doesn’t, it probably is taking away from something more beneficial you could be doing. And that leads us to…

Avoid Multitasking: My personal worst. This month, rather than micromanaging one hundred little projects, try focusing on one project or task at a time. Decide how you want to manage your ideas and follow a list or timeline to check things off. Believe it or not, this will actually decrease stress and increase productivity. 

Find an accountability partner to help you establish these goals and stick to them. I hope these few tips help you start September off on the best foot possible! 

 

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Passing Values Down to Your Grandchildren

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Let me state the obvious: I am not a grandparent. I am not even close to having my own children. You might be thinking that I am not the best person to be writing a blog about passing qualities down to grandchildren. But, I can absolutely say I have some of the best grandparents in the whole wide world (sorry everyone else, it’s just the truth.) 

From an early age, my grandparents have instilled strong family values into their grandchildren: me, my fifteen-year-old brother, and my twenty-year-old-cousin. We see the eternal value in having the family that we do and this all started with my grandparents. From an early age, I would watch the adults in my life just live out their lives and model myself from them (as you probably did.) Children are so receptive and follow in the footsteps of those who surround them. 

When my grandparents were younger, there was no other option to work hard. For instance, my grandpa is a farmer and has been most of his life. I asked my grandpa where his work ethic came from and he attributed it to his grandpa. He said that he looked up to his grandpa so much, the man who raised him. Even at his age, he still goes out on the farm every day: tending to his cows and picking produce out of the garden to sell at the farmer’s market. He owns a small business with my uncle, Trinity Nursery, where they sell all kinds of flowers and produce out of their two greenhouses. My grandma is so giving of herself. She is a retired special education teacher and has been a caretaker to her father and now her brother for years. She has cooked Sunday lunch for the whole family almost every Sunday since my parents were married in 1996. She attributes her work ethic was passed down from her parents and they taught her to take pride in herself and everything she did. 

I can pretty much guarantee most grandparents feel similarly: they want to instill the values that they hold dear to their children and grandchildren. Work ethic is something that must be taught. As a millennial, I know we are thought of as not having “the best” work ethic. Stereotypically, millennials are lazy, arrogant, and expect everything to be handed to them. While this may be true for a small percentage, I see it differently. I see that so many millennials have the drive to work hard that it can be somewhat impossible to break through the clutter. I know for myself, I have seen my grandparents work for what they have. They have given their family the world. I can see the value in work and what I can accomplish when I put in the effort. 

I am sure you have values that you can trace back to your grandparents, whatever those may be. It is important that we acknowledge those things and where they came from. If you are fortunate to still have your grandparents, take a second and thank them today. Tell them how much the things they have instilled in you mean to you. Maybe some of your greatest qualities come from your grandparents. I know mine do.

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