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Digital technology-email and smartphones most of all-have vastly improved workers’ capacity to be productive outside of a traditional office. Even so, most white-collar work still happens in an office. In practice, modern communications technology is used just as much to link physical workplaces together-as at Slate, which maintains two offices, one in New York and one in D.C.-as to disperse them. One reason is that, according to a new survey of office workers conducted by Wakefield Research for the IT consulting company Citrix, most bosses are dubious about the telecommuting. Half of workers say their boss disapproves of remote working, and only 35 percent say it’s tolerated.

Skeptical bosses will likely have their doubts re-enforced by the same survey, which shows that 43 percent of workers say they’ve watched TV or a movie while “working” remotely, while 35 percent have done household chores, and 28 percent have cooked dinner.

Physical proximity might not be necessary for much work, but it does remain a hard-to-replace deterrent against The Price Is Right while on the clock.

My experience working primarily from home for an extended period several years back was that it’s a surprisingly efficient way to drive yourself insane. The need to make petty decisions-where to work, which chair to sit in, should I even bother to get out of bed, do I need to be wearing shoes right now-became overwhelming. I’d spend completely unreasonable amounts of time wondering what to do for lunch, and while working on a book dedicated a surprising amount of energy to meeting my self-imposed daily word quota in time to catch movie matinees.

But there is also a compelling case to make that working at home makes people much more efficient, because it allows workers to take care of annoying little chores while still getting their jobs done. Remote working-at least occasional remote working-can be great precisely because of the opportunity it affords to get a certain amount of non-work stuff done. It’s much faster to shop for groceries at a quarter to three than to stand in line during the after-work rush. Far too many people work similar schedules and want to eat dinner at dinnertime. My neighborhood supermarket turns into a nightmare from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday late afternoon, another popular shopping time, is even worse, with the aisles often featuring Soviet-style shortages of key commodities. If you just start working a bit earlier (no commute, after all) and pop by the store during a lull when lines are short, you can get both more work and more shopping done in a fixed amount of time. Even better, if more people did that, then shift workers with genuinely inflexible schedules might also be spared some line pain.

And telecommuting allows you to tackle household tasks that take up a lot of time but don’t actually involve much work. Watching laundry spin in your washer or dryer is perfectly compatible with productive work. But between the washing step and the drying step comes a time-sensitive “put the wet clothing in the drier” phase. Taking just a few minutes off from work to do the swap lets you get the chore done efficiently, and leaves your actual leisure time free for exciting activities like leaving the house. Many recipes, similarly, involve considerable periods of simmering or roasting during which it’s good to be around the house but you don’t actually have to do anything. In a “work-then-shop-then-cook-then-eat” paradigm, it’s challenging to eat anything that can’t be made quickly. But if you can simmer while you work, then a lot of household labor can be accomplished with minimal reduction in professional output.

The fact that such practices remain officially taboo reflects how far we haven’t come as a society from the days when we expected every full-time professional to be backstopped by a full-time homemaker.

More broadly the Wakefield survey suggests that employers may be missing a low-cost way to give workers something of value. Sixty-four percent of survey respondents who haven’t worked remotely “identify at least one extremely popular perk or pleasure they’d be willing to give up in order to work from home just one day a week.” The fundamental fact of the modern economy is that no matter how much technology advances or society’s wealth improves, we don’t add more hours to the day and we still need to sleep. Under the circumstances, tactics that help people save time are not only valuable but increasingly so with every passing year. Smart firms need to find ways to acknowledge that and let their employees have enough flexibility to manage their time effectively.

Nowadays, it is really hard to find someone that is trustworthy to babysit your child while you are working, especially if you are working away from home. That is why the majority of Moms choose to work from home. In that way, you will be able to take care of your household and family while earning, plus you get to spend more time with them. I’ll give you some tips on how to babysit your child while working at home:

1. Time Management- Planning and organizing your time is one of the most important skills of being a work at home mom. Good time management enables you to work smarter – not harder – so that you get more done in less time even when time is tight and pressure is high.

2. Look for a Relative/Member of a Family that can Babysit even just for an hour- Finding someone who will babysit your child will help you a lot, even if it is just for an hour. Just make sure to do everything that needs to be done while someone is babysitting your child.

3. Setup boundaries to get rid of distractions- Distractions are totally a struggle if you are a work at home mom. There are times that you are working on a project and suddenly, someone will come into your house and of course, you should entertain them. Or your child wants to play with you. When you set boundaries like a place to work at, and specific work schedule, it gives you the freedom to concentrate fully on the task at hand-whether at work or play.

4. Do not compromise sleep- They say that if you have a newborn, be sure to take naps whenever the baby slept. Will you be able to sleep if you are thinking of your dirty laundry that needs to be washed? Will you be able to sleep if you hadn’t taken your shower? Of course. You should take a nap! you deserve it.

5. Unwind while working- Who says that you can’t work while relaxing? Take a vacation with your family somewhere, and bring your work with you. This is one of the advantages of being a work at home mom. You can bring your work with you anywhere you go.

Being a Work at home mom is not easy because you should know and you should master how to manage your time wisely. But as time goes by, I am sure that you’ll get the hang of it. You can do it Momma, We can do it! Good luck!

Allowing your firm members to work remotely can really play a big role in boosting morale and improving the employer-employee equation. Paying heed to your employee’s needs and their wishes reals amps up their zeal to perform better for you. Emergencies or situations that abstain a person from being physically present at the workplace can arise anytime and as a firm owner when you’re empathetic to the call of your employees, it instills a sense of security in them towards their employer. Many surveys have stated that firms who promote/allow remote working for their employees receive up to eight times more job applications than other firms who do not.

Let’s know 3 ways, how you can reap the benefits of remote working:

Redefine Your Policies

Firm owners, who are not very open-minded, have a deluded perception about remote working. Such a view can hinder the adoption of new concepts and work culture. One should acknowledge the fact that the concept of remote working is not all that new, it has been around in the past decade. Many firms have off-site consultants and tax prepares that pitch for clients. The human resource department of your firm should develop official policies based on remote work practices that already exist and work around the preferences, work culture of your employees. There should be parameters and limits to keep the employees in check when they work remotely such as quality of work, detailed performance report, and time taken to complete the designated task. Remote staff should not be treated any differently from the on-site employees. They should also be expected to abide by the firm policies, including the security and confidentiality clauses.

Check and Upgrade Your Technological Infrastructure

You can get around a seamless remote work process only if you have the right technology for it. Without the proper technological infrastructure, you won’t be able to conduct remote working collaboration. One of the key steps, in order to implement a remote work friendly environment, is to digitize all client data and inter employee communication so that work documents, applications for tax accounting can be accessed simultaneously in a collaborative manner. In order to ensure uniformity, it should be made sure that all these tools and applications can securely be accessed at the same performance levels across all systems and employees, whether onsite or remotely. The best resort to ensure a uniform, unaltered access to data anytime anywhere is cloud hosting. Almost all of your accounting, tax, and payroll software are cloud compatible and yield better productivity, when on the cloud. With apps on the cloud, employees can access their work data from any smart device with internet connectivity. This would eliminate the need for them to be tied down to their computers and would grant them the freedom to work at ease, while as a firm owner, you get the benefit of all your tasks getting completed. When configuring the environment for remote working, one optimal factor that needs to be kept in mind is that all remote workers need to figure out a separate, private space, that shall be free of distractions and is safe enough to store confidential physical documents.

Upgrade Your Communication Tools

Collaborative digital communication plays a vital role when it comes to extracting the maximum possible productivity from remote working employees. This is where apps like Skype, Slack, Trello, and Microsoft Teams come into play. These apps help integrate messaging, audio and video communication, task assigning in groups, and screen sharing thus promoting inter-employee interactions regardless of location. Putting these tools to positive use enhances overall project management digitally and allows everyone involved in a particular project, gain access to project status, track advancements, and raise requirements if any. These apps are easy to install, use, and update thus promoting the remote work culture and encouraging the employees to give their fullest even when not physically present in the office premises. Seamless sharing of information and collaborative working when using such tools, help cope with the challenges that may have otherwise risen.

Conclusion

With millennials comprising most of the workforce in the present day, promoting remote work has become a surging trend. The millennials tend to keep quality of life and comfort working amongst their top priorities and remote working allows just that. Companies should start off by making gradual changes in order to promote remote work and off-site employees. With the advancement in technology, it is hardly a drawback to not have an employee physically present in the office. The modern-day tech, lets the employer be well connected and in sync even with the remote employees. Failing to offer and implement remote work can put firms in a compromising position and with a competitive disadvantage. If your firm isn’t on the remote working trend yet or doesn’t have policies in accordance with it, then now is just the right time to get started!

One of the biggest problems people have in achieving their Goals is that they get discouraged, distracted or diverted from the end result. Given the level of cultural noise most of us experience today, it can be extremely difficult to focus on what needs to be done. I speak from experience here. I find myself torn in multiple directions, less because I’m trying to do than having legitimate responsibilities that pop up.

So, how do we handle these situations? For many of us we try to power through what’s going on. We try to get it all done in the same time it would take to do a quarter of what’s landed on our plates. We try to go it alone. We work long hours and become exhausted, unable to get anything done, much less all of it.

In these situations the common factor is often that we’re working alone. We’re working on our Goals alone. We’re working on our responsibilities alone. We’re working on the solutions alone. That’s one of the worst things we can do, even if we don’t have any extra stuff competing for our attention.

Here’s three reasons why working alone can kill your Success.

1. You have no support system. Working on your Goals without outside support or help keeps means you’re subject to all the ups and downs and emotional insecurities without someone to keep you grounded. Some people can handle this sort of thing alone, but it’s too easy to get sucked down a path of negative thoughts and paralyzing fear. Unless you have someone else to support you.
2. You have no one to hold you accountable. Success is often made up of small, consistent daily actions that you keep on doing, day after day and week after week. When something happens to discourage you, it’s easy to skip those daily actions today. It’s easy to sleep in. It’s easy to take a few days off to get away from the stress. On their own, none of these things are enough to kill your Success. What kills it is not getting back in the saddle after that break. It’s too easy to let the break become the norm, not the exception. If you have someone that holds you accountable for your daily actions, it’s harder to disappoint them than accept it in yourself.
3. You have no one to bounce ideas off of. You might think that’s not important. After all, you’ve got your Goals and your Roadmap, You’re ready and motivated. Too often though our plans and ideas have holes because we simply can’t see them. We created them, but we usually only see the positives that go with or result from these plans and ideas. Someone who’s a sounding board for you will often see what you can’t. They’re not emotionally invested and they often bring a different life experience when looking at your plans. That sort of experience is invaluable when you’re getting started. It helps you to avoid problems that would otherwise delay or entirely derail your plans and future Success.

Do you see what these have in common with most people’s regular lives? Unless you’re a hermit or a desert monk, you’re normally surrounded by people who support you, hold you accountable and will help you with your ideas. If you’re in a marriage, then it’s most likely your spouse. If you work at a regular job, it’s your boss and co-workers. If you’re in school, it’s your teachers, professors and fellow students. It’s everywhere we are and everywhere we go.

So, why do we try to achieve our Goals by ourselves so often? For many it’s probably fear. We’re afraid our ideas will be stolen. We’re afraid others will try to hold us back. We’re afraid we’ll be laughed at or ridiculed for what we’re trying to do. This can bleed over to our regular lives too, but for the most part, we don’t work on our marriage, family or job by ourselves. We recognize that we’re part of a larger whole and need help from others.

So why do it when it comes to our Goals and future Success?

Is it better to work in the private sector or find employment in the government instead? This is one of the most important questions that new job hunters may ask when looking into their career options. Jobs in the private and public sector both come with their own sets of benefits and drawbacks, and as such, it’s important to carefully consider each factor before settling on a particular profession.

For those who are thinking of working for the government, one of the main benefits that you can enjoy is job security. Unlike jobs in the private sector, government jobs are not as affected by the state of the economy. This means that you will still have a job even during economic recessions, whereas your colleagues in the private sector are more likely to suffer layoffs and lose their jobs.

In addition to having more security, another popular reason for working in the government is the benefits. Of course, those who work in the private sector may also receive benefits, but more often than not, these do not reach the level or scope of those received by civil workers. Attractive government benefits include extended or lifelong health care benefits, paid vacations and maternity leaves, and hefty benefits packages for retirees.

There are also two other lesser-known benefits of working in the public sector: good work hours and solid pay. Contrary to popular belief, government employees actually receive better compensation than their private sector counterparts. Compensation for workers in the public sector is kept at a competitive level to attract high quality professionals. With regard to work hours, on the other hand, government employees usually have to stick only to a regular nine-to-five schedule and there is hardly any need to work extra hours – a really attractive perk for people who wish to spend more time with their families.

Of course, employment in the government does come with a few drawbacks. One of these is less opportunities for promotions. Unlike in the private sector, where you can climb up the corporate ladder and get pay raises at a fast rate, getting higher positions in the public sector usually takes a longer time.

In addition to having fewer chances of getting promoted to a higher position, it may also be difficult to search government jobs and secure them. Available positions in the public sector are very limited and most may require more experience in the field and specialised training (a master’s degree or PhD, for example). Highly specific qualities may also be required for certain government jobs; public offices, for instance, may consider only indigenous members of the Aboriginal community for a healthcare position targeting the group.

If you are still working and approaching the grand old age of 70, you may be wondering about the “Required Minimum Distribution” (RMD) that you will have to take each year to avoid IRS penalties. One thing that many people are not aware of is that IRAs are treated differently from 401K plans. Are you financially blessed, don’t need the money and not looking forward to being forced to take an unwanted RMD from your retirement account? Perhaps you want to delay those distributions if possible. You may have heard about the “Still-working” exception, which can allow RMDs to be put off, but are not sure how it works or to what it applies?

The still-working exception does not apply to IRAs. It only applies to company plans. If you are still working, that can’t help you delay RMDs from your IRA plans unless your company allows rollovers from IRAs into their 401K. Also, sadly, the exception will only apply to the company for which you are still working. If you have investments in other company 401K plans, you still have to take RMDs from them. Also, your plan may not allow the “Still working” out to be used and force you to take required minimum distributions even though you are still working for them. They are not required to make you take RMDs by IRS but some plans do that on their own. Hopefully yours does not. If one uses the “Still-working” exception, then RMDs begin in the year you separate from service. The required beginning date is April 1 of the year after separation from service.

Delaying the RMD may seem like a great idea if you have other investments and liquidity, but it not always the best idea. You may be locked into company stock or have a limited range of investments in the company plan versus an IRA or taking the money and investing it yourself. Folks who were fully invested in Enron stock in their 401k know that a lifetime of retirement can go up in smoke if concentrated in one thing. Taxes are also a concern. Yes, delaying an RMD delays paying the IRS, but unless you plan on working forever, at some point you will have an RMD and it will be larger as you will have a shorter life expectancy. That means more taxes later on down the road. If you die, your beneficiary will have an RMD even if they are under 70.

One final caveat, if you own 5% or more of your company, you must take required distributions even if you still work there. This can include other family members ownership interests as well.

This decision on RMDs can be a big one. A CFP, Chartered Financial Consultant, CPA or Enrolled Agent should be consulted if you are unsure of what to do.

For someone already working as a Virtual Assistant, working from home would be a breeze. However, for those who are forced to work from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be a challenge.

First of all, you have to know that working from an office and working from home is way too different.

In my many years of experience in this industry, I have learned that many people think that those working from home as a Virtual Assistant are having the time of their life. Even though they may have more flexibility, it takes so much self-discipline to be able to work efficiently from home.

If you are “forced” to work from home because your company requires you to do so for health and safety reason, then there will be a lot of adjustments for you.

Here are some advice from experienced Virtual Assistants:

Stick to a schedule

I’m sure the first thing you will be asking yourself when you wake up and realize that you are not commuting to your office is, “What am I going to do?”

Yes, working from home can be very disorienting so make sure that you stick to your daily routine. Wake up the same time. Prepare your food at the same time. Get ready the same time and then be at your working mode at the same time.

Set-up your home office

It is very important that you have an area in your house that can be set-up as your office. It must, at least, have the look of an office and the feel of an office. This will make you be in the working mindset.

Another good thing for this is that you will keep yourself (hopefully) away from any distractions.

Take a break

Just like you have a morning break, lunch break, and an afternoon break, it is also important that you don’t overwork yourself.

Working from home can tempt you to work more than you are expected. This will make you less efficient in the next days to come. Make sure to take breaks.

Socialize

I know that, with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are advised not to have so much social gatherings. However, we all need to talk to someone. Any Virtual Assistants know this.

You can socialize with your co-workers or friends through Skype or Hangouts. When you take your break or when you are done with work, take some time to talk with friends but make sure that you are disciplined enough not to be distracted by it.

I really hope that what’s happening around the world will soon neutralize and that everything will just go back to normal. As of now, this is the safest way for you, your family, and for everyone. That is why it is important that you slowly embrace this way of working.

I wish you luck and hope that you will make the necessary adjustments fast.

Setting up your personal budget requires a hands-on approach. The following guidelines will help you plan a working budget to undertake this journey.

1. Gather all your financial details. That will include all of your bank accounts, credit cards and insurances papers – anything to do with your personal finances. These details will be needed to start your budget.

2. List all sources of income. This includes salary, rental income and regular dividends and interest.

3. Categorise your expenses starting with your commitments – list each item under headings such as:

• Home: mortgage or rent.
• Association and professional fees.
• Insurance: health, motor vehicle, home, contents and life
• Education costs
• Day care and child care
• Loans: car loan, student loan, bank fees and interest
• Land tax or rates.
• Other payments required as a commitment: motor vehicle licensing.
• Investment – yes commit to your future and pay yourself!

4. List necessities – again list each item under headings:

• Food, groceries, gas (petrol), home maintenance, security.
• Utilities: gas, water, electricity, rubbish disposal, phone costs
• School lunches, household supplies, car maintenance, internet service, dry cleaning, monthly parking.

5. Other expenses. Personal everyday expenses covering: lunch at work, snacks, coffee, drinks, newspapers, magazines, batteries, postage. Family and personal allowances: parties, entertainment, weekend outings, movies, concerts, other entertainment and events, home improvements and decorating, magazine and other subscriptions, dining out and fast food. Also include: clothing, hobbies, personal recreation, books, CD’s, manicures, hair care, alterations, shoe repair, personal and family gifts, gardening, film processing, video rentals, sports and gym, donations, computer software and other related items.

6. Once you have all your expenses listed add the total expenses and deduct these from your income. You will need to convert everything to monthly or weekly. This means that bills that are paid once a year must be divided by 12 to get the monthly figure. Convert quarterly payments to an annual figure then convert this to monthly. It is important that you include bills that are paid other than monthly to ensure that the money is available when the bill is due. Place the money in an interest bearing account.

7. Do you need to tweak your budget? When you deducted the expenses from your income was there any money left or did you find your expenses were more than your income? If your situation is the latter you will need to do some tweaking. The commitments cannot change. As for necessities you may be able to cut down on food expenses and find cheaper providers of utilities or try to save costs by being conscious of switching off lights etc. But it is the other expenses category that has the most capacity for tweaking as many of them are not needed and can be reduced or cut out. Review your budget regularly to make sure it is still working for you.

The time to start a personal budget is now and these guidelines are designed to make sure that your budget is truly a working budget — one that works for you!

If you are interested in woodworking projects then there are some key things you need to keep in mind in order to make the best possible use of your time and energy. The first thing you should do is invest in some good quality woodworking project plans. While you could in theory just take measurements of the piece of furniture you want to build, having the measurements alone is not enough. Woodworking plans are easily found on the internet, and having a well-laid out plan to start with will really make the overall experience a more pleasant one.

Selecting the Right Work Surface

After you have selected the plans for your upcoming woodworking projects you will need to get your work area prepared. Start by selecting a level surface that can easily hold all of the wood and tools needed to complete the project. If you do not have a clean, flat surface to work on your measurements could be off, which would hamper your progress.

Using the Right Safety Equipment

When working with any form of tools, you need to wear the right safety equipment – without exception. Start with protective eyewear. Even if you think the project is only going to take a few minutes you run the risk of injuring your eyes, so make it a priority to always wear the proper eye protection. Along with protective eyewear you should wear gloves for added safety.

Concentration When Using Tools

While using tools, you need to be 100% focused on the tool. If you are working with someone and they are talking to you, stop using the tool and speak with them. After you have finished your conversation, return to using the tool. This is not something you should take lightly. Individuals who talk while using tools can easily lose focus and put themselves at risk of serious injury.

Getting the Best Quality Wood for the Project

Everyone wants to save money, but you should be willing to spend a little extra on your woodworking project to get the best possible result. By spending a little more money on higher quality lumber and materials, your finished product will look better. You should have no challenges getting this superior quality wood at your local hardware store.

Including Your Family in the Woodworking Project

Something that you could do to give the woodworking project added emotional meaning is to include your family in the project. By having your children work with you on the project, you will be teaching them some valuable life skills, like how to follow a woodworking design plan and safely use tools. This will also be a great chance to build long lasting memories with your children that they can pass on to their children when they are parents.

Woodworking is a great hobby to enjoy all year round and with the vast array of woodworking project plans available, you will have more than enough projects to keep you and your family busy.

Each morning is a challenge for busy women – rushing around the home to prepare breakfast, finishing other tasks from the office, and whole lot more! So, how about your beauty routine? You might be skipping it. Oh no! That’s not good if you’re doing so. Especially when it comes to your skin care, you must pay a great attention. Lack of skin care can end up to dull skin, ageing, acne breakouts, and other negative effects.

So, we’ve searched for skin care tips a busy woman like you can do to make sure you’ll have an easy and effective skin care routine.

1. Wash your face every morning. Use with a gentle cleanser. First off, know your skin types before you use your daily face cleanser to avoid negative effects. In case you have dry skin, use a non-lathering facial cleanser. For oily skin, use a gentle foaming face. In case of sensitive acne prone skin, select an acne-fighting cleanser.
2. Use toners. Not all facial cleansers carefully clean the trace of oil and dirt. That’s why it’s best to use toner. Use a swipe of cotton pad and dab with toner in your skin and you’ll see it will clean the dirt and residue left by facial wash. When you tone, your pores shrink which prevents acne and pimple from forming. Just remember, always use an alcohol-free toner.
3. Moisturize. All types of skin need moisturizing. Also, if you need to go out in the morning or during the day, do not forget to apply sunscreen. For busy women, pick a multipurpose product which has sun protection, hydration and at the same time, used as foundation. Products such as BB and CC creams can be your BFF. They act as serum, moisturizer, foundation, primer, and mostly as sunscreen with SPF.
4. Always bring facial wipes or facial cleansing sprays with your accessories. Whether you have oily, dry or combination skin, everyone has to deal with oil and sweats. In case your work requires you to spend a great amount of time under the sun (if you’re working in the field, for instance), always bring a bottle of sunscreen in your bag. Apply every after 2-3 hours.
5. When you got home after the whole day’s work, you may feel awful and look haggard. Imagine that sweaty, oily, and tired face… not a very good sight, right? Wash your face with facial cleanser and then use toner. Too, you can also spray some rose water to freshen up instantly.
6. Here’s a bedtime skin care routine for you. Wash your face with a mild cleanser half an hour before sleeping. Or, you can just wipe your face with baby wipes. Dab your night cream and gently massage it to your face. You can also use a good and gentle eye cream. The best night cream is the one which is rich in antioxidants and other anti-ageing ingredients. The most important, get a complete and great night’s sleep. This is because our cell repair happens during our sleep.

Additional Tips for Busy Women to Keep Skin Glowing and Healthy

Why you Need to Exfoliate

As we age, our skin is constantly renewing itself and shedding dead skin cells. Exfoliation can speed help us achieve a brighter skin tone. It’s not necessary to exfoliate daily. But it’s important to do this at least twice a week. Aster exfoliating, use toner and moisturizer.

How about Face Mask? You can prepare and put your face pack while you are getting your breakfast or lunch ready. Meaning, you can still do some home chores while you have the face pack on.

To maintain a healthy skin in your busy schedule, here are additional things to remember:

– Sip warm water and lemon juice as a detoxifier to start your day.

– Avoid junk foods. Instead, consume fresh, organic fruits and green, leafy vegetables. They are full of antioxidants and nutrients.

– Make sure to rehydrate by drinking 6-8 glasses of water daily.

– Get a good night’s sleep. Nothing can replace that as the best form of rest.

– Use natural ingredients for your face pack. Do some search about avocado, for instance.

– Have a moisturizer and lip balm in your bag, as well as moisturizer, especially if you’re working inside an air-conditioned room.

Know more skin care tips? Feel free to share.