5 Steps to Effectively Communicate Your Feelings in Relationships

In relationships, there’s communication, and then there’s effective communication. Communication is something that takes a lot of work, and once you’ve successfully positioned yourself as a communicator, the next step is to crack the code at being an effective communicator. If you’re at that step, try these 5 mini steps to help you along with effectively communicating your feelings. 

 

1. Allow Yourself to Feel 

 

Going into a conversation with guilt or apprehension about your feelings? That won’t help you or your partner. You’re completely allowed to feel whatever you’re feeling, and you’re also allowed to talk about those feelings. 

 

2. Label your Feelings

 

You’re experiencing these feelings, but are you reading more into them? Are you labeling them and trying to put into context the essence of your emotions? It’s not easy to do, but it’s a really important exercise for you to do on your own before opening up and sharing with someone else. 

 

3. Start with Yourself

 

If you’re extroverted or you like talking about your feelings a lot, your first inclination may be to talk it out with your significant other. That’s a great thing to do, but it begins with you. You’ll have a hard time processing everything if you’re influenced by someone else’s insight or advice. Start with yourself, and then work your way up to a discussion with your partner. 

 

4. Remember How Much You Matter

 

You matter to your significant other; your feelings matter to your significant other.  Keep this in mind and try to negate the potential fear or hesitation you may be experiencing. Swap those feelings for feelings of confidence and security in the strength of your relationship. 

 

5. Swap “You” for “I”

 

Whenever you get close to saying “You made me feel” or “You did this,” swap it for a personal statement. A conversation is helpful for you to share your perspective – not for you to point fingers at your loved one. Think about how you feel, why you feel that way, and what has happened to contribute to those feelings. 

 

Above all, when you’re entering into a conversation with your significant other, be happy that you’re taking this step. It’s excellent for you and even better for your relationship. Give yourself (and your partner) a pat on the back for working through something difficult, and keep yourself reminded of the light at the end of the communication tunnel – a happy, healthy dynamic between you and your partner. 

 

6 Reasons Unwavering Belief In Yourself Improves Your Relationships

You probably already know how having an unwavering belief in yourself improves your work life or even helps you be more confident in your everyday life. But were you aware of just how much having this kind of self-belief improves your relationships with others?

 

Think about these things:

 

You’ll be More Genuine

 

When we're unsure of ourselves, it's easy to adopt a persona, especially when around people we're hoping to impress. But how do others around you like the 'fake' you? Sooner or later, the reality always comes out, and when it does, your partner will feel betrayed. Even in non-romantic relationships, trying to be something you're not is a sure recipe for disaster.

 

You’ll Contribute More to the Relationship

 

When you’re unsure of yourself, you tend to let the other person make all the decisions or carry the weight of maintaining the relationship. 

 

While some people don’t mind taking the lead, this does lead to an unbalanced relationship which can even turn into codependency if you’re not careful. The question is, do you want a caregiver or a partner?

 

Confidence is Sexy

 

Ask anyone what they notice first about a person, and the answer which comes up more often than any other is, "Confidence." When you see someone who knows who they are, are comfortable in their own skin, and seem to have a clear view of where they're going, you’re just drawn to them naturally.

 

There’s Less Baggage

 

People who believe in themselves don't need to carry the opinion of others around with them anymore. For example, if your ex put you down, you don't care because you know you're worth more than this. More importantly, confidence frees you up to fully enter into new relationships with others without those old expectations or negative emotions to trip you up.

 

You’ll Argue Less

 

If you get into a disagreement with your friend or lover, you'll be less apt to take things personally and more willing to work through the problem. An important bonus? You won't be so caught up in the other person's opinion of you to where you put up with abuse or leave the argument crushed and broken. People with unwavering self-belief know when to walk away from the fight altogether.

 

You Will Be Respected

 

Finally, when you have a strong sense of self-confidence, you have a strong feeling of self-respect, which goes along with it. When others see you treat yourself as worthy of this respect, they are more likely to treat you with respect as well.

 

As a side note, relationships of every variety always work out best if you have a strong feeling of self-worth. The rest of the world already knows confident people are people worth knowing. Now, so are you.

How Can I Be More Supportive In My Relationships?

Do you feel like you aren’t supportive enough of your friends? Or maybe of your significant other? Being supportive in any sort of relationship is an important part of maintaining that relationship. This is especially true in a romantic relationship. Below are a few ways you can work on being more supportive in your relationships to ensure you keep them healthy and strong.

 

Check-In Frequently

 

Everyone has that one friend they haven’t heard from in a while. But the phone and internet work two ways. Don’t be afraid to message or call your friends to check-in. After all, they may be in dire need of support and may just have been too busy to reach out to you. You never know until you check. And even if you live with your significant other, it’s important to ask how their day was because they may not volunteer information that is bothering them until you ask. 

 

Just Listen

 

Sometimes, you may reach out to a friend and find that they need to vent about some things going on in their life for a few minutes. And the best way you can help this friend or significant other is just by sitting quietly and listening to their problems. If they want advice or help, you can offer it, but even the most put-together people just need to vent now and then.

 

Help Lower Their Stress

 

Although you may not solve a problem or situation your significant other may be facing, this doesn’t mean you can’t help lower their stress in other areas of their life. For example, if your husband or wife is experiencing a lot of stress at work, maybe take on a few of their household duties so that when they come home in the evening, they can just relax. You can also do something simple but nice for them, such as an offer to draw them a bath or a shoulder massage, anything which will lower their stress if even just for a few minutes. 

 

Conclusion

 

Being supportive in all of your relationships is no easy task. But you can start by checking in with your friends and significant other frequently, listening to them when they need it, and lowering their stress in any way possible. Not only will this improve your relationship with said individual, but it will also keep the relationship strong for years to come. 

 

4 Simple Ways to Avoid Procrastination When You Work from Home

Working from home is every office worker’s dream, right? But how do you stay on track and not get caught up in those endless procrastination loops? When you don’t have to go into the office, it’s easy to get distracted by all the comforts and demands of home life. Whether it’s a sudden urge to do housework or the immediate need for snacks, before you know it, you’ve frittered away a couple of hours and not got any paid work done. 

So how can you take back control and avoid procrastination when you’re working at home? 

 

1. Make an Office Space

 

Part of your procrastination problem is that your home is a relaxation space. When you’re in an office, everything is geared towards work and getting the job done. Home is about chillaxing, housework, familial responsibilities. You need to carve out some space that is just for your work. A separate home office is a perfect solution, but having a proper desk setup also works. Set yourself up with a water bottle and a bowl of fruit for healthy snacking and to stop those regular trips to the kitchen!

 

2. Learn to Prioritize

 

Be professional in organizing your time. Use a planner or a diary for deadlines and allot time in your day for particular tasks. If you’re a morning person, get your demanding or thought-heavy tasks done in the first half of the day. Conversely, night owls can choose to work late or use morning time to sort emails or do admin. Make a daily task list and check things off as you achieve them. That last achievement will feel like a slam-dunk!

 

3. Stay Motivated

 

Research has shown that lack of motivation is a crucial driver of procrastination. If your motivation is low, there’s little reason to get on with your work. 

 

If you find it hard to stay focused on your work, consider using rewards to boost your motivation. It can be as simple as choosing to do a work task before you check social media or have a movie night to celebrate hitting a milestone. If you’re struggling, try reframing each piece of work as money in your pocket.

 

4. Use Apps

 

Technology can be your friend in defeating procrastination. You can choose from several apps that will freeze distracting social media while you work. You can also choose to have a separate browser that is only used for work. Time tracking apps will help you see what you’re achieving, and as they generate reports, it will also help when it comes time for billing clients. 

6 Changes to Your Schedule to Help You Manage Your Time Like a Pro

You’ve learned some tricks on how to manage your time, whether you’ve learned from a boss, a friend, or on your own. Yet putting those tricks into action is a different story. You have to learn how to make a schedule for yourself, which sounds about as daunting as being your own boss. Take out your self-starter hat and get ready to learn how to manage your time all on your own with these six hacks!

 

1. Leave Wiggle Room Between your Time Blocks

 

Friends, meet buffer-time. No one should have a fully stacked calendar with no time in between for a break. Block out buffer-time on your calendar in between meetings and tasks. Your future self will thank you when your days are more productive, and the hours are less exhausting. 

 

2. Organize Yourself

 

This is a big life change for some people because organization habits don’t always come easily. At first, it may feel like you are spending extra time trying to stay organized, but the payoff is worth it. Here’s a staggering statistic: On average, Americans waste about 2.5 days a year looking for misplaced objects. Don’t be part of that statistic! Find a place for your belongings and always put them back where they belong. This goes for computer files too! Create a simple filing system and save new documents to the correct location. 

 

3. Make Use of the 80-20 Rule

 

Have you ever heard of the Pareto Principle? Otherwise known as the 80-20 rule, this principle says that you can get 80% of the work done in 20% of the time. Similarly, 80% of the results come from 20% of the actions. It can be applied to many things in life, so it’s a great concept to apply to your usage of time. Get in the habit of noticing what tasks get the most results. Spend more time on those actions and cut out some of the responsibilities that take up time but don’t produce the outcomes you are looking for.

 

4. Stop Waiting

 

Every once and a while, you’ll inevitably have to wait for something: at the grocery store, in the doctor’s office, in traffic. Instead of actually waiting, or deferring to your phone for entertainment, do something productive with your time. Listen to a podcast you’ve been dying to try out, read a book on an interesting topic, or write in your journal. Turn waiting time into productive time.

 

5. Organize Your Tasks in Blocks

 

Batch all your similar tasks together. For example, don’t check your email every time someone pings you. If it’s urgent, go right ahead, but otherwise, set a time block every two hours or so to plow through all your emails at one time. This keeps you focused, which is a more efficient way to work. 

 

6. Try to Do Less

 

This may sound like a slacker approach, but it’s not. Believe it or not – we take on way more than we need to, meaning we take on more than is beneficial to our work. If you find yourself planning parties, chatting with your coworkers, and dabbling in another department’s workload, you may have spread yourself to thin. By doing that, you’re not helping yourself or your peers. In the end, you could wind up letting down people because you overpromise and under-deliver. 

 

5 Simple, Yet Effective Time Management Tasks You Should Start Using Today

Are you trying to become an expert time manager? Have you noticed you don’t spend your time well throughout the day? We could keep going with these questions all day, but that would be a waste of time, right? We’re going to jump into five simple, yet effective time management tasks you should incorporate into your daily life. 

 

1. Track your Time

 

If someone asked you how long you spend reading emails every day, what would you say? What about your lunch break? Chances are, you don’t really know how long you spend on certain time blocks of the day. Start tracking your time and learn how to make changes so you can maximize it. 

 

2. Set up Time Blocks

 

When you have a certain set of tasks to do every day, set up time blocks for yourself. Give yourself 2 hours to do one thing and then 1 hour for another. It becomes a competition against yourself because you’ll be rushing to beat the clock, competing against yourself.

 

3. Plan it out

 

Morning person or a night owl, it doesn’t matter. Use the beginning and the end of your day to make a plan and try your best to stick to it. Before you leave work at night, write a list of important tasks to get done the next day. In the morning, prioritize your list and review the items. Then, get to work!

 

4. Get it out of the Way 

 

Eat that frog – Mark Twain said it himself. Pick the most important, and most dreaded, tasks first, and knock them out first thing in the morning. It’s such a relief once you finish them, and then the rest of your day is devoted to tasks that you care more about and find more challenging. 

 

5. Delegate When You Can

 

If you have a task on your plate that a subordinate could do (maybe even better than you could), delegate it to them. Some people worry that this is a bad work ethic, but it’s part of company culture. You’re all on the same team, so it’s a matter of asking for help rather than being lazy. Understand what your point of genius is and use your time for those important tasks while handing off things that you aren’t great at or that are below your paygrade. 

 

We kept it simple with these tasks. Time management is an art worth perfecting, and you’ll get there. Check-in with yourself (and the clock), and make sure you’re really optimizing the hours you get in the day. And if you don’t, fear not! There’s always tomorrow. It’s a constant work in progress, so do your best, and the rest will fall in place. 

 

7 Tips for Creating a Simple Morning Routine at Work

When you want to create a better day for yourself, you need to start out where you begin. This means having a morning routine at work as well as at home.

 

Think about this for a moment. A morning routine at home will set you up for success by getting you out of bed and ready to transition into wakefulness. 

 

Likewise, a morning routine at work can get you settled into a mindset of getting work done and ready to face the work world. Think of it as a series of steps designed to transition you into productivity.

 

How can you do this?

 

Start with How You Get There

 

Don't arrive stressed out at the very last second. To set yourself up for success, it's important to arrive with time to spare after a relaxing commute. Strategize to make this happen by allowing enough time to get where you need to go. Also, consider your route. Heavy traffic or construction is always more stressful in the long run, so you might want to adapt your route to a quieter one to reduce unwanted stress.

 

Schedule Check

 

What do you have going on today? What work is expected from you by what time? Get a mental picture of the day by noting what needs to happen when.

 

Set-Up

 

What needs to happen so you can get your work done? Are you lacking supplies or resources? Are there things you might need to delegate? Taking a few minutes to track down these items will help the rest of your day run more smoothly.

 

Habit Check

 

What detractors are already pulling at you, trying to derail your day? If you're someone who checks your phone often or can get caught up socializing with coworkers, think about how you can limit these activities as part of your routine. For example, you might want to schedule email checks at certain times or limit socialization to break times.

 

Make a List

 

Jotting down the 3-to 4 big items you want to get done today will help give you a clearer view of what needs doing and set up your goals.

 

Get Comfortable

 

Before you buckle down to work, do you need coffee? A Bathroom break? Do these things now, so you don't have to break concentration later. Also, take a minute to stretch if you haven't yet.

 

Begin

 

Time to get going. Take the first item on your list and dive in, concentrating fully on what you’re doing.

 

Of course, adapt your routine to fit whatever you need to get started for the day. The key here is to be intentional in your actions, shift your mindset, and set yourself up for success. Do only what works for you.

 

Avoid Burnout with These 3 Tips

Burnout is a real and quite damaging condition. Once you find yourself suffering from burnout, it can be difficult to turn your life around. This is why it is necessary to take steps to try and avoid burnout. 

 

1.    Set Boundaries

 

No matter what your profession may be, it’s important to have boundaries. You can’t be available around the clock; this is simply impossible. So, to prevent burnout, it’s critical to establish boundaries of times you will not be available. This means that you won't be in the office or available by phone or email during these times. If you are in a management position, it might help to post these hours somewhere or adjust your email auto-reply, so people know you will answer as soon as you are available.  

 

2.    Have A Work-Life Balance

 

Besides just setting boundaries, you need to have time to do things that aren't workplace-related. This means you have time for your hobbies, your family, and just doing what you love. This doesn't have to be complicated, and it could be as simple as taking one afternoon a week to go for a walk in your favorite park. Whatever it may be, it needs to be something you want to do, and you need to put your foot down if work ever tries to interfere with your time.

 

3.    Put Yourself First

 

Whatever could be going on at your job, if you start not to feel well or feel overwhelmed, you need to put yourself first. This means that, even if your group just started a new project, if you need a mental health day, you take one. You will be no use to your group if you begin to feel burnout and your mental abilities begin to deteriorate. 

 

Putting yourself first is especially important when you start to feel the symptoms of an illness. Although it may be tempting to say it's just a cold and go to work anyways, this will only make you feel worse and put yourself closer to burnout. Stay home and rest instead. 

 

Overall, in this day and age, it may seem difficult to avoid the condition of burnout. But you can—as long as you remember to set boundaries, have a work-life balance, and put yourself first. And if you follow these tips, not only will you avoid the damages of burnout, but you'll also go through life feeling less stressed as well. 

 

6 Techniques Uncommon People Use Which Push Them Toward Success

Being uncommon doesn't seem very hard when you think about it. If you start with a sincere desire to do your best, add a strong belief in yourself, and keep a positive attitude throughout it all, you've gotten this down.

 

But how can you use being uncommon to get ahead? Typically, uncommon people tend to succeed in high numbers. But why?

 

Offer Just a Little Bit More

 

Uncommon people really do want to give their best. This includes finding a little bit extra to push them over the top when working or playing. Uncommon people look for the extra bit of customer satisfaction they can give. They also will go out of their way in relationships. 

 

Add in Some Encouragement

 

Uncommon people look for ways to build others up rather than tear them down. By being a motivator, they, in turn, wind up motivating themselves. It's hard to keep an uncommon person down. With a little encouragement, they really do accomplish great things.

 

Look for the Lesson

 

Did you mess up? Be uncommon in how you handle the situation. Instead of assigning blame, it's better to understand the disaster critically. What can you learn here? How will this affect you going forward?

 

Do Things Your Way

 

Uncommon people don't worry about how other people are getting their work done or try to adjust their process to match everyone else's. In fact, more often than not, these people are the ones who've worked out unique ways of getting the job done, which others later tend to adopt because they're so effective. 

 

Be Ready to Pivot

 

Having a plan is great, but every uncommon person knows how to adapt to changing circumstances. When you're able to show off this flexibility, those around you notice and appreciate your willingness to change. Especially if this shift involves looking outside the box for solutions.

 

Know People

 

An uncommon person doesn't stick to themselves. Instead, they get out there and meet people. While anyone can network, this person invests in relationships. That is why they always seem to know the right person at the right time. This doesn't mean you need to make everyone your bestie. It does, however, mean getting to know people beyond their business cards. Start by taking an interest and enjoying real conversations with people beyond "What do you do for a living?"

 

The takeaway here is fairly simple. Uncommon people aren't chasing success by ticking items off a list. They're finding it by taking an active interest in the world around them and in what they're doing. Isn't that the better way?

 

It's Never Too Late to Learn That Tomorrow Never Comes

If you have a few dirty dishes in the sink, no worries. You can always get to them tomorrow. You don't feel like doing them right now, and that's okay. There's always tomorrow. Wrong! Tomorrow never comes. All you ever have is the present moment. There's this moment in time right now, and that's it.

 

You're probably thinking that tomorrow is almost on the horizon already. If today's Monday, you know tomorrow is Tuesday. We get that. What we mean is that if you regularly adopt the policy that you can do today's tasks tomorrow, you will eventually see a tomorrow with too much to accomplish. You'll have tons on your plate because you kept procrastinating, and your responsibilities have piled up.

 

The Negative Power of Procrastination

 

SolvingProcrastination.com is a website all about, you guessed it, procrastination. They want to share a lesson that time eventually teaches us all. Procrastination is dangerous.

 

If putting things off hasn't caused any real harm in your life, good for you. The problem is, that scenario might be telling you that if you procrastinate every now and then, what's the big deal? Don't fall into that mindset, that way of thinking.

 

The negative effects of procrastination are plenty. How serious are they? Check out this warning published on the website we just mentioned.

 

"Procrastination is associated with a variety of dangers and negative effects, including worse academic performance, worse financial status, increased interpersonal relationship issues, reduced well-being, and worse mental and physical health."

 

That's rather scary. What's even more bothersome is that the person who procrastinates often gets dealt with several of those issues simultaneously. They're closely related because of certain behaviors. 

 

Frequently putting things off can be very stressful. That stress attacks the body internally. Your overall health and well-being worsen, and you might have self-esteem issues because you never accomplish everything.

 

Do It Today or Write It Down

 

If you've got something small to do, something that doesn't take much time, do it. Stop reading this right now and go and do it. If it requires more time, planning, or the accumulation of resources, break out your day planner. Write it down. Schedule it. You get much more done in your life when you write things down. This has been proven in several studies.

 

Stop procrastinating. It can wreck your mental and physical health. Procrastination ruins relationships and does damage in so many other ways. Stop putting things off unnecessarily. This is a lesson life's ticking clock eventually teaches all of us, but you were reminded of it today, so you've got a jump on Father Time.