10 Tasks to Clean Your Digital Spaces
How full is your email inbox? When I teach my course “Clean the Chaos,” I not only want you to clean your physical spaces but also clean your digital spaces, too. Here’s a short segment right out of a recent email to my clients on cleaning out home office spaces. These 10 tasks will help you clean the chaos in your digital life and lighten the junk mail and unnecessary files that burden your devices. Set aside some time this month and work through these 10 tasks to clean your digital spaces. You will be so glad you did! Delete junk emails Unsubscribe to email lists Create folders or filters for important emails Create folders on your device for important files with names that work for you (home, personal, health, auto, receipts/orders, pet, manuals, etc.) including a folder for each person in your household Delete unnecessary photos and files Delete apps and subscriptions you do not use Delete trash files periodically Use digital bookkeeping and bill pay to manage bills and minimize paper use Use a financial app to monitor your credit scores, find and manage subscriptions, and cancel recurring charges Back up your files Bonus tip? Delete junk mail…
New Gray
What does new gray mean? Recently a friend and I coined the phrase “new gray” during a discussion about the percentage of people in an audience. New gray is my age group, 50’s and 60’s. Old gray is my mom’s age group, 70’s and 80’s and beyond. Obviously, people gray at different ages, but the demographics of new gray and old gray are different. My hair is streaked with gray and I do not mind it. So many people seem discouraged about graying. I think it’s just the next stage of life. In a previous post on going gray gracefully, I gave advice this advice: “Live life each day to its fullest, with joy, no matter what the weather or your hair status. While it’s nice to look good on the outside, your beauty and heart attitude shines through from the inside. That’s the sparkle that others see.” Being “new gray” is more than okay! I have adult kids, a grandchild, and more freedom in my schedule. I am growing old with the husband of my youth and still enjoying new adventures together. New gray will eventually become old gray and that will bring another season to explore and enjoy,…
Back to School for you – for free
What do you wish you could go back to school to learn? Everyone can teach or tutor something. What skill or hobby are you good at? What academic subject do you enjoy talking about? What do your kids or neighbors ask you for advice about? Being a subject expert will help you grow your confidence in tutoring, but honestly, tutoring is just coming alongside someone to help with their academic or skill learning. Almost anyone can do that, especially with a free tutoring workshop. Here’s a little free vocabulary lesson. Teaching is a subject matter expert giving instruction. Tutoring is helping students with academic learning and study skills. It is remediating or enriching a particular subject or school year. Coaching is helping students with problem-solving strategies to improve productivity or effectiveness both now and in the future. Now is the perfect time to get set up to start tutoring this fall. My short free workshop Tutor Toolkit will give you the tools needed to design tutoring sessions no matter what you want to tutor. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to tutor, teach lessons, or coach clients. What’s in the FREE workshop Tutor Toolkit? In this workshop, I lay…
Best Back to School Traditions
What are your back to school traditions? The start of a new school year can be a hard transition from the freedom of summer break for some parents and kids. Having some back-to-school traditions can ease this transition. Ice cream night was our favorite and best back-to-school tradition. On the first day of school (and the last) we went out to ice cream for dinner. We asked good questions and the kids actually gave answers between bites. It was casual but meaningful. Other families have a special breakfast on the first day of school or a school supply shopping day. Some families prioritize the first day of school photo shoot on the front porch. It all comes down to being intentional and building traditions. Maybe it did not start out at first as something that would become a tradition or ease the transition, but eventually, families repeat special moments, and traditions are begun. As a teacher and tutor, I have the opportunity to talk with students at the start of the school year. One of my traditions is asking students to tell me what they character traits hope their new teacher will see in them. With some praise and encouragement…
Parenting Podcast Review: M is for Mama
What is your favorite parenting podcast? Podcasts are all the rage these days, but honestly, I’m not one who listens to many. A recent car trip found me downloading a few podcasts and audiobooks. I almost forget how nice it is to listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks! After reading this review, I hope you will give this parenting podcast, M is for Mama, a try whether you are a regular podcast listener or an infrequent one like me. I have been following Abbie Halberstadt for a while on Instagram and am looking forward to her upcoming book Hard is Not the Same Thing as Bad. She often posts about the miraculous and messy world of motherhood. She and her husband have 10 children (including 2 sets of twins) and their story can be found on her parenting podcast. I especially liked the first episode about how she came to buy a necklace with an “m” on it and it sparked the title of her blog, first book, and podcast “M is for Mama.” Another episode that resonated with me was episode 13 where Abbie interviews her mom and talks about leaving a legacy for your kids and grandkids. The…