by Kara | Sep 16, 2017 | Organizational
In a survey conducted by Harvard Business School, 94% of respondents reported working more than 50 hours per week — and with so many professionals putting in overtime at the office (and at home), it can be hard to achieve work-life balance.
If stress from work is left to build, it can eventually creep into home life and quickly snowball out of control. Productivity suffers as stress peaks. When not carefully managed, everything from work performance to personal relationships and overall health can suffer. Chronic stress weakens the immune system, leading to more sick days and an ongoing game of catch-up, and studies suggest it can even double the risk of a heart attack.
But what can you do to strike a healthy, sustainable work-life balance and escape this vicious cycle? It is possible with a bit of foresight and some ongoing deliberate effort. Here’s where to start.
Prioritize
Set manageable goals and tackle them in order of importance. Use a daily to-do list as a reference point, highlighting the urgent tasks and leaving room for flexibility on longer-term projects. Lay out your projected agenda at the onset of each week so you’re aware of and can anticipate standing meetings, deadlines, and other odds and ends. Be realistic and don’t neglect time for personal breaks throughout the day! Try not to feel guilty about getting out of the office for a 30-minute lunch break or going for a walk between meetings; these can actually serve to boost your productivity by alleviating stress and reenergizing your body and mind.
Divide and Conquer
Break large projects into small tasks you can complete in portions. This can apply to both your work and home life. For example, if you have a big presentation scheduled for the end of the quarter, you wouldn’t jump right into creating and delivering a detailed slideshow. You’d start slowly gathering data a few months or weeks in advance, make time to conduct preliminary research, and gradually add slides and talking points before practicing your delivery and refining from there. At home, if you know you’ll be hosting a large dinner party next month, you wouldn’t wait until the day before to plan the courses you’ll serve, shop for ingredients, and deep clean the house. Instead of facing complex undertakings head-on, plan ahead, divide, and conquer! Decide on appetizers and entrees first, then gradually gather table settings, get a head start on finally organizing the living room… take baby steps and you’ll be less stressed when it’s time to execute.
Take Advantage of Benefits
Does your company have a flexible work from home policy? Talk to your supervisor about working remotely once or twice a week. Are you able to work custom hours? Perhaps your management team would be open to you coming into work mid-morning and working until evening, leaving you with more time before heading to the office (for example, to eat a proper family breakfast and drop the kids off at school or daycare, or to work in a run and a shower).
Unplug After Hours
If possible, avoid taking work home with you. Designate off-the-grid hours after work and on weekends or personal holidays. Just make sure to communicate your availability with supervisors, coworkers, or clients. Turn off notifications for work messaging apps outside of business hours. Log out of work email or leave your work laptop at the office. Take this time to catch up on personal texts, phone calls, and other communication. Or, simply relax with a book or your favorite activity and unglue from screens.
Know When to Say No
As long as you stay on top of your responsibilities at work and at home, consider politely declining extra commitments. You can respectfully skip out on that optional work committee, RSVP “next time” to this month’s extracurricular book club meeting and send your well wishes, and stay home guilt-free on a Saturday night for some much-needed R&R. Taking a break and sitting one out can actually make the difference between a sharp mind and subpar work.
Make the Most of Your Personal Time
Self-care is the name of the work-life balance game. Use your free time for personal enrichment — whatever that may mean for you. Regular exercise is an effective outlet to blow off some steam and keep stress in check. Meditation or yoga can bring peace after a busy workday. You may even use your commute time to enjoy an episode of your favorite podcast, listen to your favorite music, or read a boo.
Seek Support
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your support networks for a helping hand. Outsource your responsibilities when possible. A personal assistant can help pick up the slack at home, so you’re free to honor each point on this list. Come home to a fridge full of prepped meals. Use the time you’d spend folding laundry to take a bath. Or leave for a much-needed vacation knowing your household is in good hands.
Contact Pepper’s Personal Assistants
Contact us for more information and start living a more balanced life today!
by Kara | May 31, 2017 | Organizational
With all the apps, automated services, and other high-tech tools, we demand more and more of ourselves. Life can end up feeling overwhelming. We’re left seeking a nirvana that seems just out of reach. With some conscious effort and perhaps a little bit of help on the side, we can achieve a critical ingredient: balance. Habits to add balance to your day are important.
Striking a successful balance between excelling at your daily tasks and maintaining your peace of mind can be difficult. It requires introducing some key activities while subtracting others until we find an ideal (and realistic) mix. Start with these quick habits and straightforward lifestyle upgrades to find the balance in your busy days.
Incorporate Light Activity
Walking and stretching are two physical activities that will make you feel calmer and more creative. If you’re working hard on a project and you sense a good stopping point, use this opportunity to get up and clear your mind. You could take a leisurely walk to a nearby park or simply stand up from your workspace and do a few stretches to get your blood flowing. You may find that when you come back to your project, answers come more easily now that your body and mind are refreshed!
Try Aromatherapy
Why not take your senses on a mini vacation? Aromatherapy is an easy way to relieve stress. Pick out a few essential oils and try adding a drop or two to your bathwater for relaxation, mixing a couple drops into a spray bottle filled with water for a quick scent refresher, or using a diffuser to release the scent into a room. Scents such as peppermint or citrus can stimulate the senses, while oils such as lavender or ylang ylang can calm and soothe.
Consider Connecting with Someone Special
It’s all too easy to find ourselves in a rut and forget to reach out to family, friends, and people we enjoy spending time with. When you take a short break during the day, send a simple text to an old friend, post a fun memory on a family member’s social media page, or invite someone you’ve recently met for coffee or tea. Short daily breaks are ideal for reconnecting, because if we wait until we get home, other priorities and distractions can take over.
Read…and Get Outside
Here’s a way to multitask that won’t drive you mad with stress. Grab a book, your favorite magazine, or the daily paper and get some sunshine while you flip through the pages. Head to your nearby park for a healthy dose of vitamin D and a good reading session.
Contact Pepper’s Personal Assistants
What would your life look like if you had some help with your to-do list? Contact Pepper’s Personal Assistants and we’ll shoulder some of your everyday burden so you’re free to unwind and do more of the things you love. Give us your grocery list. We’ll brave the crowded parking lots and checkout lines while you enjoy some quality time. Focus at work while we hold down the fort. We’ll take care of things at home and fold laundry, water plants, or greet the maintenance worker. We’re here to support your wellbeing and help you with habits to add balance to your life!
by Kara | Apr 24, 2017 | Organizational, Residential
Being a mom is a full-time job in itself. When you tack on a career and a million personal responsibilities, moms have sure got a lot on their plates. Why not help the mother figure in your life lighten that load a bit? When you’re brainstorming the perfect Mother’s Day gift for this year, think outside flowers or dinner! Consider treating mom to her very own personal assistant and give her the greatest gift of all: more free time.
Gift a Personal Assistant Package
A personal assistant package is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Mom can pick and choose the days she could use an extra pair of hands, select the amount of PA hours she needs, and allocate tasks accordingly. The result? She can come home to a completed to-do list and use that leftover time to unwind or treat herself to her favorite activities. Even better than breakfast in bed or a trip to the day spa? The spare time to indulge in such things without the prospect of unfinished business looming over relaxation time.
Her Personal Assistant Can Handle the Busy Work
Monotonous daily tasks — from paying bills and scheduling appointments to grocery shopping or picking up dry cleaning — can eat into mom’s personal time and even her lunch hour at work. Treating her to a personal assistant package allows her to prioritize herself and quality family time in place of time-consuming chores. A personal assistant can transform a dreaded week full of stressful obligations into one where the sky’s the limit.
When valuable time is on the line, a recurring subscription is a worthwhile investment. Plus, the rest of the family gets to see more of mom!
Show Mom You Care; Help Her Take Back Treasured Free Time
Many working moms rise and shine early to get a head start on each busy day. Sometimes, overtime at the office plus after-work errands can mean there aren’t enough hours in a day. With the help of a personal assistant on particularly busy days, mom can focus on her job, enjoy herself, and treasure time with her loved ones.
With a little luck, that extra time will liberate mom to do something special for herself — whether she prefers to get a pedicure, sign up for a yoga class, work on personal projects, meet up with friends, or simply take a solo breather on the couch. However she chooses to spend it, a Mother’s Day gift of free time provides a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle of motherhood.
Happy Mother’s Day to all!
by Kara | Mar 29, 2017 | Organizational
We all want to make the most of every day. By taking a few steps to optimize your personal efficiency, it is possible to achieve everything you aspire to do — from your career to your home life and beyond. Here are five ways to make your life more efficient.
Organization Makes Everything Easier
Whether you’re sifting through your closet for your running shoes or searching for an important file on your work computer, careful organization can save you a lot of time. Sure, conscious organization involves a slightly longer time commitment to ensure your things are stored back in their rightful homes after each use. However, in the grand scheme of things, organizing your physical and digital spaces will improve your efficiency when you know exactly where to look for your belongings in the first place.
Create and Stick to a Schedule
When you have a plan for how to efficiently tackle your to-do list, you’ll naturally start to get more done by the end of each day. From carefully scheduling your workday to improve your overall productivity to planning the timing and route of your personal errands, a bit of foresight can save you time and frustration.
Hire a Personal Assistant
Time is precious, but the busier you are, the less of that precious time there is to come by. Don’t waste yours on hold with your utilities companies for an hour or going out of your way to pick up dry cleaning. Hiring a personal assistant is the easiest way to remove menial yet time-consuming tasks from your to-do list. You can apply the same principle at work: delegate. Enlist an extra pair of helping hands to handle personal tasks so you can focus on the bigger picture.
Put an End to Procrastination
When you delay starting or finishing a project, all you do is create stress and uncertainty. One of the easiest ways to improve your efficiency is to avoid putting off projects and tasks until a later date or time. Even taking the first small steps of a large project can be critical to its overall success. Creating a list of short- and long-term goals can help you schedule and prioritize projects and tasks you intend to complete.
Take Time to Rest and Recharge
No one can be “on” all day, every day. In addition to time for adequate sleep each night, everyone needs a few moments each day and several hours a week to rest and engage in activities they enjoy. Whatever that looks like for you, whether it’s taking your dog for a run or binging a favorite television show, make sure to prioritize some time for yourself as you’re planning your week.
by Kara | Jan 30, 2017 | Travel Services
As the dreary winter months seem to drag on, you may find yourself dreaming of taking a break, even if only for a few days on local trips near Seattle. Sure, you could take some time off work or go away for the weekend, but how can you swing it with so many commitments waiting for you at home?
With a trusty personal assistant, you won’t need to fret over tasks going unfinished. A PA is so much more than a housesitter. They’re your right hand. When you can’t be home to run errands, do the laundry, schedule appointments, work with contractors or repair people, take your car in for service, or prep the week’s meals, we’re there to tackle everything so you’re free to recharge without falling behind on the daily grind.
Hand off your home responsibilities and relish your freedom by heading for the hills — or a nearby city, mountain, or island. Allow Pepper’s Personal Assistants to hold down the fort while you take a personal, romantic, or family retreat. Here are five local destinations whose proximity to the Seattle area makes for the perfect weekend getaway.
Port Townsend
This charming Victorian community, located on the coast along the Olympic Peninsula, is quite the change of scenery from nearby metropolitan hubs. It’s just over two hours of travel time from Seattle, including a quick and scenic ferry ride. Maritime enthusiasts will feel right at home in the boating scene, and many flock to Port Townsend each year for the long-running Wooden Boat Festival. The town is also home to numerous parks and hiking and walking destinations, so there’s something for visitors looking to relax as well as those looking to get active.
Leavenworth
Just over two hours east of Seattle by car, this Bavarian-style town is known for throwing a killer party each year at Oktoberfest. It is also the place to be during the holidays, with many winter activities in town or nearby, including a popular Christmas tree lighting ceremony. No matter the time of year, you can enjoy any of several town tours, authentic German cuisine, wine tastings, or even the quirky Nutcracker Museum! Get your fill of hiking, biking, skiing, and many more outdoor activities within the surrounding Wenatchee National Forest and Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Leavenworth is truly a slice of Europe… without the expensive plane ticket.
Whistler, BC
Here in the Pacific Northwest, we’re fortunate to have easy access to international travel. All you need is a passport, a full tank of gas, a train or plane ticket, and time (which won’t be an issue!) and you’re across the border to Canada in no time. Expect a 4-hour trip to Whistler if you’re driving from Seattle. Hike among patches of leftover snow in the summertime or see what makes Whistler a legendary destination for skiers, snowboarders, and other winter athletes (after all, the town hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics for a reason!). Year-round activities include a gondola tour with must-see views, numerous luxury spas, and shopping or dining at Whistler Village.
San Juan Islands
If you’re looking for local trips near Seattle on an island, hopping a ferry to reach these destinations can be half the fun. Orcas, Lopez, Shaw, and San Juan Island are some of the most-loved local travel spots. Perhaps this is because island life tends to move at a relaxed pace compared to city life. Adventurous spirits can enjoy hiking, kayaking, zip lining, paddle boating, horseback riding, and so much more. If you would rather sit back and take in the majestic surroundings, go for a ride on a whale watching boat, read your favorite book at the beach, indulge at a winery or spa, or mosey through museums where local history is on display.
Portland, OR
We’re only a three- to four-hour trip to Portland’s flourishing food scene. Try Voodoo Doughnuts and sip on Stumptown Coffee, then marvel at the Rose Garden or Japanese Garden before getting lost inside multi-level Powell’s Books. There really is a little bit of everything to do in Portland, especially for arts and culture enthusiasts.
So go ahead and treat yourself one or two local trips near Seattle while your personal assistant from Pepper’s handles the rest!
