I am Patti Oskvarek, leadership and work-life balance coach and reiki practitioner.
How do I use what I do in my daily life?
I understand that I have to slow down and bring some balance in my life because if I don’t, things become blurred and can affect my health and relationships. I tend to over-push myself to the point of exhaustion or overload. When I start to feel tired or overloaded, I know that I need to spend alone time to recharge and refresh. Spend time outside, whether in my backyard or going out in nature. Take time to reflect, meditate or pray, listen to some calming music and do some self reiki myself.
I have a work-life balance workbook called The Optimal Work-Life Balance workbook motivates you to focus, de-stress, and gain a new perspective of a balanced life. The downloadable workbook has advice and tips on improving your life while working at your own pace. It is self-paced, achievable, and reusable throughout your life! Also included, you will receive 21 -Days of inspirational emails with tips and information daily that will set you on the path of creating your balanced life.
I also created the Work-Life Balance Affirmations Cards to inspire and encourage; read and repeat them throughout the day. Post them around your home, work area, or in your vehicle. They are pocket-size which makes them easy to carry around with you.
The cards are a companion to the Optimal Work-Life Balance Workbook. I use these cards to encourage when working on a particular topic or program day; I read and repeat them throughout the day. I post them around your home, work area, or in my vehicle. They are pocket-size which makes them easy to carry around.
How I use them:
Shuffle and randomly select a card, and reflect and repeat the affirmation throughout the day. Then, shuffle and pull a random card.
Coffee with Patti – is a beautiful way to express your appreciation and support.
If you would like to work with me for coaching services, click the “Schedule Now” button below.
Welcome to Exploring Life and Work with Patti – From Chaos to Calm. Join me as we explore the good, the bad, and the chaotic in the life of a manager or supervisor.
This podcast is for you if you are a manager or supervisor who feels burnt out, stressed out, or overworked from your demanding job. Now, you’re looking to find some calm and balance in life, both inside and outside of work.
These monthly mini-podcast episodes inspire life and work strategies to maintain sanity within your busy day from chaos to calm.
I am your host Patti Oskvarek, a Leadership and Work-Life Balance Coach.
Follow “Exploring Life and Work with Patti” on all your favorite podcast listening platforms to get all the latest podcast episodes.
It’s officially summer. The weather is changing to enjoy outdoor adventures. It’s time to start planning and going on vacation activities. Scheduling it on the calendar is the first step to make it happen. After that, the time is blocked out, and work will not occur.
For some planning, a vacation can be overwhelming. Booking the flight, lodging, activities, rent a car, or not renting a car, etc. Staying local and pursuing fun, entertainment, and recreation may be a good option.
What is a playcation? Here is my explanation of a playcation as doing something fun and enjoyable on vacation. I recommend blocking out and scheduling specific enjoyable activities to do physically while getting some fresh air and sunlight. Maybe it is golfing, parasailing, snorkeling, zip-lining, water skiing, camping, hiking, getting the body moving, and so much more.
What has been your bucket list or what I call adventure list that you always wanted to do? If you don’t have an adventure list, it’s time to make one. Making an adventure list will help you plan future adventures and playcations.
I started making an adventure list by each state in two notebooks; as I see something on TV, Facebook, Pinterest, or hear about it from someone to visit and do that activity, I will write it in the books. If I don’t have the books with me, I put them on my phone in notes and then later write them in the book under that state.
As you begin to plan a playcation, take out your adventure list. I find this is a great motivation tool to experience something new a different and inspire me to do it.
How about making an adventure list and putting it into action?
I would love to hear or see your adventure list. Become carefree and just do it. Let the adventure begin!
If you are struggling with creating a balanced life. How about hiring a leadership, life, or career coach like me to help you work through the daily challenges, and continue moving forward to where you want to be with your life.
If you would like to work with me for coaching services, click the “Schedule Now” button below.
If you enjoyed this blog post, how about showing appreciation and (buying) sharing a cup of coffee with me. ☕️ What is share (buy) me a cup of coffee? It is a beautiful way to express your gratitude and support for my work by buying me a cup of coffee.
The modern world is always on. From phones that never stop ringing to email inboxes flooded with messages, it’s hard to find peace. You’re overwhelmed, tired, and trying to keep up. Fortunately, there’s a better way to find balance in your life.
Try these strategies to coexist with technology and still have inner peace:
1. Focus on creating a healthy relationship with technology. Between work, family, and friends, you may be online frequently. Your job may require you to use email, or your kids may text you updates. How do you find a balance amid the technology?
Craft a relationship that is based on intent. Mindless surfing online can waste your time, so ensure you have a definite purpose when you use technology. All of your online actions need a reason.
2. Live with technology instead of for it. Technology and being connected doesn’t have to absorb your entire life.
Keep in mind that technology is a tool. Avoid making it the focus of your day or life.
3. Disconnect on a frequent basis. It’s crucial to take breaks from always being connected to everyone through your phone, email, and social media.
Take a tech break each week. Experts recommend setting aside the weekends for spending time with family and friends. Avoid surfing online, sending text messages, or uploading photos. Instead, interact with real people in the real world. It’s important to warn your connections ahead of time so you don’t cause concern when you suddenly “disappear.” They’ll get used to you taking weekends and vacations away from technology.
4. Manage your connections. Do you really need to keep up with every person from your old school days? How many times do you need to check your social media accounts for new messages?
It’s important to find a balance between keeping up to date with your connections and always being available. Of course, you want to stay in touch, but it doesn’t have to be an hourly issue.
Try limiting the number of connections in your life to those that are important to you.
Although it may hurt some feelings, consider “unfollowing” some people on social media, so you don’t have to be part of their drama anymore. Do what you can to maintain a stress-free social circle.
5. Partake in activities that reduce stress. A hyper-connected world can make you feel on edge. It can increase stress and anxiety. It can also make you feel that you always have to be available to do everything.
Schedule some alone time each day. The solitude will give you a chance to reflect, plan, de-stress, and re-energize. Try yoga, meditation, journaling, or keeping a diary.
Pursue activities that make you feel peaceful and calm. Whether you hike in a park or dance in your living room, relax and disconnect from the world for a moment.
You can discover inner balance despite living in a hyper-connected world.Make these strategies daily habits and enjoy greater peace.
During these uncertain and stressful times, more than ever, we need joy in our daily lives. Whether at work or home. A smile can change someone’s day from gloomy to joyful; showing some compassion when a coworker is at their breaking point or providing a little laughter can help everyone get through these unusual circumstances.
A good laugh heals a lot of hurts. — Madeleine L’Engle
What are the benefits of laughter in the workplace?
Laughter can lower stress and boredom, strengthen the immune system, and enhance team engagement, collaboration, creativity, and well-being. It relaxes the body and defuses conflict.
Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. — Victor Borge
Reflections Questions:
How can you brighten someone’s day with a little laughter?
When were some times you and your team laugh at work?
What can you do to encourage laughter in the workplace?
Patti discusses establishing a work schedule to help you move into a flow and getting things done; working from home can be challenging, especially when the family doesn’t understand your work demands, work obligations, or time constraints with deadlines.
Patti: Established set work hours and communicating them to family and friends. Here are the hours and days I am working this week. Another way to communicate is to post your calendar/diary on the wall/door or give family viewable access to your digital schedule that reflects availability. Another approach you can make a daily or weekly calendar post in view (maybe kitchen) or text your unavailability for that day to the whole family. There are lots of creative ways to communicate you are working and unavailable. Sit down as a family and ask them how they want you to let them know. This way, everyone is part of the decision making. Do you want a daily text or a do not disturb sign on the door?
Angela said, I found the sign really official and makes it clear for others not to knock. In my building I used to live in, we had a lot of traffic going past my front door. People who delivered parcels would knock on the front door, which would be picked up on my calls or recordings. However, the worst thing about knocking on the front door was when I was doing meditation. Sounds and knocks during meditation can actually be dangerous to your body if you are in deep meditation and give you a heart attack. That forced me to make a sign to post on my front door, “please don’t knock, meditation in progress, if possible leave parcels.” The sign also allowed some people in the building the idea to be quiet when passing the front door too (if they read the sign!) I’m going to use another sign to the door in my office at home to be really clear about meditation time or when I’m recording, as people may have no idea what you are doing in the office and the sign makes people more aware about the noise.
Angela: When working at home with family these days, it is really valuable to look at your physical workspace. Do you have a space that’s appropriate to do your work? Do your kids have a space that’s appropriate to focus on learning? And space is not just physical like a desk; it includes sound and light. I’ve seen a lot of people being really creative with working at the kitchen bench, buying a fold away desk for the bedroom, and other bits of furniture like a screen or divider to section off spaces in the house or to create workspaces.
Sometimes, you won’t be able to really have a work space that is quiet, and people are more forgiving in these times if they hear kids and the kitchen in the background, but how does this affect you?
Are there changes you need to make without necessarily spending a lot of money, but perhaps using your house differently?
What could be something that gives you flow naturally that you need to put in your schedule to help you flow with the changes that we are now facing?
For Angela it’s definitely movement and I will be sharing some of the results of my movement classes in the coming months as I plan to share these classes for more people to discover their own natural rhythm.
You can stay in touch with Angela’s gentle movement classes by signing up to the newsletter.
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Lately, I have been hearing that the “new” working from home has been very hard for some. They are saying they are working more hours then if they were in the office and it is leading to burnout and frustration.
Burnout is not fun. When you reach that point, you are exhausted physically, emotionally and mentally. Sometimes, you don’t even realize what happened. You have changed within. You feel confused, angry, and so tired of everything and everyone and no patience.
How did you get to this point?
High-achievers should continually be on the lookout for the warning signs of burnout because they don’t always see it coming. The doers are passionate about their work progress and tend to work long hours. They take on heavier workloads and put high expectations on themselves, which may lead to burnout if not monitored by pausing with some self-care techniques. Trying to be everything and anything to everyone, putting work 24/7 above rest, relaxation, a little fun, family, and friends. That’s how.
Is there a way to reverse it. Of course, but you have to take some time away from work mentally, emotionally, and physically. Not stepping away for a while could cost you your career, health, and relationships.
“Sometimes it takes an overwhelming breakdown to have an undeniable breakthrough”. ~ unknown
What is burnout?
It is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.
What are some warn signs?
🦋 Cynical, critical, pessimism, anger or irritable at work
🦋 Disliking the job, forcing yourself to get up and go to work or having a hard time getting started
🦋 Irritable or impatient with others, coworker, boss, customers or clients
🦋 Lack of energy or low productivity or chronic fatigue or loss of appetite
🦋 No focus, mind wanders, forgetfulness, or hard to concentrate
🦋 No satisfaction from achievements, feeling unappreciated for all the extra work effort
🦋 Feelings of disillusionment about career, isolation, depression, and anxiety
🦋 Using alcohol, drugs, or food to feel better or not to feel at all
🦋 Change in sleeping patterns, maybe insomnia or oversleeping
If not addressed, burnout can leave people feeling empty, exhausted, depressed, and unable to deal with daily life’s demands.
How to change?
🦋 Focus on your recent and past accomplishments 🦋 Stop self-criticizing yourself and others 🦋 Create a happy space to spend time in for self-reflection, meditation, and prayer 🦋 Make and write in a daily gratitude journal
Change your workflow! 🦋 Stop multitasking and focus on one task at a time towards completion 🦋 Take regular breaks 🦋 Limit working overtime 🦋 Journal about things that are bothering you and come up with solutions to resolve them.
If you are experiencing some of these symptoms, it’s time to take some action to reverse it. Self-reflect and make some changes to reduce stress and anxiety. Take control of your workload and have reasonable expectations about what is achievable.
Do you have a happy place?
If yes, where is it? I would love to hear about your happy place. If no, why not?
This mini course is for leaders who are crazy busy, working 24/7 and want something more in life beyond their career. 7 easy hacks to create some personal life balance in this so-called busy life!
A couple of weeks ago, a friend told me about her work situation and why she decided to give her notice. She brightens up people’s days with her friendly demeanor. She worked in the front lobby. Having a friendly employee as the first contact with your customers is crucial. Customers will continue to come if they feel welcome, the same for employees.
Why do good employees leave?
🦋 A shortage of appreciation, praise, acknowledgment, or recognition from management
🦋 The Manager only pointing out what went wrong
🦋 Lack of trust in employees
🦋 Bad communication – Not sharing important information or changes in company policies
🦋 Unsatisfied relationships with coworkers and/or management
🦋 Employee feeling unchallenged or bored with their work
🦋 The organization culture or the companies vision
🦋 Little growth and no promotional opportunities
🦋 Blatant employee favoritism
🦋 Lack of work-life balance, being over-worked, feeling over-stressed, and having no work boundaries (on duty 24/7)
How can we show up as a better leader and save good employees?
Build a trusting environment. Give opportunities for employees to learn new tasks and give them clear verbal instructions with written procedures. When a situation arises, be truthful. Come up with the right solution together. Acknowledge good work performance. Share policy changes in person and written form. Be open to answering employees’ questions. Care about the job and value staff.
Did you find this helpful? If so, please share this blog post with others! Comments are always welcome. You may use your initials or anonymous for your name if this makes you feel more comfortable to comment. 🙂 Thank you for following and supporting me.
As a leadership and work-life balance coach, I am always open to new ways to banish stress and anxiety and sharing different techniques with others. In today’s blog post, I will be discussing worry stones and the method of rubbing away stress and anxiety.
The practice of rubbing worry stones has been around for centuries. When I was a kid, instead of worry stones, there were pet rocks and colored stones. I have always enjoyed looking at rocks by stopping, picking up the stones and admiring them. Their beautiful shapes, sizes, and colors.
What are some other common names for worry stones? Fidget stones, feeling stones, soothing stones, sensory stones and thumb stones.
According to Wikipedia the origins of worry stones: As a folk practice implement, worry stones have many origins. Variations on the concept originate in ancient Greece, Tibet, Ireland, and multiple Native American tribes. The concept of a worry stone began by the simple action of picking a smooth stone and fiddling with the stone.[3] Worry stones made by sea water were generally used by Ancient Greeks.[4] Native American tribes would continuously give them to younger generations, creating a sense of connection from previous family members.[3] They also believed these worry stones were considered a sacred item and they were extra special if they were made out of quartz.[4]
What is a Worry Stone? A worry stone is a smooth flat rock about the size of a thumb. When rubbing the stone between thumb and fingers, it has a calming effect. The stones are small enough to carry around in your pocket or purse. Stones come in all different colors, sizes, shapes and minerals. They can be river stones, crystals, sea glass, tumbled gems or a smooth flat rock from your backyard. You can purchase stones at craft and arts stores, amazon, mineral-rock shops and rock and gems shows. Some worry stones have an indent inside the size of a thumb. Other stones may have inspirational quotes, one-word sayings, affirmations, religious symbols, etc. Also, painting flat rocks is another way to relax and a way to make the stone more personal to fit your personality or style.
I recently watched a YouTube video called DIY Worry Stones on how to make worry stones from colored baked clay.
How Do You Use A Worry Stone? Place the flat stone in your hand between your thumb and index finger and rub the stone back and forth.
Does Rubbing on a Worry Stone Help Reduce Anxiety and Stress? A worry stone works as a form of reflexology or nerve pressure when rubbed. While rubbing the stone it touches the reflex areas in your thumb and fingers creating a sensation of relaxation and calm within the body. Reflexology is commonly known for applying gentle pressing on certain parts of the body, usually on the feet.
My stone: It is a smooth clear thumb size stone. I purchased it at a mineral-rock store. I like the feel of it in my hand. I do rub it from time to time. When using the worry stone, I will switch up my hands while rubbing it. Using just your dominant hand is fine.
When are good times to rub a worry stone?
🦋 While sitting at a doctor’s office.
🦋 Before taking a test.
🦋 Before giving a presentation.
🦋 When feeling anxious or upset.
🦋 While a customer is yelling at you on the phone.
🦋 Before delivering bad news.
🦋 While contemplating on a big decision or large purchase.
🦋 Before going to sleep.
Does it work? For me, it is a pleasant distraction because I am focusing on rubbing the stone and it does help me gain a new perspective.
For others, I think it depends on the individual and being open to the process. When taking those few moments of rubbing the stone, it can settle the mind.
Takeaway: Carrying a worry stone around with you, especially when feelings of anxiety, anger, or frustration occur. By rubbing your thumb and fingers across the stone it will hit reflex areas and the movement relaxes your mind, body, and spirit.
Please share your answers to the following questions in the comments below:
🦋 Have you rubbed a worry stone?
🦋 What was your experience like?
🦋 When do you use your worry stone?
🦋 What color is it?
🦋 How did you chose it?
🦋 Share a photo of your stone.
🦋 If not,After reading this blog post would you try one?
Did you find this helpful? If so, please share this blog post with others! Comments are always welcome. You may use your initials or anonymous for your name, if this makes you feel more comfortable to comment. 🙂 Thank you for following and supporting me.
Interested in one to one coaching with me?To schedule “one on one coaching” with Patti – click on the “Schedule Now” button below:
