Author: plcwp-admin

Managing Remote Work Fatigue a Year into COVID

Written on March 17, 2021. Posted in Life Coaching Newsletter.

Hello Friends,

As we approach the year mark of the pandemic in the US, I want to share a few tips on managing remote work fatigue. I hope you find it helpful!

With gratitude,
Amber

Managing Remote Work Fatigue a Year into COVID

If you’re lucky enough to be able to work from home during this pandemic, you may find yourself procrastinating, feeling unfocused, tired, inefficient, and/or working too many hours.

Without the structure of an office environment to keep you on task throughout the day (spontaneous check-ins, scheduled meetings, lunches with colleagues) it can be challenging to create an environment that is conducive to maximizing your work hours.

Here are a few tools to facilitate new positive habits and help you get more done in less time. The key is to be intentional about your time and energy. They’re your most valuable assets and even small changes in how you manage them can have a big impact on your quality of life.

1. Scrutinize Your To-do List to Properly Prioritize:

Make a master list of all your action items.
Create a document with three columns: “Do”, “Delegate”, “Drop”.
Assign each task to a column and ask yourself three questions: Do you absolutely need to do this task this week? Can you delegate it to someone else? Can you drop it all together? (Considering dropping items that have been on the list for more than a month. They may no longer be priorities.) Don’t confuse hard choices with no choices.
Enjoy more mental energy as you focus only on high-priority items.

2. Chunk Your Calendar for Better Time Management:

Schedule meetings with yourself in 30-120 minute increments to tackle items in your “Do” column. Treat these meetings as sacred. If you have a shared calendar, mark your meetings as “do not schedule”.
Be realistic: we tend to underestimate how long it takes to complete a task, so buffer in extra time. (If you think something will take a half hour, schedule an hour.)
Schedule daily lunch and breaks: schedule a 15-minute break after every two-hour time chunk. You’ll return to work feeling re-energized which will allow you to be more efficient.
Schedule a recurring one-hour time chunk at the end of each week to chunk your calendar for the following week.

3. Schedule Time to Manage Email:

Schedule two or three 30-minute time chunks to manage email each day.
Act on each email in the moment: as you open each email, decide to delete, unsubscribe, file, respond now or respond later if the message requires further thought or research.
Keep only “respond later” emails in your inbox as a reminder to respond to them during your next email time chunk

4. Leverage Your Energy and Focus to Drive Your Work:

Move your body in the morning: before you sit down at your desk, go for a quick walk around the block, do a few simple stretches, or try a more involved workout routine. You may find that exercise gets you out of your head and into your body and allows you to start your day feeling more present and focused.
Schedule tasks based on energy: notice what time of day you have the most energy and schedule the most important “Do” item during this energy peak. Once you complete this item, anything else you accomplish feels like gravy.
Minimize Distractions: when you’re in a meeting with yourself, treat it as if you’re in a meeting with your boss. Put a sign on your door. Close your email, turn off all notifications, close your web browsers, and silence your phone and texts.

5. Establish Work/Home Boundaries to Maintain Balance in Your Life:

Create a start/end of workday ritual: before you open your computer in the morning, do something quick, easy and consistent to signify the start of your workday. Light a candle, take ten deep breathes or look out the window. After closing your computer at the end of the workday, repeat the same activity to signify the end of the workday.
Commit to a bedtime routine: lay out your work/exercise clothes for the next morning, charge your devices in a room that’s not your bedroom (buy an inexpensive alarm clock, if needed), brush teeth/wash face, read, journal or listen to relaxing music.

6. Create Personal Accountability to Measure Success and Stay on Track:

Be consistent for 21-days to create a new positive habit: take stock each week and assess which of these new practices work for you and which need tweaking. Adjust as needed.
Enroll a friend, family member or coach to offer you support and help hold you accountable along the way.
Be kind to yourself: appreciate what you’re doing well, recognize why you want to make changes and remember that these are strange, difficult and scary times. You’re doing better than you think.

COVID, remote work fatigue

Feeling Stressed/Burnt-Out? Explore Your Work Options & Make a Plan

Written on August 21, 2020. Posted in Life Coaching Newsletter.

Hello Friends,

I want to share a CNBC article in which I was featured talking about parental stress and navigating careers and distance learning through COVID. Though the story focuses on working parents, the advice is meant for anyone feeling burnt-out and considering reduced hours or a leave of absence. I hope you find it helpful!

Take care of yourselves,
Amber

Some parents are considering reduced hours or a leave of absence to care for kids this fall – here’s how to prepare

Published Fri, Aug 21, 2020
By Megan Leonhardt, CNBC

Millions of children around the country are starting school from the comfort of their homes, rather than in a classroom. And that reality has many parents considering drastic measures to ensure they can support their children at home this fall.

About 22% of parents are considering reducing their hours if their children need to stay home at least part of the time, according to a recent Debt.com poll. Another 9% say they will be forced to quit their jobs.

“The stress that parents are facing is really unimaginable and unprecedented,” says Hilary Berger, a psychologist who works with parents. That’s particularly true of mothers, Berger adds. Already, data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that millennial mothers (born between 1981 and 1996) were three times as likely as fathers to be unemployed in July because they were unable to access childcare.

But some parents may not have a lot of options. For those who are contemplating stepping away from their jobs in order to take care of their children this fall, it helps to at least be prepared, experts tell CNBC Make It. Here are five ways to help make the process smoother and mitigate the impact on your career.

1. Make sure taking time away from your job really is the ‘last resort’.

“If you’re fortunate enough to have a job — try reducing your hours, if possible, and keep working,” says, Emma Johnson, author of “The Kickass Single Mom.” Mothers typically forgo their careers more than men who are fathers. “Let this ‘martyr mother’ thing go because it will kill your family,” she says.

Many times, mothers make the decision to step back from the workforce because they’re taught to believe that sacrificing is good for their kids. But that’s not always the case, Johnson says. “Kids need a house. They need you not to be stressed out about paying the bills.”

Don’t be quick to declare that you have no options available. First, do some digging into what resources may be at your fingertips, Johnson says. “It’s an opportunity to reconsider all of our assumptions about the decisions we think we have to make,” she adds.

Take another look at what family and friends may be available to help. If you’re a single parent, maybe rethink visitations or how each parent splits their time. And explore what other parents in your area are doing — there may be opportunities to co-parent or share care or schooling responsibilities.

Also check with local organizations and programs to see what childcare and learning opportunities they may be putting together this fall. Several school systems have recently announced they will provide childcare for days where students are scheduled for remote learning.

2. Have a plan in place

If you’ve done the legwork, crunched the numbers and determined that taking a leave of absence or reducing your work hours is the right choice for you, the next step is to create a game plan.

“The biggest mistake that employees make when taking time off work is that folks go to their bosses before educating themselves on all the benefits that may be available,” says Amber Rosenberg, a career coach with 20 years of experience who focuses on coaching working mothers.

“First, understand what laws and policies apply to you,” says Rosenberg. In March, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which gives working parents who work for a company with less than 500 employees paid time off if they cannot secure childcare. Parents who work for eligible employers for at least 30 days can get up to 10 weeks of time off at two-thirds of their normal pay.

About 35% of large employers with more than 10,000 employees are offering paid caregiver leave, according to a report from the Business Group on Health. If your employer isn’t eligible and isn’t offering any paid time off, you may consider taking time through the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, but job-protected, leave.

Folks should look into any policies their company has as well, Rosenberg recommends. These can usually be found in a company’s employee handbook. At some companies, taking a leave of absence may mean that you’re still eligible for benefits, including health insurance, while you might not be as a part-time worker. If you’re not sure exactly how the policies work, set up time to have a confidential conversation with your HR manager.

You may find that you have more options than you think. In many cases, you may be able to create a new job structure beyond the typical 9 to 5, Monday through Friday role. “Explore potential job share options, reduced responsibilities or even a project-based or consulting arrangement,” Rosenberg says.

3. Stress your value to the company

Prepare for the conversation with your manager in advance, Rosenberg says. Clearly explain why you need to take the leave and, if you are planning to take advantage of specific laws or company policies, note that you need time off because of a lack of childcare or other pandemic related issues/burn-out.

Make sure you stress that the time off could be valuable to your company as well. “Write down specific examples of how the leave of absence will benefit your employer,” she says. Some examples of this could be that your leave may temporarily save the company money on their payroll expenses or help reduce the cost of hiring your replacement. Or maybe by giving you a leave of absence, rather than letting you go, the company can more easily retain customer relationships in the long run.

Rosenberg says that folks should, if possible, be clear about how long their leave will last and when it will start. That said, employers should be understanding if it’s a bit vague because the duration of leave may rely on a number of factors outside employees’ control or ability to plan, Rosenberg adds.

Folks who are approaching their employers for a leave should also put together a one-page outline that includes, at minimum, the following:

How you will transition out before you leave
How your responsibilities will be managed during your absence
How you will transition back after your leave is up

Having a thorough plan shows “you’re really serious about returning and that you want to set the team up for success and that you’ve really thought this through,” Rosenberg says.

4. Set clear boundaries

When having the conversation with your supervisor, it’s important to communicate not only that you will be back, but that you will be current and ready to pick up where you left off, Berger says. It may even make sense to propose or talk through a month-by-month plan of contact.

“If you’re willing to set aside a designated time of the week or the day where you can respond to emails or calls, that’s up to you,” Rosenberg says. “The key is being really clear in how you communicate that up front and make it work for you/your family and staying firm in those boundaries when you’re gone.”

5. Check in with your emotional and psychological health

For parents who do end up stepping away from work this fall, it’s important to check in on your mental health throughout the process, Berger says. “The psychological impacts of loss of identity for a mom who has been working outside the home can be dramatic,” she says.

Berger urges parents to be mindful about the ways in which they can stay relevant, feel like their best selves and be productive even while they are at home with their children. Maybe that’s taking time to actively stay involved with your network or perhaps it’s learning a new skill.

distance learning, parental stress, work options

Crisis as a Catalyst for Change

Written on June 16, 2020. Posted in Life Coaching Newsletter.

Crisis as a Catalyst for Change

Many of us are still reeling from feelings of anger, fear and injustice at the recent killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer – and the ongoing unjust killing of people of color. This is a difficult time on many levels. It is also an opportunity to reflect, get grounded and take action to affect both inner (personal) and outer (societal) change

Here are a few ideas to support you wherever you are along this path:

Feel Your Feelings

Feeling anger, rage, fear, disappointment, sadness, despair? These are all natural and understandable reactions. Allow yourself to slow down and simply notice when an emotion starts to take form. Stop, name the feeling, and locate where you feel it in your body. What does it feel like? What’s the temperature? What’s the color or weight of that emotion? Allow yourself to feel whatever you feel – without judgement. Try to witness your emotion from an outside perspective and remind yourself that you are not your feelings. Notice as your emotions start to move through you like clouds travel through the sky.

Ground Yourself

Stand up, close your eyes and feel your feet firmly planted on the ground below you. Take long, slow deep breathes in through your nose and out through your mouth. Allow your exhale to travel all the way down from your head, through your face, neck, shoulders, arms, chest, abdomen, pelvis, thighs, knees, shins and feet. Each time you exhale, send that breathe all the way down into your feet. Visualize your body as a tree. With each exhale, push your breath all the way through your trunk, firmly into your feet and into the ground below you – burrowing roots underneath the ground. With each exhale, these roots become longer, thicker and more firmly rooted in the ground below you. Do this for as long as it takes to get out of your head and into your body. Slowly open your eyes and notice what feels different.

Find Ways to Serve

Helping others can help you feel better. There is a plethora of current available volunteer opportunities related to our social justice and health pandemic. Research organizations that support your values. Make a list of your natural born strengths and your learned professional skills and find tasks/roles that leverage these strengths and skills.

Make Your Voice Heard

Vote as if your life depends on it. It does. Attend rallies. Submit opinion pieces or letters to the editor to your local newspapers. Send emails/make phone calls to your local Mayor, Governor, Senator, Assembly Members AND their staff. Post your requests on social media and tag your local/state elected officials.

Donate to Social Justice Organizations

Find organizations that align with your values and make a monetary contribution – or several. Even small donations can make a big difference and will help you to feel empowered.

Learn How to Have the Hard Conversations – And Have Them

We aren’t born knowing how to have conversations about power, greed, injustice, discrimination and racism. It’s especially hard to talk about this with friends or family members. Educate yourself on how to communicate effectively. Read books and articles; sign-up for lessons, training, workshops and/or coaching. Learn and practice powerful non-defensive communication so you can make your point without coming across as defensive or putting others on the defense. Learn how to set strong boundaries so you can ask to be heard; push-back without feeling guilty; and buffer yourself from what other people say, do or how they react.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Take Bold Action

Crisis is a catalyst for change. This is an invitation for us to wake up, examine our lives and figure out what is most important to us and what we truly want– based on our values and priorities. Are there small or big changes in your life, relationships or career that are begging to be examined? This is an opportunity to push past our comfort zones, redefine our vision and take intentional, bold action.

In summary, powerful emotions, including anger, fear and injustice, can be harnessed into positive energy that generates hope; feeds our dreams; sparks optimism; and accesses our courage to make important changes.

crisis as catalyst

Taking Time to Take Care

Written on March 31, 2020. Posted in Life Coaching Newsletter.

Hi – I hope you are all healthy and well. As we’ve collectively limited our interactions with others recently, I’ve thought about the many people who have touched my coaching practice over the years whether as clients, mentors or colleagues. While we may not connect often, each of you has impacted my life in an unique and meaningful way. For that, I’m deeply grateful and am sending you love, light, resilience and growth during this global pandemic.

Below is an article with a few simple ways to take care of ourselves. And given all the upheaval in the world today, I’ve opened-up my coaching practice to new clients. Email me if you or someone you know could benefit from phone/video coaching.

Be well, Amber

Taking Time to Take Care

After talking with clients, friends and family, I wanted to share a few simple ways to take care of yourself during these stressful times. Pick and choose what works best for you and adapt as needed.

1. Be Kind to Yourself:

Allow yourself to feel all your feelings – including the pleasant, the difficult, the uncomfortable, and the ugly; it’s okay, we’re all having good and bad days right now
Notice when you are holding yourself up against some perfectionist ideal that has you feeling like you’re falling short (whether it’s related to job loss/ job insecurity, working from home, homeschooling, etc.); allow yourself a little breathing room
Instead of beating yourself up, try on the perspective of “good is good enough,” you’ll be surprised how often that’s exactly what’s called for
Kindness towards yourself will naturally lead to kindness towards others; there’s never been a more apt time for appealing to the “better angels of our nature”

2. Focus on What’s in Your Control vs. What’s Out of Your Control:

Make a list of what’s in your control vs. what’s out of your control; focus on what you can influence, let go of what you can’t
Examples of things that are in your control: taking care of yourself; setting boundaries with others; adopting a mindset that serves you; telling loved ones how you feel
Examples of things that are out of your control: other peoples’ words, actions or thoughts; family illness, the stock market, other people ignoring health directives
Notice when your mind wanders to the many scary things that are currently out of your control, take a deep breath (or 500) and refocus on what’s in your control

3. Create Meaningful Social Connection:

Reach out to immediate family, friends, roommates, extended family, colleagues and/or neighbors via phone, video conference, text, email; they need you as much as you need them
If you’re on video conference overload, change up the start of the meeting to allow for some personal interaction. Ask questions about what people are doing for dinner or watching on TV. Ask if anyone can recommend a good book or an easy to bake dessert. Most people want to share what they’re currently experiencing and you might end up with a much different – and better – video meeting.
Or, try an old-fashioned phone call. Without visual distractions, the phone can allow for more vulnerability, more presence and deeper connection. I often notice these benefits in phone sessions with clients.

4. Get (Outside) Exercise:

If it’s still allowed in your region, go skipping around your block or take a neighborhood walk, run or bike ride; burn through some of the energy pent up inside of you
While you need to stay six feet away from folks you come across, try making eye contact and smiling – it will make you both feel good; saying hello is still legal!
If you’re not currently allowed to exercise outside, check out the plethora of online exercise classes and choose a couple that fit your needs
Get your hands dirty planting a garden, growing flowers in a pot or cultivating vegetables in a windowsill planter; it’ll lighten your mood, instill a sense of accomplishment, be nice to look at; and may even be edible

5. Choose Healthy Food:

Increase protein and veggies/fruit intake (if you’re fortunate enough to have access to produce). Consider some non-organic options given the current need to limit shopping trips and purchase items with a longer shelf life.
Vitamins – the benefit of vitamins is up for debate. However, with so much out of our control right now, you may feel more proactive by taking them.

6. Develop (or Continue) a Mindfulness Practice:

Yoga, meditation, journal writing, knitting, prayer, baking, listening to relaxing music
Anything else that gets you out of your head and into your body
Focusing on gratitude is especially beneficial during stressful times

These are just a few suggestions – let me know what other ideas might work for you. And, to help people through this challenging period, I’ve opened-up my coaching practice to new clients. Email me if you or someone you know could currently benefit from online/video coaching support.

self care

How to Move Abroad and Find a Job in 11 Steps

Written on October 26, 2015. Posted in Life Coaching Newsletter.

Dear friends – This newsletter features my inspiring client, Kerry Philp, who through coaching, decided to follow her dream of moving from San Francisco to Italy. In our work together, she made her vision a reality and is currently living in Rome and enjoying the food, the culture and a rewarding new job.

“I worked with Amber for the past year after struggling to find the next step in my career and to explore the possibility of living abroad. Amber was fantastic. We set objectives for what I wanted to accomplish, identified my values, tackled current work issues and explored future career ideas. I was so pleased at the structure and focus of each session. A year later, I can honestly say that I have work/life balance, better non-defensive communication skills, plus I’m living and working in Europe. I highly recommend Amber. She’s the complete package: focused, reflective, practical, productive, and supportive.”
-Kerry Philp, Marketing and Communictions Professional

I met up with Kerry on her recent SF visit and she gave me permission to share her inspiring story, written by Tamara Murray, freelance writer, below. Even if you’re not considering a move abroad, this article includes great tips for finding a new job or career.

Here’s to making your dreams a reality,
Amber

How to Move Abroad and Find a New Job in 11 Steps

By Tamara Murray

“I wish I could live here,” many of us say while on vacation somewhere far away. Meet Kerry, who actually made it happen. Here’s how she made Rome, Italy her new home.

Kerry was in love with her career and life in San Francisco, where she worked in marketing for a financial services company. She had no reason to leave, until she visited Italy in March 2013.

“Italy was romantic, challenging, charming, beautiful, and delicious. I was smitten,” Kerry writes. “And I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

One year later, she was on a plane to Italy. Her goal: find an employer who would sponsor her within 90 days, the maximum visit for a U.S. tourist without a visa. Now, she’s working in Rome for the United Nations World Food Programme and eating pizza along historic, cobblestone streets.

How’d she do it? I caught up with Kerry via Skype from her apartment in Rome to learn more. While every situation is unique, much of what Kerry did is universal.

Step 1: Consider getting help with the decision

“When I came back from Italy that March, I asked, ‘How can I live there?’ First, I enrolled in Italian classes at a school I found in downtown San Francisco. Then, I got a life coach I found through Yelp. I read the reviews and saw that she’d lived abroad. You get a free consultation and, if it’s not a fit, there’s no obligation to keep working together. People think life coaching is really touchy feely, but it’s structured and goal-oriented. She gave me homework and asked questions that moved me forward. My goal of moving to Italy took over our sessions, and by August I’d made the decision to go.”

Step 2: Make a savings plan

“Talk to people who’ve done similar things and don’t be afraid to ask questions. I talked to a colleague who took a year off in Europe and she was very open about how much she’d saved which helped me plan. My goal was to hit $30K in savings to last me for six months. I stopped contributing to my retirement plan and factored in when I knew I’d be receiving a bonus. I saved for eight months.”

Step 3: Research visa requirements

“Google really helped me. What are the rules for being a resident? What do I need to know? For someone my age who isn’t retired, it’s either a work visa or student visa. I wanted to go the work visa route. So I needed to find an employer that would sponsor me.”

Step 4: Ask yourself what jobs you don’t want

“Your job search depends on where you are in your career. Ask yourself what you are NOT willing to do – it’s an important question. People will say you should be a barista, English teacher, or au pair. I had researched the job situation: there was no way an Italian cafe would sponsor a work visa for an American, especially with the Italian youth unemployment rate at 40 percent. A colleague of mine taught English abroad and said the pay isn’t good. Plus, in Italy they’d rather hire someone from Britain because there’s no visa required. And to be an au pair, it’s not for me. I’m going to live in Rome and watch three kids? That’s not the experience I wanted.”

Step 5: Research the job market and explore possibilities

“I looked at three categories of organizations: Italian, international, and American. I kept everything in a spreadsheet. From my research, I knew most jobs were located in Rome or Milan. I didn’t have the language skills for an Italian company, so I focused on finding an American or international organization based in either of those two cities. From there, I looked for openings with those organizations where my marketing and communications experience would be a benefit. LinkedIn was a great resource because you can narrow your search by city and see how many other people are applying, and I would also just Google ‘jobs in Rome’ to find local job boards.”

Step 6: Reach out to your network for help

“Once I narrowed down possible companies to work for, I sent people in my network an email asking for connections, which got a lot of responses. I treated those responses and connections like informational interviews. I respected their time, had questions prepared, and my goal was to walk away with three or more things I could follow-up on.”

Here’s a sample networking email:

I’m reaching out to you because I trust you, I respect your opinion, and I value your professional perspective.

After much personal reflection and soul searching, I’ve decided to take a massive leap and move to Italy. I spent a wonderful month there a year ago, and fell in love with the culture, the language, and the food. The plan is to resign from my current job at the end of March, enjoy one last month in San Francisco in April, spend time with family in Pennsylvania in May, and move to Rome in June.

I’m in job search mode now. I am looking for positions in which I can use my marketing and communications skills, either as a contractor or in a full-time position. As you know, successful job searching is all about networking and building connections.

Here’s the Request!

Therefore, I’m asking your help in connecting me with personal or professional contacts in any or all of the following:

1. Introductions to other marketing and communications professionals.
2. Introductions to professionals who work for the following companies that are either headquartered or have offices in Rome:
-Salesforce, Nike, Google, World Food Programme (WFP), UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Microsoft, Doctors without Borders, Save the Children, and any Financial Services company
3. Introductions to personal or professional contacts in Rome or in Italy; and/or
4. Introductions to professionals in the food and wine industry.

I’m attaching my resume as background, and you can feel free to forward this email/resume on to others, introduce us by email, whatever is easiest for you.

I really appreciate your help. My announcement is not public, so I ask that you keep this confidential for now. Many, many thanks!

Step 7: Start applying before you leave, and don’t let the written job description dissuade you

“Once I figured out the job market, I started applying for jobs. I had some phone interviews while in San Francisco, including one with the United Nations World Food Programme. I didn’t get that job, but another position in the same division opened a month later. It was a more junior position, but I applied anyway. When I arrived in Rome the next month, I got a phone and in-person interview. It was apparent to everyone that the position was a bit too junior for me, so they decided they could just give me more responsibility to match my experience. I was offered a one-year contract, with a special work visa for the contract period.”

Step 8: Understand unique salary and tax situations

“Because it was the U.N., most of the salary information is public and consultants are paid based on a set structure. Still, I had already done my homework on the pay scale. Google is wonderful for that. I also had to get a sense of the tax situation. Would I qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion? Or is this considered self-employment?”

Step 9: Be over-prepared when it comes to visa processing

“After I received my offer, I went back to the U.S. and stayed with family in Pennsylvania. I had to wait for two weeks for my paperwork to arrive at the consulate so I could apply for my visa. Then I could return to Italy. My advice? If you know an offer is coming, book an appointment with your nearby consulate as quickly as you can. You can always reschedule, but it’s better to get it on the books because sometimes there’s a six-week wait. I had appointments at the Philadelphia and Baltimore Italian consulates and just kept moving them. You should also call the consulate ahead of time and find out EXACTLY what you need to bring. Once the paperwork arrived at the consulate from Italy, I had an appointment already scheduled for the next day. They got me the visa the following week and I flew back to Rome.”

Step 10: Enjoy your new home country, but remember you’re not on vacation anymore

“You can’t live in Rome and be unhappy. It is a challenging place to live though. Getting things done can be a long process. One of my colleagues said it was easier for her to get her Internet installed when she lived in the Sudan. Traffic is bad, roads close at weird times, and there are public transit strikes monthly. But I can also go eat a pizza and sit outside and it’s fantastic. I pulled it off! I did it; I live here. The grocery stores are so interesting. I have an apartment in a cool, historic neighborhood. I had dinner the other night with the 89-year-old woman who lives downstairs.”

Step 11: Leave with gratitude

“Don’t leave where you live when it sucks. Leave your job, your life, on a good note. I can’t stress this enough. I was grateful to have lived in an amazing city like San Francisco for 14 years. At the end of my contract, if I don’t get an extension or a new contract, I’ll have to leave Rome and go back to the States. I don’t have an apartment or even a city to go back to. But I’ve learned so much from the job I have about what I want and don’t want, how important a team environment is to me. It’s so important to challenge yourself no matter what age you are or where you are in your career. It reaffirms your values. Just don’t leave with a grudge – leave with gratitude.”
~~~

– Written by Tamara Murray (@tamaramurray), a social-change communications consultant, full-time traveler, and author of Awesome Supervisory Skills: Seven Lessons for Young, First-Time Managers. She and her husband set out on sabbatical to explore Latin America in 2013 with two backpacks and their dog – and it transformed their lives. Now they’re traveling across North America in a minivan-turned-camper while freelancing.

find a job abroad, how to move abroad

How to Make a Big Decision

Written on May 18, 2015. Posted in Life Coaching Newsletter.

Dear friends – the start of spring is a good time to reflect on new beginnings, opportunities and decisions. Here are a few thoughts to help you kick-start this process and make empowered and intentional decisions in your life and career.

Warmly,
Amber

How to Make a Big Decision

Life is full of decisions – big and small. Most of us make small decisions in our every day lives fairly seamlessly. However, the bigger the decision, the bigger the impact and often the more pressure we feel to make the “right” decision.

For example, let’s say you’re deciding between two different job offers – one pays better but includes a commute (and less time with your family/friends). This decision impacts you, your family, your friends, your money and your career (as well as other potential relationships/areas of your life). That’s a lot of weight on one decision!

My husband and I were recently faced with a big decision on whether or not to move out of San Francisco (spoiler-alert – we decided to stay) and we used some of the below tactics to make an empowered and intentional decision.

The next time you’re faced with a big decision, I invite you to pick and choose which exercise/s might work for you.

Trust Your Intuition:

Research shows that people who make decisions quickly, even when lacking information, tend to be more satisfied with their decisions than people who research and carefully weigh their options. Your intuition is there for a reason and your job is to quiet the external noise (fear, doubt, worry, guilt and what other people want/expect) so you can truly listen to it. So, find 10 minutes where you can be alone and quiet. Take a few deep breaths. Where do you feel intuition in your body? What does it feel like? What is your intuition telling you?

Since intuition is emotions-based, it can be the most fulfilling way to approach a decision. However, the size and potential impact of many big decisions merit a closer, more thoughtful examination. We navigate the world through both rational and emotional filters. The rational brain buys the house, the emotional brain picks the colors and furniture.

So let your intuition lead you in a direction and allow for a rational examination as well. Here are a few ways to approach a rational based decision.

Create a Decision Matrix:

The standard pros and cons list has its limitations. It can give us a sort of tunnel vision, where we get so focused on the immediate consequences of the decision that we don’t think about the eventual outcomes.

Instead, it pays to take some time to consider the longer-term outcomes. Take out a piece of paper and draw four quadrants. In the upper left quadrant, write down all the best possible outcomes if you decide option A. In the lower left quadrant, write down all the worst possible outcomes if you decide option A. In the upper right quadrant, write down all the best possible outcomes if you decide option B. In the lower right quadrant, write down all the worst possible outcomes if you decide option B.

Thinking in terms of longer-term outcomes – and broadening your thinking to include negative outcomes – can help you find clarity and direction while facing your big decision.

Ask Yourself Some Deeper Questions:

What does success and failure look like for each option?
What is fulfilling and disappointing about each option?
Which option moves you closer to your life/career objectives?
How will each option impact your day-to-day life?

Keep Asking Yourself “Why”:

By asking yourself “why” as many times as needed, it can help you determine whether a decision you’re considering is in line with your core values. Values are one-word descriptions that get to the core of who you are. When you’re honoring your core values, you’re truly alive and engaged and you show up as your best self.

For example, if you’re deciding between freelancing and looking for a full-time job, you may ask yourself the following questions:

Why should I start freelancing? It allows me to make my own schedule, be my own boss and work on the projects I choose. Why is that important? Because I want to enjoy work when I’m at work and also have a life outside of work. Why? Because I want to make a real impact through my job and have more time with my family. Why? Because I want to leave a legacy through my work and connect with my family on a deeper level. Why? Because that’s what’s truly important to me.

Through this line of questioning, we uncovered the values of freedom, flexibility, independence, connection, impact and legacy.

Next, go through the same line of questioning about looking for a full-time job and pull out the relevant values. Last, compare and contrast which decision honors your highest priority values.

Own Your Decision:

Whichever decision you make or process you use, you’ll serve yourself well by owning your decision. The very act of making a decision can be quite validating and liberating in itself. Once you make your decision, you may even find that you adopt a whole new perspective.

Throughout our own recent personal decision- making process, I adopted the perspective of deep gratitude. I was reminded that to be in choice, is to be empowered. We may move out of San Francisco one day – just not today. In the meantime, I’m better able to appreciate what we have and truly live in the present. Isn’t that what life is all about?

how to make a big decision

How to Find a Job You Love

Written on July 1, 2014. Posted in Life Coaching Newsletter.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written and a busy first half of the year with lots of one-on-one coaching, workshops, press interviews and the redesign of Pacific Life Coach. As you’ll see, this revised website explains all my services – from various types of coaching to workshops and presentations – in one neat little package. I welcome your feedback.

Also, I was recently interviewed by Fast Company about the lost art of small talk in a social media era and by Wallethub on improving the plight of working mothers.

Last, not least, Daily Worth interviewed me for the article below on how to find a job you love.

As always, I welcome the opportunity to help you find purpose, success and balance in your life and work.

Warmly,
Amber

How to Find a Job You Love

An Interview with Amber Rosenberg
By Serena Kappes, Daily Worth, May 30, 2014

Job Check-in

When’s the last time you asked yourself if you’re (still) doing what you love? Often, just getting through the daily workload keeps your mind occupied enough that wondering whether your career is really making you happy becomes an afterthought. You can become so focused on your day-to-day job that you set your career on autopilot without even realizing it.

It can take a major transition – getting laid off from a job, for instance, or getting a new boss – before you ask yourself whether you’re happy in your current situation and in your career. But doing a career check-in when you’re still employed is actually a smart idea. You may come to the determination that the job you have isn’t really utilizing all your strengths or the goals you had earlier in your career may no longer be the ones you have now.

“Sometimes people find themselves falling into a career path that was unintentional,” explainsAmber Rosenberg, a San Francisco-based career coach with 20 years of experience working with private clients and companies like Google, Adobe and Morgan Stanley. “Five years, 10 years, 15 years down the road, they think to themselves, ‘I never really intended to go in this direction and now I’m here. How can I change this?'”

Here are some exercises that can help you figure out whether the job or career you have is really the right one for you – and if not, what you can do to change that.

Write a Vision Statement

A vision statement, explains Rosenberg, is a writing exercise to help you identify some important attributes of a fulfilling career: what kind of people you really work best with, what values you’re honoring in your career (think about what makes you feel engaged and happy or achievements you’re especially proud of), what kind of impact you want to make in your career and what you need to do in order to make this vision a reality. It may seem daunting to tackle, but don’t overthink it. Plan to spend about 5 to 10 minutes thinking about each.

“Sit down after some kind of self-care activity, like exercise or meditation or yoga – whatever it is that’s going to help you feel really centered and grounded and not in your head and coming from a place of fear, doubt or worry,” says Rosenberg. “If you have an annual vision statement for where you want your career to be and you check in along the way – little check-ins every month to see how you’re doing against that vision – that’s a good way to approach it.”
And, if during the course of writing your vision statement you realize that your values (what really makes you feel fulfilled) aren’t being met in your current career, it may be time to make some changes. “At the end of the day, if you’re in a career or a profession that really does honor values, you’re going to feel more fulfilled and be more successful,” adds Rosenberg.

Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals

You want to be S.M.A.R.T. about setting goals – that is, goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. “The idea is the more specific and measurable you make them, the more realistic they are,” says Rosenberg. “You can break them down into small, achievable action steps that are big enough to move you forward but small enough to be doable.” For instance, a short-term goal might be getting more engaged with clients. A long-term goal might be that you want to be the CEO of a company in 10 years. By segmenting your goals, you won’t feel quite as overwhelmed.

Learn Your Strengths

Sometimes we’re not even aware of what our strengths are because we take them for granted. Rosenberg recommends taking an online strength-finder assessment like the one on the Authentic Happiness”from Dr. Martin Seligman, the Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania and founder of positive psychology (a branch of psychology which focuses on the empirical study of positive emotions and strengths-based character).

“It can be very validating and confidence-boosting to do a little bit of external check-in to find out what are these strengths and are you leveraging them? I always recommend that people look at their top five strengths and record them,” says Rosenberg. “So much of our performance reports in our culture focus on areas for improvement and instead, if you can approach your job and your career from a place of strength, how much more empowering is that going to be?”

Analyze How Your Job Makes You Feel

A2012 survey by Net Impact, a nonprofit organization geared toward students and professionals interested in using business skills in support of various social and environmental causes, found that 88 percent of workers considered “positive culture” and “work/life balance” to be very important or essential factors in their dream job. Meanwhile, 86 percent said the same about “interesting work” and 58 percent of respondents said they would take a 15 percent pay cut in order to work for an organization “with values like my own.”

Because we spend so much of our life working, how your job makes you feel really matters for your overall well-being. “A good way to gauge if you’re on track with your career is how do you feel at the end of the day? Do you feel energized? Do you feel depleted? Do you feel excited?” asks Rosenberg. “These are good questions to ask yourself as well as how do you feel at the beginning of the day when you’re going to work. A lot of people want to feel like they’re making some sort of difference. Is your job helping people to live better lives? Is it helping companies to produce more? Is it making things easier for a population of folks? Getting a sense at the end of the day what people are contributing to helps them evaluate, ‘Is this really feeding my soul?'”

Have a Daily Renewal Ritual (It’ll Help You Think Better)

In our non-stop, email-checking, Facebook status-updating culture, taking time to decompress and just be is often a challenge. But it’s an essential factor in figuring out what motivates and makes us happy. “All the experts and the research points to the benefit of taking 10 minutes, twice a day, for some sort of quiet, reflective activity that quiets the thinking brain and allows you to be present and in the moment,” explains Rosenberg. “It can do wonders if you’re in a career and you say to yourself, ‘I don’t really know what I want. It’s very difficult to think clearly and make decisions when you’re operating from a place of stress and overdrive.” Any regular daily renewal ritual that quiets your mind – cooking, going for a run – can really help center you and help you think more clearly about what you really want.

find a job you love

Author: plcwp-admin

Managing Remote Work Fatigue a Year into COVID

1. Scrutinize Your To-do List to Properly Prioritize:

2. Chunk Your Calendar for Better Time Management:

3. Schedule Time to Manage Email:

4. Leverage Your Energy and Focus to Drive Your Work:

5. Establish Work/Home Boundaries to Maintain Balance in Your Life:

6. Create Personal Accountability to Measure Success and Stay on Track:

Some parents are considering reduced hours or a leave of absence to care for kids this fall – here’s how to prepare

1. Make sure taking time away from your job really is the ‘last resort’.

2. Have a plan in place

3. Stress your value to the company

4. Set clear boundaries

5. Check in with your emotional and psychological health

Crisis as a Catalyst for Change

Feel Your Feelings

Ground Yourself

Find Ways to Serve

Make Your Voice Heard

Donate to Social Justice Organizations

Learn How to Have the Hard Conversations – And Have Them

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Take Bold Action

Taking Time to Take Care

1. Be Kind to Yourself:

2. Focus on What’s in Your Control vs. What’s Out of Your Control:

3. Create Meaningful Social Connection:

4. Get (Outside) Exercise:

5. Choose Healthy Food:

6. Develop (or Continue) a Mindfulness Practice:

12 Steps to Work More Efficiently

How to Move Abroad and Find a New Job in 11 Steps

Step 1: Consider getting help with the decision

Step 2: Make a savings plan

Step 3: Research visa requirements

Step 4: Ask yourself what jobs you don’t want

Step 5: Research the job market and explore possibilities

Step 6: Reach out to your network for help

Step 7: Start applying before you leave, and don’t let the written job description dissuade you

Step 8: Understand unique salary and tax situations

Step 9: Be over-prepared when it comes to visa processing

Step 10: Enjoy your new home country, but remember you’re not on vacation anymore

Step 11: Leave with gratitude

How to Make a Big Decision

Trust Your Intuition:

Create a Decision Matrix:

Ask Yourself Some Deeper Questions:

Keep Asking Yourself “Why”:

Own Your Decision:

How to Find a Job You Love

Job Check-in

Write a Vision Statement

Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Learn Your Strengths

Analyze How Your Job Makes You Feel

Have a Daily Renewal Ritual (It’ll Help You Think Better)

Schedule Your Complimentary Phone Consultation Today