Category Archives: Business

Doing Business on a Budget

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After working with a few small businesses for so many years, I couldn’t help but noticing all the funny little ways each one had of trimming the fat from their budgets. Everyone had their own little system in place to save pennies and it was fun to try incorporate those practices into the way I run my own business.

That’s not to say that I’m stingy when it comes to spending some coin on my business, but when it comes to running a small enterprise I think there will always be moments where we find ourselves tempted to cut costs in order to run as efficiently and simply as possible. Here are some of my favorite ways to do it.

Make it work for you. It’s more important that you identify your own needs for running your business, instead of trying to adhere to someone else’s vision of what your business should look like. Not everyone’s list will look the same. Other things that people deem essential might differ from yours: you might consider a second phone line crucial; and others might scoff at the thought of using anything but email as their prime form of communication.

It’s important to figure out what your bottom line is so you know much (or how little) you can get by with in order for your business to function. If that means foregoing the idea of an office, or a fancy luncheon every day, so be it. You’d be surprised at how refreshing it can be to simplify your routine.

Get creative. Most people dream of having their own home office, but not everyone can afford to make that dream a reality- and not just due to budget constraints. Time, space, lifestyle- each one of these things reflect when, where and how you conduct your business. I’ve seen people with home offices with all of the latest state-of-the-art tech equipment, and I’ve met people who have conducted their business at the dining table after clearing off the dinner dishes. It’s worth exploring alternative ways to make your office hours and office setting work for you– it may be just what you need to cut costs and find a more efficient way of working.

Be realistic. Just because your vision of owning your own business involves going out for a fancy latté every day, it’s a luxury that entrepreneurs can’t always afford. While it would be nice to reward ourselves for our hard work with things like fancy coffees, special office supplies, or a complete office makeover, those things aren’t always possible when you’re first starting out, or if you’re trying to keep your operations small. As soon as you adjust your expectations for a glamorous freelancing lifestyle, the more satisfied you’ll be with your budget-friendly work style.

Of course, there’s always room for compromise– upgrading your regular office coffee maker to a Keurig or even an espresso machine may still be cheaper in the long-term than buying a fancy latté everyday. Or maybe you use your local Starbucks at your office, and the price of coffee counts towards your “rent”, in which case there’s plenty of room to save money on leasehold improvements!

Cutting costs where possible can be a satisfying and even refreshing way of making sure your business is running as cheaply and efficiently as possible. We often convince ourselves we need the latest gadgets, or the most expensive suits to succeed when the truth is that success is often directly correlated with the amount of work we put into something.

A final note: even the most ruthless of budgets should include at least a little room to be generous to ourselves as entrepreneurs. Running a small business is more like a lifestyle than a job, and when we structure our lives around working all the time, it’s important to have a reminder that your work is more than just about paying the bills. You deserve to have some fun!

Even if that means indulging at Starbucks once in a while.

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What are some of the creative ways you’ve come up with to save money while running your own business. Did you sacrifice an office? A phone line? How has this transformed the way you work? Send your stories to me at keepingbusyb@gmail.com or comment below.

5 Hidden Ways to Market Yourself

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Believe it or not, every day holds an opportunity to market yourself. If you own a small business, you may or may not be taking advantage of the following lesser-known marketing tactics:

  1. You send emails every day right? Have you been making your email signature work for you? (Do you even have an email signature?) It boosts your credibility and allows other people methods of getting in touch with you that they can in turn share with others. Every time your email is replied to or forwarded, that email signature is always going to be staring at them in the face. Make sure you include a catchy tag line- put out a call-to-action, a news item about your company or a particularly funny testimonial.
  2. I bet you’re on other forms of social media, too. Maybe you have a business account that you manage, but have you considered leveraging your own personal media to advertise your business? Include links to your website and/or other business accounts where possible. Flush out your social media profiles so people have a better idea of what you do for a living. Even better, apps like Facebook are now allowing people to link their personal profiles to their business pages by listing themselves as a team member.
  3. Many will disagree with me that in this paperless age that business cards have become a thing of the past. I say your business card is like a physical mini-version of your website: it lets people know who you are, what you do and how they can contact you. Giving people a physical reminder of the ways they can get in touch makes it easier for them (instead of walking away trying to remember your Instagram handle) and makes you more likely to stand out in their minds because you have a business card.
  4. I think a lot of people shiver when they hear this but it’s true: you must network. 90% of the business I’ve had has been for and through people I know. You don’t have to be a hardcore seller to do this. Just work on your interpersonal relationships- next time you go to a party, make a point of finding out what everyone does for a living. Sometimes just talking to someone about their job can reveal ways in which you might be able to fulfill a need, bridge a gap or boost performance for them. As soon as you’ve figured out how you can best help them, give them that business card! (See item 3.)
  5. This is the most painfully obvious way to market yourself and yet there’s very few people who take advantage of this trick: come up with a creative way of introducing yourself that gives people more insight into what you do specifically. Giving people just a job title is kind of boring and may not paint the whole picture of what you do for your business. “Hi, I’m B and I’m an accountant” is far less exciting than “Hi, I’m B and I solve financial problems for small businesses.” Don’t make it vague, but keep it intriguing- just enough so that whoever you’re talking to will be curious and want to find out more.

Running a small business is a challenge and it’s one that everyone seems to faced with these days as companies shrink, more employees take on side hustles, and more people work for themselves. As the owner of a small business, I’m always looking for ways to manage my professional life, which I write about here. I’ve also worked in several offices, so I share some of my workplace strategies here. Looking for ideas on how to market your business? I write about that too.

Do you have your own business? Tell us all about it and the ways you manage your professional life by commenting below or emailing keepingbusyb@gmail.com.

The Timing’s the Thing

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This story starts off with a mistake: my own. I was working on a social media consultation for a client and during my analysis I noticed a lot of her posts weren’t getting many views. My advice to her was to change up the times of her posts to try and broaden her audience and I gave her a list of the best times to post to social media (according to my research).

Long story short: the project failed. Her views went down as did her engagement rates. I couldn’t figure out why her posts had gotten more attention. Obviously we were both unhappy with the results so I suggested she go back to doing what she was doing. Wouldn’t you know, her numbers went right back up again.

See, what I failed to take into consideration is that not all audiences are alike. The lifestyle, the income and the social status of your audience has to be taken into consideration when you decide what you’re going to post and when. Just because statistically speaking a lot of people look at Instagram before going to bed doesn’t mean that your specific audience engages in the same habit. In this particular instance, my client’s audience consisted of mostly of mothers who checked their Instagram while their kids were at school- that’s almost a 12-hour difference. Lesson learned: what applies to one audience doesn’t necessarily apply to the other.

Another factor I failed to take into consideration was that I was working on a previously established social media brand, which meant the audience was already used to reading posts at a certain time. Not sticking to a defined schedule meant people were missing out on what she was posting. In one case, the absence of posts at a certain time gave a reader the false impression the account was no longer active. (Huge fail.)

It may seem like an insignificant detail, but having a set posting schedule for your social marketing based on your audience’s media consumption habits actually does make a difference in your engagement rates. Not only that, it’s a reflection of your brand- it projects consistency, inspires confidence and reassures consumers, particularly if you have a pre-existing audience.

Social media can sometimes feel like trying to dance when you don’t know all of the moves. But like with any dance routine, as long as you get the timing right, you’re already halfway on your way.

Running a small business is a challenge and it’s one that everyone seems to faced with these days as companies shrink, more employees take on side hustles, and more people work for themselves. As the owner of a small business, I’m always looking for ways to manage my professional life, which I write about here. I’ve also worked in several offices, so I share some of my workplace strategies here. Looking for ideas on how to market your business? I write about that too.

Do you have your own business? Tell us all about it and the ways you manage your professional life by commenting below or emailing keepingbusyb@gmail.com.

 

5 Truths for the Self-Employed

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When I transitioned from working full-time at an office to working for myself it was a bit of a shock. Even though I used to freelance many years ago, I still found myself stuck with certain beliefs that people have about the life of the self-employed. Here are some of the things that I had forgotten:
  1. You have no free time. I think everyone has this vision for themselves: you get up a leisurely pace, linger over coffee and maybe squeeze in a couple of hours of light work before having time to visit with friends or pursue hobbies. Not so! Working for yourself means not having the luxury of leaving your work at the office. You’re on 24/7 which can mean early mornings and long nights.
  2. But you still have to try to have a life. Just because you can work from home all of the time doesn’t mean you should. In fact, it may be harder to tear yourself away from your work when it’s there constantly in front of you. Sometimes I have to force myself to take breaks and I’m still trying to learn when to walk away from something when it’s “good enough”.
  3. You’re responsible for everything. When you work for yourself you are your own boss but you’re also an accountant, an administrator and your own HR department. Even if you’re fortunate enough to be able to farm tasks out to others, you’re still responsible for a heck of a lot more than you normally would in a traditional office setting.
  4. But you’re also responsible for everything else. Your real-life responsibilities are always going to be staring you in the face when you work from home. Chores, errands and other household tasks are going to have to be incorporated into your day somehow. (And if you’re wondering, yes I’ve responded to client emails between doing loads of laundry!)
  5. It can get kind of lonely. Being stuck in front of a computer isn’t really conducive to being social. Plus, without any colleagues around as built-in coffee companions I can sometimes go a whole day without talking to a real, live person.

Running a small business is a challenge and it’s one that everyone seems to faced with these days as companies shrink, more employees take on side hustles, and more people work for themselves. As the owner of a small business, I’m always looking for ways to manage my professional life, which I write about here. I’ve also worked in several offices, so I share some of my workplace strategies here. Looking for ideas on how to market your business? I write about that too.

Do you have your own business? Tell us all about it and the ways you manage your professional life by commenting below or emailing keepingbusyb@gmail.com.

How to Build Your Online Cred…for Real

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Chances are if you run a small business then someone’s been looking for you on the internet. We live in a digital age where people like to research their options before making a decision and having greater access to companies via social media makes it easier then ever for a business to communicate to its customers.

But are you really using the internet to your advantage? That’s a point I make to a lot of clients who are hesitant about adapting social media into their marketing efforts. What they don’t realize is that the more of an online presence you have, the more credibility you have with your audiences.

That’s not to say that every company needs to get onboard with the latest social media platform. When creating your digital presence it’s always important to ask yourself who your customers are and where they’re consuming their media. Even if you already have a strong online presence, here are some things you may want to consider.

You have to have a website (or a website equivalent). Websites only work if they serve a purpose: for example, an esthetician client of mine needed one so that clients could find out more information about her services. On the other hand, a one-of-a-kind craft company I work with has such a high turnover of products that customers get most of their information- and buy most of their products- off of Instagram. Either way you’ve got to have some kind of main hub where potential customers or clients can find out more information about your company.

But If you have social media make sure you’re using it. Having one or two really great, active social media channels beats being spread too thin across many. You don’t have to post every day, but every 2-3 days is considered an active account.

Also, are you using social media to leverage your sales? Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram all offer tools for business that can help you sell merchandise to your social media audiences which eliminates the need for a website.

Make sure that people can find you in other ways. Let your Instagram followers know that you’re also on Pinterest. Maybe people who enjoy your blog want to be updated via Twitter. Just make sure that if you are hoping to attract audiences across multiple channels to make your content varied and interesting so people don’t get bored.

There are still other ways for people to find you online, even without social media. Even if you don’t have a bricks-and-mortar location it may be helpful to have a Google Business page so potential customers can find you more easily. Encourage satisfied clients to review on sites such as Yelp. Join an organization and make sure your business gets listed on their directory. Making sure your company name comes up in several different places increases visibility, boosts credibility and may even help with your SEO.

Building your company’s online reputation doesn’t have to be confined to building a website- in fact, your company may not need one at all! But by increasing your company’s digital presence and providing unique, relevant content across social media channels, you’re well on your way to building a company that appears professional, credible and on-the-ball.

Running a small business is a challenge and it’s one that everyone seems to faced with these days as companies shrink, more employees take on side hustles, and more people work for themselves. As the owner of a small business, I’m always looking for ways to manage my professional life, which I write about here. I’ve also worked in several offices, so I share some of my workplace strategies here. Looking for ideas on how to market your business? I write about that too.

Do you have your own business? Tell us all about it and the ways you manage your professional life by commenting below or emailing keepingbusyb@gmail.com.

 

Nail that Presentation!

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I’m going to give you a statistic. It’s going to be completely made up but I think you’ll agree: 90% of us don’t like making presentations.

Am I wrong?

For the 10% of you who do like making presentations, this post is not for you. But if you’re like me and the thought of public speaking kind of makes you want to throw up, then you’d better read on.

See what I did there? Already I’ve started to give you an effective presentation (even though you’re reading a blog post). I started off with a statistic you may or may not identify with and because it’s completely made up I’ve hopefully put you (my audience) at ease and maybe even made you laugh a little. But because I’ve humanized myself by identifying a common fear that most of us face I’ve made you intrigued: if I feel the same way as you do, what solution could I possibly have to fix the problem?

That’s how a good presentation should start: capture your audience, then identify yourself in relation to the issue you’ve raised. Once you’ve established a connection, you’ve established a certain level of trust; then you can make your intentions for the rest of the presentation known.

That’s half of what makes a good presentation work: appealing to the humanity of your audience and identifying a human component to your subject. Knowing who you’re presenting to and what’s important to them will take away a lot of the guesswork as to how to deliver your message more effectively.

The second half is preparation, which to the nervous folks in the crowd is the key to cutting your anxiety by half. Even if you consider yourself crap at public speaking, just taking the extra time to prepare may give you the confidence boost you need to get through your presentation.

And by prepping I don’t just mean reading your notes over and over until you have your whole speech memorized. In fact, some experts consider writing out your presentation beforehand a big no-no: memorizing means you run the risk of losing your place, and it may leave you with a false sense of security regarding your material. What happens if you get interrupted, get asked a question, or sense a mood shift in the room? A written presentation has no room for spontaneity.

However, if you write out your key points ahead of time and use visual cues in your notes (bullet lists, colours, capital letters, underlining) you can rehearse different ways of delivering your information so you’re prepared for just about any conceivable possibility. (Try to imagine several different scenarios to see how they would play out.)

Your prep work should also require some thought as to the sensory experience of your audience. Consider the seating arrangement, time of day, room temperature, lighting, and the quality of any equipment you may be using. These are all elements that factor into the attentiveness of your audience and their willingness to receive your message.

I’m not going to give you advice in the form of that old adage of picturing everyone in their underwear; I think the best thing you can do is to visualize yourself as confident, knowledgeable and above all more than able to pull off a fantastic presentation. (And that’s fully dressed.)

Holding your own in an office isn’t easy in a fast-paced, competitive and demanding work culture. Having been faced with similar challenges of my own, I’ve compiled some of the best ways to sustain yourself throughout your working life here. For more professional advice, and on how to market yourself or a product, click here or here.

What are some of the speed bumps you’ve hit working in an office? Share your workplace stories below or send them confidentially to keepingbusyb@gmail.com.

Professional Development is Your Project

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The problem with high school is that there’s a lot of people telling you what to do, where to be, and how you need to complete x,y and z in order to get your diploma.

Then in university or college you’ve got a little more freedom to decide how and when you do things, but you still have to meet the prerequisites to graduate, and do more schooling, or become a whatever and by then you’ll have totally figured out how to do things for yourself, right?

Unfortunately, I’ve found this isn’t always the case. Sure, each workplace has a certain set of rules you have to follow, and most jobs have a job description that you have to adhere to. But your job is just you job; your workplace is just where you work. That is, for now. Who helps you to decide when it’s time to move on? Who tells you what to do to gain upward mobility in your company? What the prerequisites for getting promotions? For changing careers? For scaling back?

For some, knowing that your career has the ability to head in whatever direction you want is really freeing. Others might be totally cool with finding a good position and sticking with it, providing it meets their lifestyle needs. If you’re one the latter, congratulations- it sounds like you’re already in the place that you need to be.

I think most of us meet somewhere in the middle (myself included). We crave the autonomy to make our own decisions about when, where and what we work at (exciting!); at the same time, we wish there was someone to guide us where we need to go otherwise how else do we find our way of getting there? (Scary!)

It’s kind of brutal, but it’s the truth: professional development is your project.

Don’t panic; it’s actually pretty liberating. Does it require a certain amount of discipline and motivation on your part? Totally. But you’re in change of when, where and how you want to develop yourself professionally.

The most exciting (and challenging) part is deciding the what:

  • What skills do you want to acquire?
  • Which skills do you want to improve?
  • What contacts do you want to make?
  • What experience do you want to gain?
  • What do you want to get certified in?
  • What do you want to learn?

Once you’ve figured out the what, the how comes so much easier: take a workshop, join a club, go back to school, audit a class, attend a conference, get a membership, volunteer, shadow a mentor.

And read, read, read: books related to finding your ideal career or better yet, find the biography of someone who has achieved success at what you want to do. Read magazines, newspapers, blogs and other industry publications to keep your knowledge current.

You may want to map out what of some of these steps look like on a long-term scale. What are some of your goals? What do you want to accomplish? Where do you want to go? Where do you want to end up?

Or maybe you’ve already found yourself in a good place career-wise and you’re looking to keep the momentum going. Your professional development projects might be more along the lines of expanding your target market, developing a new product, or re-branding your company.

It doesn’t matter if you’re looking to change it up, or hate challenging the status quo: professional development is definitely a project we have to take on ourselves. There’s no right or wrong way to do it. In a way careers can mimic- they can be ebb and flow and take us to destinations that we never thought were possible.

The beauty of it, is that you have the freedom to choose how you’ll navigate that flow, and hopefully you’ll end up somewhere wonderful.

At the very least, I hope you enjoy the ride.

KBwB-BFlower-50What are some of the professional skills that you’ve been working on? Share your trials and tribulations below, or email me at keepingbusyb@gmail.com.

For more advice on navigating careers and the workplace, click here.

5 Things to Do Before You Take Time Off Of Work

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KBB_flipflops_on_the_sandWhenever I plan a trip for anyone (and considering I don’t travel all that often, you’d be surprised at how often I have done this for other people), I always joke about the extra work involved in taking time off. Vacations are supposed to be restorative, relaxing and fun but it’s easy to get caught up in stressing over the details of planning your holiday. Next thing you know, you’ve spent the first two days of your vacation trying to come down off of the adrenaline rush.

I’m not going to sugar-coat the truth for you and tell you there’s some magical formula that will leave you completely worry-free when planning your vacation. But if you are planning to take time off of work, here are a few ideas to get you from stressed out to stoked.

Do thy research. It’s a good idea to store all of the details concerning your flight, your accommodations, etc. all in one place for easy reference. In doing this, you may find you’ve missed a step (do you know how you’re getting to the hotel from the airport?) It’s also a good idea to check if your passport and any other travel documents are up-to-date, as well as your travel vaccines. If you’re traveling to some place exotic, make sure you read up on the weather, currency and other issues you might feel are of concern to your health and/or safety. A prepared, informed traveler is a safe, happy and healthy one.

Tie up loose ends. There’s nothing worse than trying to pick up a colleague’s project and realize that you have absolutely no idea what’s going on. Leaving someone or something dangling at work is impolite, unprofessional and not a great scene for anyone involved. You don’t want to leave someone with a mess of a project, and let’s face it- you don’t really want to deal with that mess when you come back to work, do you?

Make an action plan for your absence. If you’re taking work with you, make sure you have the appropriate means to get done what you need to get done. If someone else needs to get something done while you’re away and they need your input, let them know how best to get in touch with you, if at all. (Kind of like Number 2).

Plan your vacation before you leave. Too often we expect ourselves to come back from vacation and jump right into the thick of things, which sounds almost as stressful as not having a vacation at all. Do yourself a favor and don’t spend most of your vacation anticipating your return to work. Take an extra day off to unpack, schedule catch-up time, telecommute or do whatever it is you need to do to make sure the stress of transitioning back to the workplace doesn’t counteract the positive, relaxing effects of your vacation.

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? Unless you want to be associated with this elusive anti-hero, please inform the appropriate authorities of where you are going- your loved ones, your boss, etc. I once was hired for a job because one of the employees decided she was going to take off to Australia for a month and not tell anyone. It may seem like common sense, but this really, truly did happen and I want to make sure you don’t make the same mistake!

If you know ahead of time where you’re going, what you’ll need and what’s going to happen when you get back you can automatically forget everything else. You’ve done the work already. Now: sit back, relax, and have a margarita. Those are B’s orders.

KBwB-BFlower-50I bet you anything that you travel more than I do (it’s not that difficult) so if you’ve got more travel tips to share, I’d love to hear them! Comment below or drop me a line at keepingbusyb@gmail.com. I may choose to share them in another travel-related post.

Or you could just tell me stories about your travels, really. My goal is to live vicariously through other people’s vacations.

Operation Crisis Management: How to Work When You’re Depressed

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kbb_dead_treeIf you’ve stumbled on this post because you’re feeling depressed and/or suicidal, please know that you’re not alone in feeling this way. It may be hard to wrap your head around this when you feel lonely and isolated, but every day there are millions of people who struggle with similar challenges as you, including myself. However, this story is only reflective of my own experience. If you are in crisis I urge you to stick with me until the bottom of the page, where I’ve included further resources and information on finding support. Overcoming these thoughts and getting through your day may seem impossible, but I’ve made it through 100% of my days so far. You can too. Help is only a click away.

Let’s get one thing straight: depression is not “the blues”. It’s not a contest about the number of sad things going on in your life, and it’s not about an individual’s capability of dealing with life’s ups and downs (although it certainly doesn’t help).

Take me for example- if you knew me in real life you’d know that I sing constantly, I love doing colorful crafts, and when I find something really, really funny I have this loud, braying laugh that the neighbors can hear in the apartment upstairs.

But when I get sad, I get really, really sad. I cry a lot, and often for no good reason. Most days I have to will myself to get out of bed, because even after a full night’s rest I’m sometimes still so tired I swear I can feel it in my bones.

It’s easy to see then why I’m fascinated with productivity and learning more about how other people get through their days. I’m amazed at all of the things that people can achieve when sometimes even taking a shower feels like a battle to me.

It’s not easy for me to talk about this because I’m a perfectionist and I like to get things done. In some ways I think the practice of keeping busy has saved myself from some of my darkest moments. On the other hand, the insane pressure I have put on myself has not always helped with my productivity, or my self-esteem either.

The key is finding a balance.

Slowly I’ve started to learn that part of finding that balance does involve talking about it, about recognizing what brings us down and buoys us back up again. I’m not suggesting a total psychoanalytic breakthrough to help your productivity. But the more you understand yourself and your moods, the better equipped you are at coping.

Because the sucky thing is this: life goes on. You’ve got a job, kids, chores, and other responsibilities that can’t be ignored. But how do you do this when you feel like there’s a giant weight dragging around behind you?

Building a support system that combines non-judgmental mentors, colleagues, friends, family, community members, spiritual leaders and healthcare professionals is very important because it’s so much harder to go it alone, and these people can provide you with an objective perspective when your darker thoughts start getting the better of you. They also may be able to offer you advice on how to spot emotional triggers and develop healthy coping mechanisms. You may choose to have some of these people act as advocates when you are incapable of making rational decisions for yourself. Please don’t shut these people out. They are among the people that love you the most and will hurt the most if they lose you.

Make your coping mechanisms your secret arsenal by keeping running a list, and maybe sharing it with a trusted friend. Some of mine include taking my dog for a walk, having a hot shower and blasting music on my headphones. And baking. Have I ever mentioned baking to you before?

Build coping mechanisms into your routine can be as simple as storing a stress ball in your desk at work, or choosing your outfit the night before to avoid morning freak-outs.

Even paying attention to your emotional triggers and energy levels can help you structure your routine to minimize panic attacks or major mood swings. This could look like opting for a later shift at work if you struggle with getting up in the morning, or putting aside some downtime for yourself after a stressful family event.

If my mood is good and my energy is high I try to make the most of it, and get as much done as I can to help my future self focus on getting through the rough times. Sometimes this involves a little strategic planning on my part- I often don’t schedule anything after events I consider stressful, for example, and I never, ever try to make my day too full.

If you’re equipped with a little more knowledge about what you’re dealing with, and you have support and resources at your fingertips, the better you’ll become at managing your symptoms, and coping through your darker days.

 

KBwB-Flower-50Thanks for sticking with me until the end of this post. I want you to know if you ever need anyone to lend you an ear, I’m here for (anonymously) at keepingbusyb@gmail.com. Please do email me if you have any solutions to share that have worked for you, or comment below for other readers who might be going through something similar. We’re in all this together.

Here’s that list of resources that I promised you. There is help out there if you make the decision you need it. If you have any resources to add to my list, please let me know and I’ll try to include them in an updated post.

If you’re a Canadian (like me), The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention is a great resource for those experiencing suicidal thoughts and loss related to suicide. It also features a crisis center search function if you live within Canada. Similarly, the Canadian Mental Health Association provides information on suicide prevention and where to get help.

If you’re in the United States, SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) provides resources for those who are suicidal, suicide survivor and for the friends and families of the loved ones affected. They also offer a tip sheet for those concerned about a friend or family member in crisis. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention offers information and research on suicide, and where to get help.

For those who live outside North America, SAVE also provides a list of international resources and the International Association for Suicide Prevention (an NGO associated with the World Health Organization) has information on where to find help anywhere in the world. Suicide Hotlines also offers a comprehensive list of how to find help internationally.

For those of you who are looking for help online, here are some places to start:

  • Metanoia has a great message to read when you’re in a dark place, information on where to get help and advice on choosing what kind of help is right for you.
  • Canadian-based website Mindcheck offers quizzes designed to gauge your moods and offers helpful tips on developing healthy coping mechanisms and practicing self-care.
  • The Bright Side offers positive messages, personal stories and insights as well as resources and information on a variety of mental health issues including depression, anxiety and grief.
  • Although it’s designed with Canadians in mind, The Lifeline app is designed as a guide for those in crisis and connects those in need with a hotline in Canada at the touch of a button.
  • Claiming to be the world’s first-ever public screening measure with risk and response protocols, the Suicide Prevention App acts like a diagnostic tool and connects users with more information and resources.
  • If those weren’t enough resources for you, check out this article I found with 81 different online websites and apps to help people manage symptoms and access resources to help them on their road to recovery.

Operation Crisis Management: How to Work When You’re Sick

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Before you read this post, please note that I am not a medical professional of any kind. You should always check with your healthcare provider before taking any medical advice!

No matter where we come from, what we do for a living and how much money we make, we are all bound to get sick at one point in time or another. I see it often enough where I work- no one is impervious to germs, and if you are, well this post is not for you. (But please let us in on your secret.)

For those of who do get sick from time to time we know what a drag it can be, not just because you’re not feeling physically well, but also because of the havoc it can wreak in your life. The kids still need feeding, the laundry still needs doing and unfortunately the bills still need to get paid so many of us find ourselves still working- in a personal or professional capacity- even through we’re still ill.

It can be tempting to jump right back into things at the thought of all the backlog that awaits your return, but if you’re able to do it, try to take as much time off as you need. Remember that asymptomatic people can sometimes still be contagious, so it’s always a good idea to consult with a doctor about returning to work safely.

If you do get time off, treat it as a gift- an opportunity to pamper yourself and recover. Workaholics take note: taking care of yourself is more about getting rest and plenty of fluids, not catching up on your paperwork. The body needs time to recuperate.

Of course it’s not always possible to take a lot of downtime for yourself when you’re feeling under the weather. If your employer is flexible, you might be able to negotiate a slower return to work, or make up extra hours from home. Even if you have to face reality a little sooner than you’d like, it’s a wise idea to take things slow and be kind to yourself– you’re not going to be the most alert, clever or productive employee when you’re not feeling your best. That’s ok.

If you’re lucky you have caring and supportive friends, family and co-workers that can come to your rescue during your time of need. They may not be able to wave a magic wand to make you feel better, but you’d be surprised how much a helping hand can boost your spirits, even if those helping hands are only doing a load of dishes.

Help people to help you by letting them know about what’s going on with you. Keep the lines of communication open and let everyone know when you expect to be back at work, and how they can help facilitate your transition back at the office. Remember that you’re not the only one that could be inconvenienced by your illness so make sure the appropriate people have the necessary information to cover for you, or continue a project in your absence.

It’s no fun being sick, but there’s no reason it should turn into a complete crisis. If you’re prepared, and you make sure you’re covered at work, the only thing you have to focus on is getting better.

And I really hope you do feel better soon.

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Are you feeling run down or sick all the time? It could be experiencing burnout. Click here for more solutions on how to achieve a healthier work/life balance here.