July 2008


Procrastinating lately? Put some of that avoidance time to good use by spending some time working on your calendar. Start blocking off your time into small segments related to your projects. Make appointments with yourself to get your work done.

Find a rhythm that’s comfortable for you – hour chunks, half-hour chunks, full days. Experiment until you find a schedule you can commit to and stick with. Specific or General? Experiment again. Some people want to see exactly what they’ve committed to working on in each time slot. Others feel trapped by this specific a plan. You can pick categories – writing projects, marketing, cleaning, returning calls and email – whatever works for you – that allow you to select among several tasks.

Why can this be better than a to-do list? Because you can see just how near the end is. I can’t write all day, but I can write for one hour. Or clean for 30 minutes. And you can still mark items off your calendar when you’re done.

Waiting for something to change in your life? Make space. Decluttering is an excellent way to revitalize, re-energize and just plain get moving. Fung Shui tells us that if we want new things in our lives we need to get rid of old stuff to make room for them.

Look around.

Decorative objects. What do you love? What do you hate? Throwing out things that you hate – or things that are meaningless – allows you to showcase the things you love. Imagine how wonderful it will be to look around the room and smile as you focus on cherished possessions.

Magazines and newspapers. How old are they? Do you really think that you’re going to read last Sunday’s paper? You’re not. Give it up! Is there dust on that stack of magazines? Are the articles – recipes – reviews online? Recycle! 

Books. Why are you keeping them? Which ones are necessary research volumes or essential profession reading; which fiction have you gone back to again and again? Which are you keeping because they’re impressive? Who, exactly, are you trying to impress?

Shoes. Now might be a great time to get rid of all those shoes you’re hoping will magically fit properly. They don’t fit? They’re not gonna.

Finally, why not find one useless belief you’ve been holding on to. Add that to the pile as well.

Here’s Ann:

Ann Fry, Head Boomer, CEOAnn Fry has a wide background…. Probably because she’s “old” in years. Ann is a social worker, a professional speaker, trainer and corporate coach, a former teacher, an author…you know, all the right credentials…Yada, yada, yada…and…oh, a Mother.

She has all those necessary credentials…Master’s Degree, college professor, psychotherapist…We won’t bore you with the details 

For the last 15 years, through her company Humor University, she’s been a professional speaker and executive coach, specializing in Stress Management and Team Building Through Humor. In both her coaching and training, Ann helps people to be more productive through having a healthy sense of humor. She is committed to making the world a happier place and Inspiring people to live life on their terms. She continues to write and speak in the corporate world…To see more about this part of her work, visit www.humoru.com and www.annfry.com

Now, Ann’s committed to bringing her desire for fun and inspiration to this endeavor. Born on the first day of the boomer generation, January 1, 1946…Ann started It’s BoomerTime℠ as a way to cope with turning 60 and embracing it, rather than hating it. 

She travels around the country delivering speeches at conferences OR she sits at her desk in her apartment in NYC… in her pajamas… headset on… coaching executives on the phone.

And Susan:

Susan believes that the second half of your life should be just as exciting, engaging and challenging as the first half -if not more! Arriving at midlife can be confounding. She knows that cultural norms and expectations clashing against personal desires and experiences can create confusion, hesitation and self-doubt. Whether you’re planning your next move up the corporate ladder, organizing an exit strategy, creating your own business or finding time for travel and leisure pursuits, having expert help in crafting your plan will smooth your transition.

She is passionate about helping people make the connections that allow them to think and act differently. Her eclectic background enables me to draw on seemingly unconnected experiences to craft unique strategies with my clients. Her skills in getting to the heart of problems and working with clients to craft clear solutions grew out of years of teaching (pre-school through grad school), counseling college students and women returning to the workforce, and training (trainers and line staff through executive managers). 

She is an IAC Certified Coach with a doctorate in Adult Learning and Leadership, and Masters’ Degrees in Counseling and Educational Psychology. Her Women Living for Today and Tomorrow workshops were featured in The New York Times, and the teleclass series Mapping Midlife – Sensational at Sixty has helped energize the lives of its participants. 

 

She is a published author, with articles and book chapters on midlife, stress, transitions and transformative learning, including: Journaling and Coaching for Transformative Learning in Women’s Workshops in The Handbook of Transformative Learning in Practice. and Transformative Learning and Appreciative Inquiry: Incorporating Coaching and Action for Deep Organizational Change in International Journal for Coaching in Organizations.


How often have you said this – and then kicked yourself for being negative?

Finally! A place for productive whining! Here’s a teleclass where a good whine is the (only) admission cost.

Discover the valuable information about your next steps that’s lurking just beyond that resistance. How often have you known that there was a next step for you to take, but didn’t want to take it? You might be saying, “I dont wanna“… do the work, take the risks, explain what I really want.

Explore the “I dont wannas” that hold us back and how to navigate through them. Go for it! You’ll never know what brilliant action is hiding behind your temporary stall.

New classes Wednesday, July 23, 2008  from 1-2pm EST and Wednesday, August 6, 2008 from 8-9pm EST.

Email dr.susan@life-workcoach.com to register.

Welcome to the Action Hour! We’ve been very busy creating this gathering place for folks who are ready to go beyond I Don’t Wanna! (our wonderful teleclass series) and take action.

Who are we? Well, Ann Fry is the Head Boomer and creator of It’s BoomerTime as well as founder of Humor U, and an ICF PCC and Dr. Susan R. Meyer, creator of Mapping Midlife, is an IAC-CC.

We believe that a little constructive whining is one path to springing into action and we invite you all to come along for the ride.