by The Happy WAHM
For 2018, I’m going to get my Excel mojo back.
My first project?
A printable meal planner!
This planner will help Moms like me who are barely surviving in the kitchen. It has always been a struggle for me to come up with a decision on what meal to prepare, every single day. I thought that if there is already a list of meals that I can just refer to, it would be easier to make a decision on what to prepare for the day.
Add to that the fact that I’m not a cook.
Oh, I can cook adobo, sinigang, tinola, spaghetti, and other similar stuff, but I’m not really that great. And I don’t have that many recipes in my arsenal, so I rely on just the usual stuff. And the occasional pa-chambs. 🙂
Here’s a clue… I don’t eat, much less cook, food I can’t pronounce.
And can I just mention that my kids LOVE my spaghetti?
But having so short a list of recipes makes it really hard to plan for a week. And that affects the grocery shopping, which we do once a week, sometimes even every other week.
For moms/homemakers like me, coming up with a decision on what’s for lunch or what’s for dinner sucks up a lot of time already. And add to that, the heartache when you finally decide on a meal and find out that you don’t have the necessary ingredients in your pantry.
This meal planner will save me the time and the heartache.
The first thing I did was make a list of all the meals I know how to prepare. Then I asked members of my WAHM community to contribute their own. I created four worksheets to represent breakfast, lunch and dinner, snacks, and desserts. And once I had a decent number of meals to cover a week without a repeat, I went ahead and used the wonderful functions of Excel to create my printable meal plan.
So here’s how to use this…
Those highlighted cells are clickable. When you click on the cell, a dropdown arrow will appear. When you click on the dropdown arrow, a list of meals will appear, and you just need to click on what suits your fancy for the time of day.
Look…
And I’m all for keeping it real. Please take note that there’s a No Cooking option. So there will days that we’ll just call for home delivery, or feast on leftovers, or eat out.
Once I have completed our meals for the week, I can print the file, and create the grocery list.
Once Week 1 has been printed, I can simply clear the cells and start all over for the next week.
I’m actually just channeling Mark Zuckerberg here. I’m thinking about how much time he saves just by NOT having to decide what to wear every single day. This printable meal planner? I betcha it will save me at the very least an hour per week. An hour that I can utilize to do something else. Like crochet.
So yeah, I was truly inspired.
But if you’re a busy VA like me, and say your rate is $25 per hour, this planner has a $100 value to you, per month.
Me, I’m just happy to have that one hour of crochet time. Or paper quilling time.
Want me to create something like this for you? You know how to reach me!
Do you, have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave a reply below, or post them on my Facebook Page.
by The Happy WAHM
The content of this post was originally published as a Note on Facebook and has been updated to reflect present time.
Ever wonder why we have creative children?
They have at least one creative parent, that’s why!
And that one parent is me! Like mother, like daughters.
Yup! I’m claiming it! Right here, right now. Before I end my day.
But you need proof, right?
Let’s start with my younger daughter.
She draws really well. Just like I do.
This is an apple. I drew this using watercolor.
And this is Bea’s drawing of an apple, in oil pastel. (I put a watermark on it when I shared on Facebook to protect the work of my child.)
You see the resemblance?
You do, right?
Here’s another one. My drawing of a banana. Still using watercolor.
And here is Bea’s banana in oil pastel.
See? We really are very creative!
Here’s another. My drawing of a carrot.
Bea does not have a drawing of a carrot, but she has an orange. And they’re the same color, so we can still compare, okay?
So you agree that she takes after me, yes?
Okay. Now that we have settled that, let’s get on how my eldest daughter takes after me.
I came across an album of photos posted by my daughter’s friend on Facebook.
She doesn’t mind posing in front of the camera.
And she’s really pretty, if I may say so myself.
She’s a natural. And she registers well on camera.
Just like her mom.
Yup!
She takes after me. I used to model, you know.
And I do register well on camera, too. Like when I modeled for Caronia. Or was it Bobbie?
Okay. So I do my own mani and pedi. And my nails are far from spectacular. But I have saved lots of money over the years. 🙂
Or when I modeled my crocheted slippers.
I also posed for Bend Accessories.
So I’m thinking, maybe Isabel can model for a clothing line.
Oh, wait! She has modeled for Crafted Crafts!
Hardly a clothing line, but baby steps, okay? She’s wearing a crocheted poncho in the photo, and the yarn is her own mix. Yeah, our girls help me come up with color combinations for our yarn shop. 🙂
So now you know why we have pretty, creative daughters.
Like mother, like daughters.
Do you, have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave a reply below, or post them on my Facebook Page.
by The Happy WAHM
For the first time since I became a WAHM, I had a day off!
I mean, an official one. An I-don’t-have-to-bring-a-laptop-with-me kind of day. An it’s-okay-to-not-have-internet-connection-where-I’m-going kind of day. An I-don’t-have-to-check-my-email kind of day.
It was awesome!
So I went to the city to meet up with my friend, Celia, who’s the creative head and the powerhouse behind Brownroots Creatives and is now busy managing her co-working space, Brownroots Coworking.
Uhmmm… I actually checked my work email before leaving the house. Responded to some messages both from my email and Slack, and had my mobile data and powerbank with me just in case I need to respond to some urgent messages. How awesome is it that I can actually work using my phone, right?
But I’m digressing.
I’m supposed to be talking about Brownroots and why I had to see Celia.
Who is Celia and what is Brownroots?
I met Celia at one of my workshops. It was the second and final run of my VA Success Blueprint workshop.
What? Two runs only? But why?
I’ve turned the workshop module to a one-on-one coaching module, that’s why. I get to see results better on one-on-one coaching than in classroom workshops, and I really have this need to see my coachees succeed in transitioning from corporate to WAHMing.
Digressing again, sorry.
So my event coordinator got Brownroots Creatives to sponsor the bags that we gave away to the participants. On top of the bags, she also raffled off some really cool t-shirts. I loved the bags! They were of canvas material and had my logo printed on them. And the shirts were actually their flagship product for Brownroots Creatives’ business-in-a-box. Their tagline? “Let your shirt do the talking.”
I had a couple shirt made for me and my husband.
Mine says: My husband has an awesome wife.
His says: My wife has an awesome husband.
I wear mine when I go out.
Husband wears his to sleep.
So much for having a couple shirt!
Digressing… again!
As a major sponsor, we gave her two free seats to the workshop. She brought her son who does graphic design, plays the guitar, sings and sounds awesome, and writes his own songs when he’s not doing covers.
And so we met. And we hit it off, right from the get-go.
Celia is a former OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker). She had a really bad experience abroad. Like going to prison kind of bad. She was innocent, of course. And when finally her case was resolved, she came back home to the Philippines and vowed to start another chapter in her life, stronger and better. I met her at the time that she was just starting out with the business. Her work abroad was in advertising, and she’s a graphic designer. It made sense for her to start a business in the creative niche.
Why Brownroots?
She says it’s her statement of being Pinoy. She’s proud of her brown-skinned race. As we should all be.
I like her branding. It delivers a message. It’s easy to recall. It draws empathy.
She learned of my story through this blog, before we personally met. How I succeeded in starting a career from home. My story resonated with her, and we both have this strong desire to build a community of empowered women. And while I focus on inspiring women to go after their dreams and be financially independent through this blog and social media, Celia untiringly goes to events and connects with people in person. And when I say connect, I mean she really connects. The we-can-be-friends-forever kind of connect.
After taking a break from doing classroom workshops on virtual assistance, I created a new module called Hobbies to Business, teaching people how to earn from doing something that they love. I did two classroom workshops for this module and then turned it into an online course, as well. Celia stuck with me, supporting me all the way. I super love this woman! And from what I gather, the feeling is definitely mutual.
Sometime last year, we talked about having my girls’ artworks printed on t-shirts and mugs and selling them. I’m teaching my kids entrepreneurship, which is also what Celia is doing with hers. The plan was that I would send her the graphics and Brownroots Creatives would print them and ship them.
But my husband and I have also been looking for an income stream that will not be dependent on both our skills as virtual assistants. What if he or I get sick? What happens if I can no longer be a VA, or he no longer loves what he’s doing?
We need a fallback, and we need to establish something while there is no need for it yet. We need something that we can hire other people to do when we can no longer do it personally. And we need something that our children will also enjoy doing.
So we agreed on making a go for the printing business. Our daughters will be our in-house designers, and our son will operate the press.
Celia was very supportive when I told her about it. Aside from her printing business, she also provides starter packages to those who want to get into the printing business. So she sent me the list of her packages and left me to think about how I want to get started. But my VA work did not give me much time to pursue getting the business off the ground.
So on my first official day off, I went to meet with Celia as my first step in making our plan become a reality. We’re ready to invest in the complete package, the whole nine yards, and Brownroots Creatives is my supplier of choice. I spent the afternoon with her teaching me how to navigate the design software and how to operate the press. It was fun! I can imagine the kids having a blast with that weeding thing on the vinyl.
And to top it off, Celia also had two of her friends at the coworking space while I was there, and they are very interested in learning how to become VAs, so we ended up planning a small, intimate workshop for a group of no more than ten people, soon.
I also love her coworking space, by the way.
Here’s a couple of my takeaways…
I am so looking forward to adding this new piece in my WAHMing life, and I’m hoping that I’ll have your support, too!
Oh, and by the way, today is my second day off. So I found time to write this post. Yesterday was supposed to be the day that we’re going to put up our Christmas tree. But I had to prioritize seeing Celia.
I had an early start this morning. While the kids were preparing to leave for taekwondo training, I changed the curtains. Ironed them, too! Like I don’t really mind the fold creases on curtains, but I was feeling pretty domestic so I went ahead and ironed out the fold creases before putting them up. Then I took down our 16-year old tree from storage and set it up. It’s still bare at this time. I left the decorating to the kids.
Okay, my time’s up! Come and visit again!
Do you, have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave a reply below, or post them on my Facebook Page.
by The Happy WAHM
Are you a procrastinator, or are you just good at applying Parkinson’s Law?
But first, what is Parkinson’s Law?
According to Wikipedia, Parkinson’s Law is an adage that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
In short, if you are told to do a task this morning due in two hours, you do it and submit the completed task before the two hours is up.
But if you are given a week to finish the same task, you are not likely to do the task today, but rather wait until the sixth, or worse, the seventh day to complete the task just on time for submission.
And I know how this can happen because I’ve done this a lot of times before.
As a virtual assistant, my email is my office. That’s where all my tasks come in. And believe me, there are days that I don’t even want to look at it. Just looking at the subject lines make me tired on some days.
So, in the old days when I was feeling lazy, I would log in, open all the emails one by one, and if I happen to read one that needs an urgent reply, I would tackle that task right there and then. Then I would go back to opening the other emails, mark the not-so-urgent ones as unread, and take a note to come back to it later as my day progresses. When I get to open something that says “this is not urgent” then I just put it in another folder to be attended to much later.
After I’ve gone through all the emails, then I would start going back to the ones I have marked as unread and needing to be attended to within my working hours.
We are still on my lazy day, right?
So, because I was being lazy, I leave the ones marked as not urgent for another day. And that is bad. Because whatever I leave undone today adds up to the ones I’m going to do tomorrow. My clients would not stop sending me tasks in the next days just because they have sent me a task that would be due in a week.
Good thing that I am on the stage of my life and my career that I no longer entertain laziness. And if I ever get tempted to give in to the urge, I know how to circumvent it.
Plus I have learned how to use Parkinson’s Law in a positive way.
Let’s go back to what Wikipedia says: “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
So if I give myself just a little time for each task, then chances are, I can finish my tasks faster because I will be on a deadline, and my goal will be to beat that deadline.
In a way, I’m borrowing a bit of the Pomodoro technique, without strictly following the six steps in the technique. Identify the task, set the timer, and work on the task. I am timing my tasks, and timing my breaks, as well.
And here’s a good news! If you are like me, who has been wanting to learn more about the Pomodoro technique in-depth but could not afford the course, then today is a happy day, because Francesco Cirillo will be releasing a book on the technique in August next year! I’ve already pre-ordered my Kindle copy, so if you’re interested, just click on this link.
But going back to Parkinson’s Law, I guess you can also apply this to using your time wisely when on social media. I know this to be effective because this is what I do.
So let’s say I’m on Facebook. My page has become part of my office, too, because people message me on the page to inquire about my services. Or even on messenger. And it is so easy to get into the trap of browsing through your personal feed. You see an interesting video, you click on it, and before you know it, you’d have watched three more videos that have nothing to do with your reason for logging in.
What I do is that when I log in, I don’t look on my feed, but rather go straight to messages. After I’ve attended to the messages, I then go through my notifications. I allow myself 15 minutes to do these. But set my mind to finishing everything in 10. Then log out. Log in again on my assigned break and do the same thing. Only after I have attended to all my office tasks do I allow myself to browse through my feed. Sometimes I don’t log out at all, but put Facebook on another window and keep it minimized. But the main idea is to only be there within the set time. If I know I have 20 minutes, then I strive to finish in 10.
And that’s it! That’s my productivity tip for today. And keep in mind that you have to take yourself seriously to make this work. The goal is for a job well done in less time, not to rush through your tasks for mediocre output that might cause you to lose clients.
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
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by The Happy WAHM
I became a WAHM because I had to.
I was forced to leave my corporate career to care for our premature son. The plan was I would take care of our son for two years until he is given a clean bill of health by the neurologist. But barely a month into WAHMing, I knew I would never go back to corporate. I was like a fish in a bowl that was thrown into the sea.
Today, family, friends, and acquaintances ask me random questions like…
So you’re a VA? What is that?
What does a VA do?
Can I be a VA like you?
Can you help me become a VA?
Nobody asked me WHY.
Why I do what I do. Why am I so happy doing what I do.
I have conducted a number of workshops on how to become a Virtual Assistant, how to become a WAHM, how to stay sane while WAHMing, and in my last classroom workshop, I shared my VA Success Blueprint. In all these workshops, I ask this question…
Why?
Why do you want to work from home?
And I have received answers like…
I’m tired of commuting to and from work.
I want to earn in dollars, too.
I want to be present for my child’s milestones.
I want to own my time.
These are all good reasons. And the answer to your BIG why will play a big part in determining what niche best fits you. You need a driving motivator to help you develop skills and abilities that will fulfill your BIG why. You are going to design and build your business around your reasons for wanting to become a WAHM. Or a VA. Or a graphic designer. Or even a product-based business. Whatever niche you plan to be in, your motivator will help you develop a long-term and profitable business.
As a long-term WAHM and VA, I’ve been in enough fora and online courses to gather people’s top motivators for becoming a WAHM.
Flexibility
Having the power in your hands to make time for both work and family. You can make time for yoga (or Zumba), take up a hobby (crochet, anyone?), attend a parent-teacher conference (unless you are also homeschooling like us), and still be productive at work.
Independence
Not having a boss look over your shoulder anytime. Having the freedom to be creative on how you approach work. Being able to create systems and processes that work for you so you are more productive and happier with your work.
Mobility
Being able to work anywhere. Work at home, in a cafe, in a hospital lobby, I’ve done all these. Geez, I even brought my work one time in the cemetery, on All Saints’ Day. Migrate to another country in a heartbeat, and bring your job with you.
Earning Potential
The more skills you have, the more opportunities you have for earning more. The harder you work, the more you are rewarded. This does not happen in employment where your salary is fixed. And even your annual salary increases have caps.
Lifestyle
Choose when to work, where to work, and how hard you have to work. Be a part-time soccer mom while still maintaining a full-time status with your client.
Family
Being a hands-on parent. Being present for each and every one of your child’s milestones. Or maybe you want to homeschool your kids. Or be your parents’ caregiver.
Health Challenge
When you cannot commute to and from work every day, or have limited time and mobility to work outside the home. (I used to have blind transcriptionists.)
All these motivators are good to start with.
Sustaining a WAHM life, living it long-term, is another matter. And that’s why you need to have a strong and solid conviction on why you want to be a WAHM.
Let me share with you an example.
About four years into WAHMing, I had a former officemate approach me, asking to help her become a virtual assistant. She was my staff in my corporate life. I worked with her side by side for years, so I knew she could be a VA. So I trained her. Our agreement was that I would find her a client when she’s ready. And I did.
On the day that I signed the contract for her, she quit. She said it’s not for her. So she went back to employment. And to this day, she’s still working outside her home.
Yes, she wanted to become a WAHM. But maybe the life of a WAHM is something that she’s not ready for. Her reason for wanting to become a WAHM was not strong enough for her to weather it out.
You may want to become a WAHM for a wide variety of reasons, but there should always be that one great reason that will keep you going each and every day. Because believe me, it’s not a walk in the park. And it’s not for everyone.
And so I ask you, have you determined your BIG why? Do you have the skills to support your passion? And is your passion supportive of your skills?
If you answered YES to the questions above, then you are ready to become a WAHM.
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about this post?
Please leave a reply below, or post them on my Facebook Page.
