Do You Need to Nudge Someone In Your Life?
August 31, 2010 by
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What are You Waiting for to Get Things Done?
Are you waiting for someone or something to happen in order to get things done? Have the lists been growing with all the things that are in disrepair or unfinished? Would you just hire it out if you had the cash flow to do so? Do you need to nudge someone to get it done? Maybe that someone is you?
For most of us, the “to-do” lists or the “honey-do” lists are a constant, ubiquitous presence in our lives. After all, in order for our lives to function, and for the different elements to work together, home, work, family and social lives, they need to be managed. Not to mention, shared with other family members and partners, to create a task list that everyone can utilize. Unfortunately, not everyone shares the same commitments, vision or the same dedication to completing the necessary chores!
So here comes the nudge! As with the mama Elephant in my graphic, a gentle, loving push can often propel partners or off-spring in the right direction! One mistake we make, as women, is assuming that the same motivations work for everyone or that everyone involved wants the same thing! Not true! Many children, especially older children, are motivated by money, (an allowance, a fee-per-task, etc.) but when dealing with adult partners, the dynamics are often harder to gauge. Are they motivated by financial rewards, status, praise and acknowledgment, competition, perfectionism, or possibly results? It is as varied as the number of people on the planet. So discussion and conversation is crucial to understanding the part that all household members play in making tasks reach completion!
The architecture of your nudges is incredibly important. The problems, concerns, tasks and ongoing household chores are not created in a vacuum, or by one person alone. Therefore, it only makes sense that it is a collective decision to work on problem areas, and get such jobs completed. Unfortunately, “reason” or “sense” have little value in dealing with personalities. That leads us to the most critical and important first suggestion, which is to have a meeting of the minds! It can be around the dinner table, a casual coffee date to discuss things, over the telephone or a formalized weekly or monthly discussion.
By definition, a nudge is a gentle push in the right direction. It follows a logical pattern, with the concept that the task being nudged on is a necessary, lifestyle-supporting need. In the fix-it world, this can include on-going maintenance, routine yearly chores, onetime fix-its such as electrical repairs or home improvement projects, such as a new deck, or replaced siding. Knowing the elements which surround your nudges, help make your nudges count, and as a result, get the tasks completed in a timely manner.
Time management, as well as money management, is a vital part of any nudge. I suggest
that you get a notebook specifically designated for your honey-do list. (By the way, you do not need to have a ‘honey’ to have one of these lists!) Do NOT use scraps of paper scattered hither and yon, or computerized notes that require being on a computer versus one-on-one with each other! A notebook with a bright cover is great – and one with divisions (tabs or cardboard dividers) works quite well. Here are some suggestions for the sections – to encompass your lifestyle needs, your home tasks, and your ongoing household brainstorming.
Top Priority –> Examples might be a leaking roof, a running toilet, or find a good handyman! In other words, things that need to be done NOW!
Brainstorming –> Results of household discussions
Budgets –> This section may include budgets per task, chore, project or household. Add critical notes about the budget too!
Odds & Ends –> Anything that doesn’t fit the other categories
Repairs –> Everything from fix the screen the dog ran through to change the knob on the door
Replacements –> Replace the carpeting, put in a new deck, replace the door, put in a new toilet, etc.
Tasks or Chore List –> For specific people (i.e. John, refinish table, Joan, get new business by marketing & networking!)
Wish List –> You must always have a wish list, otherwise life just isn’t much fun!
The next critical step is to discuss, share, brainstorm and itemize your lists – with input from everyone concerned. It simply doesn’t work to present people (adults or children) with demands. Having a vested interest in the task, in the completion, and in the result is crucial to a satisfactorily functional to-do list!
By the way, in case you didn’t think of it already, be sure to do this step with your friendly handyman! After all, they are on your team too. Often we find that the vision is unclear to the handyman, making it a frustration for you. If you want your vision to come true, then discuss, share, brainstorm and itemize with your Fix-It Professional! The results will dramatically improve the outcome!
Often, all it truly takes to get things done, is to do the process above, especially if you let your imaginations soar, creative solutions evolve and allow everyone to have input. Most times it is that simple nudge of creativity, dreaming and allowing which gets things rolling on having the life of your dreams, living in the home of your imaginings.
Concerned about making YOUR to-do lists functional, and getting tasks done? Contact The Fix-it Professionals. We would be glad to work with you on developing and repairing the household fix-it portions of your lists, and remember, Joan, as a Lifestyle Makeover Specialist, can help you bring all the elements of your life together.
Let John and Joan be part of YOUR team!
Did You Know that a Beautiful Home is a Healthy Home?
August 24, 2010 by
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When you walk around your home, or close your eyes and envision it, do you think of beauty? What do you think of when you think of your home? Does the word beautiful come to mind? What feelings come up for you? Are you contented, happy, healthy or are you dissatisfied, displeased or uncomfortable?
Seemingly mundane things, such as paint, can affect mood and ambiance, as well as beauty. And even more so, things in disrepair, or things disorganized and helter-skelter, create an inner chaos as well. Just as a smooth pond or water element creates a feeling of calmness and relaxation, so does
a cohesive connected home create feelings of peace, and ultimately, of health and happiness.
The best way to begin to create the beauty in your home, and to enhance health and peace, is to look at the things around you that need repair. Have you ever sat in a waiting room filled with people coughing and sneezing, looking wan and ill? How did that make you feel? We are easily influenced, suggestible, by the world around us. So broken screens, discolored paint, missing molding, piles of clutter or the sense of disorganization will often make you feel out of sorts, disgruntled, even sick.
Room by room, evaluate how you feel when you are there. Does your bedroom reflect the need for quiet, with subtle colors, comfortable bed and bedding, room-darkening drapes? Are there piles of paper or books, stacked around at random, which might distract you from the purpose of the room – to rest and sleep? Many decorators and designers strongly recommend you have no electronics in your bedroom, no TV, no computer, no desk even. A source of music perhaps, but otherwise, make your bedroom match it’s purpose!
How about the room(s) in which you spend most of your at-home time? Living Rooms and Family Rooms often seem rife with disorder – overflowing tables, piles of newspapers and mail, and even unfolded laundry often seems to be present. Paint and furniture are often shabby in the rooms we spend most of our time! Does that atmosphere reflect the comfort and ease you want your living or family room to reflect – to you, and to others? Learning to purge and pare-down can be extraordinarily liberating. The process will clear space, not only in your house, but in your life! Fresh paint, minor fix-its (non-working doorknobs, light switches that don’t work, door trim that needs replacing, missing light switch plates …) and freshly cleaned rooms will help you change your individual environment, including your interior one! Life becomes more manageable, your surroundings are now better suited to who you are, and what your goals are for your future.
As you go room-by-room to evaluate and analyze, take a good look at all the factors that make up the room. What is it’s intended purpose? What condition are the walls, closets, electrical lighting and fixtures? What “vibes” does the room give off? Do you want to be in that room? Do you avoid it? Is it cluttered? Does it need attention to bring it back into usefulness? Do things need to be re-purposed, discarded, or simply refreshed?
Check for more serious problems as well, such as mold, mildew, excessive dust and pet dander. These things can be critical to your health as well! With an unbiased viewpoint, look at things you have had for years. Ask yourself this critical question, “Why am I keeping this?” If you are to continue to keep it, what purpose can it serve?
Recently I went through this kind of introspection about a chair. It didn’t fit in my family room any longer, so I offered it to a close friend. In the meantime, I moved the chair into my guest room, pending pickup. As I passed it each day, memories came back to me of my childhood home, and my father, now deceased. It felt good, having that chair there, beckoning with memories and comfort. It was an old-fashioned rocker, in good repair, and I decided to keep it. And you know what? That is okay! Keep treasures and memories, just be sure you have a place for them, that they are in good condition and/or preserved suitably.
The combination of keeping things fixed and useful, keeping colors in paint and fabrics renewed and fresh, and keeping excess under control will go a LONG way in creating a beautiful, healthy home for you and your family. It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming project either – simply do it room by room, including your family in your thought-processes to achieve the look and feeling you want. By doing so, you will find your inner life on the right track as well – you will have more energy, more vitality and more interest in life. Enjoying life, being creative, useful and happy is a great goal for any of us!
Growing as a Company, Growing as People
August 17, 2010 by
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Who we are, and what we do!
Is your business or personal life growing, changing or shifting? Are there days when it feels as if your life is just one big maze? Are you making the necessary changes in your home or business to keep up with the times? Have you changed your environment to reflect who you are? Do you have things surrounding you which no longer serve you?
Let’s face it, most of us get used to doing things in a particular fashion. Often we do not recognize when it is no longer working for us. Or we believe it is a temporary phase that we are going through. Yet, many times it is a sign that we must change the way we do things or add something to the mix.
The Fix-it Professionals is growing, and as our business expands, our individual offerings increase, providing our clientele an on-going, extensive array of possibilities. We are continually asking ourselves, “What can we do, be or offer to help YOU, our customer, today?”
How you see us, as a business, is important to us. As with many of you, we too want to expand our approach to cover all aspects of life and well-being. With this in mind, we want to share with you our newest development which can be encompassed in this statement: “John helps fix and repair people’s homes, Joan helps fix and repair people’s lifestyles.” As a full spectrum fix-it business, we want to align our thinking with yours – what can we do to make your home more functional, and your life more enjoyable?
What we have come to realize is that what affects one, affects the other. If your home is in disrepair, often so is some aspect of your life as well. In other words, one mirrors the other. Knowing this, we felt it would be beneficial to assist in both of those areas to help you get exactly what you want!
Most of you know that John is the one who wields the hammer, climbs the ladder and wires your home. Less easily defined is Joan’s role in the business. Besides being John’s partner, Joan helps promote and market the business, lining up and fine-tuning handyman and Electrical jobs. Joan is expanding her role, reaching out more and more as a “lifestyle makeover specialist.”
What does that mean? It means that as you work on your home, and adjust your life to meet the goals you have for it, Joan can help you determine how best to achieve those goals. Do you need to change your focus to encompass lifestyle changes due to downsizing, retirement or job changes? Joan has the skills, background and education to help you accomplish the financial, lifestyle and personal aspirations you have for yourself, your relationship and your family.
How do these different elements of The Fix-it Professionals combine to help you with all the elements of your life for which you desire change? Here is an expanded concept of what you might be thinking now. Your children have grown, and are off establishing themselves in the world. You want to downsize, but you love your home. What can you do to make your home more functional now? What things are you desirous of accomplishing? Do you want to entertain more? Be outdoors more? Take on a new job, or expand an existing one? Do you want to travel? How are all these factors going to evolve for you?
Our goals, as a company, are to help you reach the balance and comfort you want in your home, and in your life. Do you wish to see changes in your home environment? Your finances? Your lifestyle? Together, as a couple, The Fix-it Professionals, can bring into line the immediate needs of home repairs and electrical maintenance with future ones, such as readjusting your perspective on money, time and personal interests to create a composite whole that will nourish body AND soul. The inner you and the outer you!
Our newsletters are one of the ways that we share this aspect with you each week, helping to create the home and lifestyle that you desire to bring to fruition. Let us know how we may be of service to you. As I mentioned in our personal segment above, our goal is to serve!
?>Your Garage is FINALLY Sorted Out! Now What?!
August 10, 2010 by
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Restore, Donate, Recycle
You have finally gone through it all, organized it, and now there are piles. Of stuff. You don’t want. So what now? Here’s some ideas for using, discarding or donating your unwanted “goodies.” One person’s junk is another person’s treasure! At least that’s the idea!
You might be surprised at some of the things that can actually be recycled. Take a little time to see what you have, and then decide its ultimate destination.
Furniture and clothes are pretty easy to donate, many local charities will pick these items up, including older functional appliances. Some of your items may be reusable, by you, in another form. (repaint a chair, get a new lamp shade for that lamp, and have an electrician rewire it so it will work properly…) But did you know that there are places that will recycle your old Christmas Lights? Packing Peanuts? Shoes? Even Carpet? Here’s where to go.
Recycle your old Holiday Lights. Holiday Lights Recycling Program They will recycle ALL the 
materials, including the cardboard in which you ship your lights! Get together with neighbors and friends and share the costs of shipping if you like. This company will give you a coupon for 15% off modern, low energy use LED holiday lights purchased on their site, in return for your old ones.
Recycle old carpeting. Stained? Smelly? Ripped? It doesn’t matter here! Carpet Recovery Organization Be sure to read about all the innovative products that are made with carpet remnants, from sound barriers to auto parts. Innovation in Carpet Recycling. Check with your local Goodwill or local carpet dealers to find other sources for recycling. “An estimated 5 billion pounds of carpet was sent to the landfill in 2003.” Do your part to reclaim this valuable resource!
Re-purpose those bags and boxes of polystyrene packing peanuts. It is a petroleum-based product, and far from ecological!! Polystyrene packing peanuts and molded foam cushioning can either be dropped off at a local location, if you have one, or sent in the mail. A great way to get rid of the stuff, and avoiding the landfill. For further information and locations, click this link. EPS Packaging Recycling
Here is another fantastic way to recycle. Donate your old sneakers and trainers to be made into playgrounds and possibly even new shoes and sports equipment. If you have boxes of shoes in your garage (or closet) that have outlived their usefulness, give them a new life and a new chance to be useful. Reuse a Shoe “The average person living in a developed country will produce (create) between 1/2 and 1-1/4 TONS of waste each year!” (landfill-site.com)
Why are we providing this information? Because one of the services we offer includes giving our friends and clients useful information that we all need to be conscious stewards of our planet. Sure it might seem easier to just hustle everything to the curb, and never think about it again. But we have to live here, and so do future generations. Making a world safe and free of waste of all kinds benefits each and every one of us!
(Let us help you with your indoor or outdoor living needs, especially electrical. We are licensed and insured! Need a lamp rewired? We can do it. Need something hauled? We can help with 
that. Need something painted? We can do that too! Need shelving built? Let us build it for you! Let us be your one-stop fix-it service. We pride ourselves on our professionalism and customer service! Maybe even a toy box to be repaired?)
Stir It Up, Clean It Out, Let It Go ~ Simplify!
August 3, 2010 by
Filed under Blog
This past weekend, John and I spent a lovely day with our 2 year old grandson, beginning the day with breakfast out. Our daughter joined us for that, then left us to grandparent for the day. A true joy for us.
It is easy to let those special times pass you by with the busyness of work, careers, child care, housekeeping, cooking and other obligations. Before you know it, the next work day begins again and the special thing you wanted to do, didn’t get done. Maybe it was to ride bikes with the kids, or maybe it was to just sit and read a book!
When did we get so busy that we cannot even find time to enjoy life to its fullest? What happened to balance? How come our homes are packed to overflowing with stuff and yet we do not have time to enjoy the stuff, clean it up or clear it out? The entertaining thing is that we actually go out and buy more!
What has become evident to me is how critical it is to our health, wealth and well-being to fit in those special times, regularly, so that we do GET the things we want. It seems counter-intuitive to relax, let go and play in order to have health, wealth and well-being, yet it is the very thing required to achieve them.
It is why I speak frequently on getting what you want, because I know, if you do not balance the busyness of life with relaxation, play and fun, then the ‘good life’ seems to constantly evade you. Again and again, I hear women talk of exhaustion and overwhelm, yet the very thing they want never seems to show up. There is a reason for that, and I am very willing to share it with you.
There are two things we are offering today which are designed and meant to help you busy ladies out there. And yes, men will benefit too, especially if they make their ladies happy!
The first of those two things is an offer to help clean out your garages. If you aren’t ready to do it now (although I encourage you to stop putting it off!), then set a date, tell us that date, and we’ll honor the July special on that date!
The second thing we are offering is a GET WHAT YOU WANT free tele-class, which happened on August 2nd. During this call I helped you define what it is you want, clear up the confusion around why you aren’t getting it and help you begin getting it today! (Click here to sign up for the audio replay!)
Why would you do either of these? To get what you want! It’s up to you now! All you have to do to get what you want is to accept our offers. These are our gifts to you.
Last week I offered a mantra to use. How many of you used it this past week?
Here is the mantra I came up with … repeat after me ….
Stir it up
Clean it out
Let it Go
Simplify!
As my coach says, rinse and repeat!
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