Business Plus Baby

June 18, 2014March 4, 2015

How to beat the afternoon productivity slump

So you’ve got your little one down for a nap or off to preschool, or maybe you’ve settled them with some TV or a DVD for a while. It’s time for work, but then it hits you…the afternoon slump.

Whether you work from home or out, the afternoon slump can be a daily occurrence. Millions of people across the globe find themselves almost falling asleep at their desk half way through the day. Your brain gets foggy. Your productivity comes to a standstill. In short, the rest of the afternoon becomes a total waste of time.

While it’s frustrating, you don’t have to give in to the mid-day slump. There are easy things you can do to move past it. Here are some ideas to try –

1. Move Your Body

When you feel the mid-day slump beginning, get up from your desk immediately. Take a quick five to ten minute walk – or even a run. Do some skipping or step outside and get some fresh air.

2. Grab Some Coffee or Tea

Unless you’re extremely caffeine sensitive, this is a great time to grab a cup of coffee. However, skip the sugar and added cream or milk. Those will spike your blood sugar and cause your energy to spike and then plummet. Continue reading “How to beat the afternoon productivity slump”

May 8, 2014

How to stay healthy when you’re working from home

If you’ve got children, a business, clients, friends, family and a house to look after, it’s easy for your own health and well-being to come last. There just aren’t enough hours in the day, are there?

But it’s important for mum to stay healthy – otherwise who else will do all these important jobs?

So (keeping in mind that this message is as much a reminder to myself as it is to anyone else who may be reading!), here are five quick and easy tips for staying a healthy work at home mum

1. Eat. Obviously, you don’t have a lot of time to eat, but this is essential to staying healthy. The good news that it’s OK to snack, as it helps keep your metabolism going and your energy levels up – so no need for crash dieting. Just make sure you snack on healthy things like yogurt, fruit and nuts rather than chocolate, biscuits and crisps. Not that I ever eat any of those things, obviously *cough*. Fruitdrop – who deliver fruit to offices so that employers can help their staff keep healthy – have this great recipe for fruity energy bars which are perfect for keeping you going while you work.

2. Drink: Water, that is. In addition to eating healthy foods, you need to be drinking water throughout the day. (Note to self: 15 cups of tea don’t count)

3 Exercise: Although you may find yourself busy throughout the day and exhausted at the end of it all, it’s important that you squeeze in at least 20-30 minutes of exercise each day. There are several ways you can do this. For instance, you can go on a walk, play Xbox Kinect/Nintendo Wii games with your family or take the kids swimming after school.

4. Be Happy: As women and mothers, we tend to overload ourselves with work, family and worries. There isn’t much time to focus on being happy. However, this is important too. Studies have shown that, generally, happy people are healthier people. In order to become happier, set aside a little time for yourself every day – or week – to do something you like doing. This time will help you feel refreshed and become happier.

5. Sleep: Getting a good night of sleep is essential to your overall health. Sleep is when your body recharges itself. So, if you aren’t getting enough sleep you aren’t operating on a full battery, which means you’ll wear out quicker. It also means your body will too, which depletes your immune system. Plus it means you’ll be irritable and less likely to be happy (see tip 4). Can’t fall asleep? Here are some tips.

So I’m now going to take my own advice and get an early night. Night night!

If you enjoyed this post, why not make sure you stay in touch by joining my mailing list? I’ll also send you a copy of my e-book Running a business around a family: 9 steps to success.

Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

May 7, 2014May 7, 2014

Building a lasting relationship with your bank

Looking around for your first business bank account can be daunting. There are so many different things to consider, including basic things like how much money you’ll be paying in, how often and where you’ll be doing it as well as the bigger picture plans such as anticipating the needs of your business as it grows. After many years of free personal banking it can even be a shock to see the costs involved in business banking!

Here at Business Plus Baby I get comments and messages from people just starting out who are unsure whether they even need a business bank account, which to me shows that business banking is more than simply opening an account to keep your money in. From the bank’s point of view it’s about understanding people’s needs and then offering the best possible solution to those needs. Then staying with their clients as their businesses grow and change.

This is why it’s so important to find a bank that strives to understand the needs of small businesses. Research on the Internet is a wonderful thing but sometimes you just need to discuss your options with a human being. Santander approaches every business customer as an individual relationship, working hard to make banking as straightforward as possible.

Santander have been big players in small business banking for a good few years now. In fact, they are the first experience that many newbie little business owners have of business banking.

Santander have focussed on building lasting relationships in their latest video. Take a look here:

You Can Still Run A Business After A Baby

In this modern world where women crave for greater independence than their counterparts of years gone by, the prospect of having a family can spark fears of being tied to the home, a loss of career and a loss of independence. And, in some families, the loss of an income can lead to financial difficulties. These are sacrifices that many are willing to make for the sake of having children – but it doesn’t have to be this way, because after baby you can still run a business without compromising the job of being a mother.

Smart women aren’t having children

According to recent research headed by psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa of the London School of Economics, the more intelligent a woman is, the less likely she is to want children. He suggests that for every 15 point increase in IQ the desire for motherhood drops by 25%. Census data also shows that if a woman has an advanced degree she is less likely to have children.

But, irrespective of education, birth rates are falling as more couples choose not to have children. The reasons most commonly cited are: no wish to have children; work commitments make it undesirable to have a child; and, inability to give a child the life it deserves.

Women with children can still succeed Continue reading “You Can Still Run A Business After A Baby”