Hey CJ-

Think about sharing 1 or 2 of those 3 minute nutricious, delicious meal recips with us, won’t you?   We could ALL use that!

I am often brought in to speak to Women’s Groups and Iniatitives within large corporations to  address a huge concern/obstacle for women considering reaching for executive ranks:  time management and balance.

Women are simply afraid that the kind of balance they are accustomed to and desire is simply not possible at those ranks.  Their primary role models in those leadership roles are men—who still classically sacrifice tremendous amounts of time with their families in the service of their jobs.  They travel extensively, work very long hours, and relegate the running of the house and planning of childrearing/social organizing/leisure planning to their wives/partners.

Women are (by and large) not willing to make that sacrifice. Aside from the obligation of "traditional roles", women tend to thrive more on a balance between work and family…and cannot imagine how to maintain that balance in high executive roles. 

It can be done, if Women change the game….and there are time management strategies galore to boost your productivity at work so you feel better drawing the line at the end of the day. But iif the company culture has been set without balance, women are afraid to take the risk.

The good news is that I’ve notived a trend among male executives over the past few years—a pushing back on boundary-less work hours, and increasing value placed on time off for personal pursuits and family. 

As the male leaders of organizations shift their value system, it makes it easier for women coming up into the executive ranks to picture this as a safe territory—and, the game will be changed for all.  It becomes less of a gender issue, and more of an issue of a new coproate culture everyone benefits from.

Hi Belinda-

In my experience, there are reasons other than relocation costs that make employers skittish about hiring people who don’t have local roots in the city they are applying to:

1-There is a risk that the new hire may may end up not liking the new city—and moving back after a short time.

2-There is a risk that the applicant is not applying to the job out of genuine interest in the job itself—but more as a secure way to make the move into the city.  Then once the person is in the city, they start looking around for a job that’s more desirable.

Employers invest heavily in bringing on each new employee, thousands of dollars in manpower are spent recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and training, sharing company knowledge….and if after all of that investment, you end up deciding that DC is not for you….or that there’s a better job in town for you, their investment is down the tubes.  Hiring people who are local, and rooted in DC is a safer bet from that perspective. 

Though riskier for you, if you are committed to moving to DC, best thing might be to

a-get some freelance work you can do from your current location—to establish relationships and roots from afar

and/or b-move to DC (even rent a room in a house so you have a local address and place from which to job hunt, while keeping your current home), and look for a job when you are there.

I’m not sure what the stats are for people who relocate, and then move back home….but you might want to google search so you have a better insight into potential employer’s point of view.

 I hope this helps,

 Julie Morgenstern

 

 

Hi Beth-

Thanks for your posting.  I have a question—-did you have a pretty organized schedule before  the layoff?  (Or were you previously less organized, when everyone was working?)

Also, prior to the layoff was the rest of the family doing housework, too?  And, how do you feel about the way they do the housework…are you satisfied with the job they each do?  I think everyone is curious about how to effectively share the housework, when you are used to doing things yourself.

 Do share….thanks, Julie

Now, THAT’s how you organize shoes!!

L.C. I’m SO relieved…I was going to ASK you if that had been a typo. How very inspiring….less stuff has led to increased ability to focus on the things that pull at your soul. bravo.

Debbie—LOVE the line "Find the wonder in the difficult. Inspiring phrase for all.

wowowow friends…this conversation is off to a WONDERFUL start—love the questions, love the stories, love the challenges. KEEP ON SHARING! I’m so looking forward to learning more about what’s on your plate right now.

Dear Liz- You are a true inspiration—-a role model to all of infinite energy, productivity and joy! Thank you for injecting your wit and energy onto the pages of wowowow.com. Wishing you a magnificant birthday and many more!! Julie

Watching these images on the TV—the motorcade—the arrival at the White House of the Obama’s —gift in hand to give to Laura Bush (how amazingly gracious are this couple?!)….the motorcade to the ceremony….I am overwhelmed—and keep welling up. It is an amazing moment that I can hardly believe. I am so proud of the American people for finally coming through…for taking charge of our country and history—and so grateful to this man for bringing out the best in us. And I am sur this will last throughout his Presidency—because this guy is the real deal. He is so consistent in his words and behavior, and so calm, and poised….because he is driven by a genuine vision. And it is a vision we need right ow in our country and world’s history. One of unity, and grace and hope and change. He said this was a time to bring people together - and not bicker or do politics as usual, and every move he has made through his election and even the transition has been consistent with that—reaching across party lines, races, ethnicity, countries, etc. He said this is the people’s election and presidency, and he’s created a sense of inclusion throughout the transition, and even this inauguration. I knew from his first speech at the DNC years ago, that he was the right man, at the right moment in our history—who we need to heal our country and our world. I am sure this will last….as it is being generated by a motor from deep within him that will continue to fuel us.

Hi Lily- Great find with Quicken Online. Your post also illustrates the value of having all of your bills paid online—directly FROM your (One) checking account TO each of your vendors. (In other words, don’t have some vendors PULL money from your checking account—have all checks generated by your bank and sent to your vendors). Working this way provides an instant consolidated snapshot of how much you spend each month, and where you might have room to lower some expenses.

Whoopi- So well said. In particular, the phenomenon of our very involved youth, as you said: “And people now recognize that the youth of America is a force to be reckoned with. And when you look at these shining faces that look up and look at each other as not black or white or any of these things but as Americans, it is a sigh of a relief that I can’t remember having in such a long time. - It is so true. And we also need to give credit to the generation of parents who created this new extraordinarygeneration of young people who are so open, so blended, so ethnically diverse and tolerant—it was the courage and vision of their parents from such diverse backgorounds and cultures who chose to live together, put their kids in schools together, allow them to play togethe, and truly communicated the values that we should all be focused more on who people are than what they look like or where they come from. This is a victory forhose parents too…and as the results made loud and clear—we are all ready for this moment of cohesion in America.

Just back from Times Square—the energy and enthusiasm is extraordinary. Thousands of people are still there screaming, whooping it up and giving each other random hugs and high fives. As of 2am, people were still not leaving!!! Utterly jubilant. So happy to have been a part of it.

Mandy Patinkin in The Tempest—in New York at the Classic Stage Company. One of the most extraordinary Shakespearean performances I’ve ever seen. So much power on the stage,-every movement, every step, every look, every pause, every word. His Prospero so came to life—you will never forget it. Rush out and see it—I think it closes this weekend!

You are absolutely right that there is a happy medium when it comes to being organized: If you are extremely disorganized you can’t enjoy life because you are too busy looking for things). If you are over-organized, you can’t enjoy life because you are too busy setting up systems and obsessing about what goes where. The goal is being “Organized enough”. Yet, when you say you are “always organized” but don’t feel more productive, my guess is you aren’t actually organizing. You are simply putting things away. Tidying. Admittedly an endless chore—which doesn’t make you more productive—although it can make your space more inviting when you come home. : ) I call that setting the space for it’s next use, but you shouldn’t get stressed over that. There is a big difference between tidying up (putting things back in their pre-assigned homes); Organizing (designing a system so you can find what you need when you need it) and Decluttering (permanently letting go of obsolete items and activities that are no longer serving you). Each serves a different and valuable purpose, when done at the right time—because they each require a different degree of energy, thought, and emotion.

Eleanor, Good for you….so glad you figured out a way to organize your kitchen the way you think. Also glad to hear you are taking your time getting your kitchen in order. I’m sure it will be extremely satisfying…and easy to maintain once you are done. Keep up the awesome work.

Suzanne- I couldn’t agree with you more , and you say it so eloquently: ” Everything has energy, and everything unneeded is an energy drain. I say get rid of or give away unused or useless stuff…including junk TV, junk conversations, junk food, junk anything that doesn’t enchance life, but diminishes it, and life is refreshened, lightened up, set free.” STILL, lightening up is not organizing, it’s just creating space in your life. Not necessarily order. I’ve worked with clients who had few possessions but couldn’t find what they needed when they needed it….there was no reliable system for retrieval.