Set Your Office Up Properly

Lauren · Posted: April 5, 2006, 10:38 pm Post subject: Set Your Office Up Properly

Mommy's Helper - Mom's Market Ezine
Issue #124
Wednesday, April 5th, 2006

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Editor's Rambling:
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Note from Anita

Well, it?s not hard to tell by the message posts listed below what I?ve been up to lately ? boy oh boy the boards are hopping and we?re making so many new friends! If you haven?t done so already, please do feel free to stop in and say hi sometime! http://mommyshelperonline.com/phpBB2/index.php

I do hope that you received your special message yesterday but if you didn?t you?ll want to pay extra close attention to Kara?s note this today ? I have a feeling she has some great news for you and it?s I?ll let you know now ? The space is limited and we?re filling up quickly!

Till next week...

~Anita DeFrank
Mommy's Helper

Note from Kara

Busy busy busy! Spring is definitly here, and it seems like everyone wants something from me that's school or home related. Some days it's not so easy to keep up with it all! If home life wasn't busy enough (I really wonder how I ever had a job to begin with), things are really starting to move with business. Anita mentioned a big announcement, which of course I have to mention. Yesterday we announced the start of our online classes, with the first being "Online Party Success". If you missed that announcement or need a second look, details are at: http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/online-party-class.html

Over the weekend I actually sat here working my tail off in between family time, something I rarely do. I had been hearing much about zen-cart lately, so decided it was time to give it a look. WOW - I'm impressed with all the funtions it has for the right prices (nothing!). It was quite the pain setting up, but if you know a little PHP you will manage. You can see my new shopping cart at Prairie Soy Candles here: http://www.soy-wax-candles.com/store

Hope to see you at the online party class (which by the way, we are limiting to 50 and it's filling up FAST!).

See you next week!

~Kara Kelso~
Mom's Market

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Article
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Set Your Office Up Properly

In a world of 'the paperless office', files and folders should be obsolete. Every business needs to learn "how-to" manage records and organize documents. Small business owners are too afraid to throw anything away. Consequently, this leads to an overload of file folders, storage boxes, and ultimately a paper avalanche.

Trying to organize a mass of paperwork can seem like an impossible task. Many people don't know what to throw out and what to keep so all papers get shoved into boxes and drawers. Finding anything becomes impossible. The management of all companies needs to come up with ways to organize and file important paperwork.

"Most small businesses don't deal with their papers until it's too late," said Barbara Hemphill a well-known author on the subject of office efficiency. Paperwork piles up and documents are impossible to locate. If management and owners learned more about time management, paperwork would be in its place.

Beginning to Organize

Set aside a day to commit to organizing your office space. To eliminate the distraction of customers or phone calls, schedule it on a Saturday. But if Saturday doesn't work well for you, dedicate one day each week as "Office Cleanup Day." Then, require all staff members to participate.

It is possible to organize the office by yourself and even some true blue entrepreneurs have been known to set aside a day for the task.

The paperwork atop your desk needs to be first priority. Organize by subject and then date. After sorting is out of the way, it is time to put everything in its proper place. If file folders do not exist for some of the paperwork, then create some so there is a place for them.

The accounting should be a top priority for obvious reasons so find all of the income statements and receipts lying about the place and sort these too. You always want your records to be current, so stick to the task of posting transactions to your books until everything is up to date. I can be a slacker on this one myself and wind up spending the majority of the day recording transactions. If it looks like you are not going to get finished, then just quit at a point that will be easy to start back up from again.

Now you'll need to find a place for your file folders. Place anything you may need in the near future in a filing cabinet that you can easily access. For other paperwork you can simply place them in crates or boxes and put them away for safekeeping. Be sure to clearly label when each box contains. You may even want to enter their contents into spreadsheets.

Computerized Documentation

Fire or water can wreak havoc on a business if either of these two hazards reach critical documents. Businesses have coped with these dangers by investing in scanners so that they can digitize their physical documents.

Always keep extra copies of your computer documents and files in a fire resistance safe at another location. Files can be stored on backup tapes, floppy disks, CD ROMs, or external hard drives. Be sure to keep a log of what files you have stored where.

You must be able to access information in a timely fashion in order to get through the list of tasks that must be accomplished on a daily basis. Do not procrastinate and put off organizing your office space because management strategies are essential to the success of your business.

About the author: Nyall Bakk is the proprietor of Advertising WorldWide the best place on the internet when you're after fresh up to date advice and comment to do with Business. For questions or comments about any of our articles visit: http://www.advertisingww.com/articles. You can swap links with us by going to: http://advertisingww.com/links

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Childcare
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Reward System

I?m a big believer in the reward system. I like it for many reasons. It helps your child focus on making the right choices, it reinforces good behavior, and it?s always much more enjoyable to give your child a reward than a punishment. But mostly, I like it because it actually works.

My five year old, although extremely sweet, is quite a handful. Hunter has always had a great deal more energy than self-control, which has earned him more than his share of time-outs and punishments. The need for effective discipline became acutely evident when he began kindergarten this past fall. His classroom runs on a system of warnings and punishment; each child receives a number warning for the first two incidents requiring correction and then a punishment, such as loss of recess or center-time, when there is a third infraction. This system works well for a lot of the children in the class, but day after day, Hunter was coming home with two?s or three?s, and reports of sitting on the wall during recess or missing out on play time.

We initially tried our own corresponding system of punishment for when he came home with a two or three, taking away dessert or preventing outside play after homework, but we didn?t see any change in the daily rank he received from school. Although his teacher assured us the behavior was never disrespectful, we were frustrated and determined to find a way to make him be ?better? at school. We had been successfully using a sticker chart at home to focus on things like brushing teeth and not fighting with his little brother. Using that as inspiration, we decided to reward Hunter for days at school when he got a zero or one and not focus on the days when he got a two or three. When he would come home with a zero, we made it a celebration, telling him how proud we were and marking the reward chart. When he came home with a three, we asked what went wrong, gave him a hug, and reminded him he could try harder the next day.

Through a lot of trial and error to work out the kinks, we came up with a system of short-term rewards and long-term rewards. We now have three charts running at all times. We have the same old sticker chart as before which focuses on behaviors and chores at home. When Hunter earns twenty stickers, he gets to choose a prize from the treasure box (a Rubbermaid container filled with dollar store loot, like pencils, books, and rubber balls.) The other two charts focus on his behavior at school. One is short term, which rewards Hunter when he has three days of staying on zero or one at school. The short term reward is simple and small; a pack of sugar-free gum, a Hot Wheels car, a coloring book. He knows what the reward is in advance and it sits on the top of the fridge, where he can see it, waiting for his good behavior. The long-term reward is much bigger, but also much harder to achieve. Hunter has to have five days in a row of staying on zero at school. We allowed him to pick out the reward and it?s something he really wants, this time a microscope. Every morning before school we talk about his pending rewards and what he needs to do to earn them. I sometimes even draw a picture of the reward on his hand to help him remember throughout the day to make the right choices.

The results of our reward system have been amazing. He is completely focused on earning his ?stars? for being good, and he beams every time we shower him with praise for his great choices. Hunter has been staying on zero and one consistently and we no longer have the stress of punishing him for his behavior at school (even if he slips and has a not-so-good day.)

If you decide to set up your own reward system, choose time frames and goals that are achievable, even a bit too easy in the beginning, in order to allow your child to succeed. Also choose rewards that are comparable to the task at hand. Don?t give a new bike for getting your child to brush his teeth one time, alternatively don?t give a pack of gum for getting straight A?s for the nine week grading period. You also may need to adjust the reward system to find what works best for you and your child, but don?t give up too soon. When you are trying something new, it may take a little while to get the results you desire.

I?m sure that Hunter?s reward system will evolve as he grows. I?m already anticipating the reward being to drive the car or go out with friends, but one thing is for sure, I will still be using some form of a reward system because it definitely works!

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Julie Eiben is the wife of a United States Marine and a stay-at-home mommy of three small boys. She is an aspiring chef and avid do-it-yourselfer.

She works her home-based business around her busy family schedule which allows her to be home with her wonderful, energetic boys.

You can find out more about how she does it all by visiting her business websites.
http://www.fourpointmom.com
http://www.fourpointhealth.com
http://www.fourpointbiz.com

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Coffee Break
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Spaghetti Hair With A Side of Mother?s Guilt

?Lisa Barker

I thought my youngest son (almost three) had outgrown wearing his food, but he proved me wrong. With tomato sauce saturating his hair and staining his grinning face a deep orange he announced that he was all done.

He couldn?t have read my mind more accurately if he had tried.

So I scolded Mr. All Done and gave him his milk before I excused him from the table. After all, a mother has to make sure her child eats three square meals a day no matter how much he likes to style his hair with it. It doesn?t have to make sense. It?s just the way moms think. If I send my child from the table without his milk no matter how he?s behaved, his teeth may rot and fall out and his bones won?t grow and he?ll be stunted for life and this could lead to problems in relationships and he might be scarred forever.

So I gave him a cup of milk. He promptly put both hands in it, spilling it everywhere.

This is the thanks I get for looking out for his mental welfare. I save him from a life of emotional scarring and he has me rushing to sop up the milk before it ruins the rug.

So, I take him to the bathroom to wash him, whereupon he screams. Now, at no point during his ?meal? did he experience aversion to the layers of food he applied to his body, but somehow soap and water are like acid on his face and hands.

Now I have a dripping child running from one family member to the other milking the moment for all the sympathy he can get.

Just whose mental health SHOULD I be concerned about here? What about me? I carried this child for nine months and gave birth to him. I feed him all the good things he needs to grow and be smart and healthy, I keep him clean and mentally stimulated and now I?m the bad guy?

So I consulted my stash of chocolate. If I had read the Mother?s Manual BEFORE I was ever pregnant, I might have decided that marriage and children were not for me. Why on earth would I volunteer for a vocation where I get little affirmation and validation from the little masters I serve?

Doctors, nurses and teachers get more thanks than I do.

By now, the little twerp is pacified and decides to approach me. I brace myself. What is he going to try to negotiate now? Uh-oh. He saw the chocolate.

?Momma, have chocolate please??

?No. You made a mess of your lunch. No chocolate.? He runs off in tears and I am absolutely certain this will cost him $75 an hour when he?s a young adult. Well, good for him. I may as well make it worth his time. I?ll write some more columns about him and make sure I cover those delicate emotional stages of puberty with great detail.

Mother?s guilt. That which doesn?t kill us makes us eat chocolate.

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Jelly Mom? is written by Lisa Barker, author of "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane...Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent!" and syndicated through Martin-Ola Press/Parent To Parent. To publish Jelly Mom, buy the book or leave comments, please visit http://www.jellymom.com.

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Recipes
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Apple Cheesecake

1 c Graham cracker crumbs
Sugar
1 ts Cinnamon; divided
3 tb Margarine; melted
16 oz Cream cheese; softened
2 Eggs
1/2 ts Vanilla extract
4 c Apple slices; thinly sliced, peeled, about 2 1/2 lbs apples
1/2 c Pecans; chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and margarine in small bowl; mix well. Press onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch pie plate. Bake crust 10 minutes.

Beat together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in vanilla; pour into crust. Combine remaining 1/3 cup sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in large bowl. Add apples; toss gently to coat. Spoon apple mixture over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with pecans. : Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until set. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate.

Do you have a favorite recipe to share?
Post them at Mommy's Helper Community (www.MommysHelperOnline.com/phpBB2)!
Note: Recipes must be quick, easy, healthy, and original. Nothing from a cookbook or a box please.

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