I’ ve had two life coaching sessions so far and they gone really well. I thought it would be nice to share what I have learnt so far and whether it could help your life, family and business too.

1)It’s not about doing anything right or wrong – it’s about organising everything to make sure you can be more efficient and gain a good work life/balance

2) Sometimes the scales will tip from one side to the other. That’s ok but make sure you take control as soon as you or your family notice

3) Keep a diary for a week of all the things you do each day seperating each area of you life with colour. At the end of the week review how much you have achieved and whether you can be more focussed the following week

4) Prioritise per day. If you’ve only got 20 mins to spend on social networking make sure you maximise it. Use a mix of scheduled tweets and interacting. I remember that in 2010 @babysigningmummy gave herself a 20 minute allowance for twitter and facebook each day.

5) Life isn’t meant to be easy when you’re a working mummy so make sure you have time to have FUN. There is no better stress relief than rolling around like a child ;)

We’ve got a guest blog from one of our own clients today, Dean & Steph from Daddynatal and Bump, Birth & Beyond. They’ve had a brilliant week, going from teaching local classes, to national coverage via a TV appearance. I thought it would be really helpful for other people who have small businesses to hear that opportunities for national coverage are out there, if you’re prepared to work hard and make the most of the opportunities available….. 

While everyone else seems to be winding down for Easter things have never been busier at Bump Birth and Beyond Ltd. It has been a hectic week, but a very positive hectic week!

Our busy week kicked off on Saturday, listening to the first interview Dean had recorded for The Baby Show broadcast on Star Radio. The interview was focused on the role of the dad in pregnancy, and very exciting for us, as it was the first ‘official’ interview Dean had done, and it definitely was a great learning experience.

Then, Sunday saw us officially announce our partnership with Peterborough City Hospital at Peterborough Baby Show. Bump, Birth and Beyond are now running DaddyNatal and Active Birth Classes, on behalf of the hospital, free to parents. How fantastic to have a Head of Midwifery who is so forward thinking, she really is one of the first in the country to recognise that fathers/birth partners have huge antenatal education needs which have never (until now!) been met.

There was an excellent response to the news of the classes, with signups both on the day and since. Both courses are already 10% full, and we are still awaiting the formal press release and for the community midwifery team to start promotion yet!

Sunday also marked the completion of the first part of training for our new Daisy Birthing teacher, Alison. Courses have been so successful that Steph cannot keep up with demand on her own, so we are extremely excited about Alison’s arrival. She will commence teaching in June which will allow us to offer more courses in even more locations.

On Monday and Tuesday evenings, Steph was out teaching her regular Daisy Birthing classes in Peterborough and St Ives. Steph teaches classes to around 40 pregnant ladies a week, as well as managing all the bookings and day-to-day admin of the company. And she looks after our two toddlers full time as well!

Little did we realise what more the week still held in store… At 10pm Wednesday evening, Steph arrived home from yet another Daisy Birthing class to the news that Dean had been invited down the next day onto The Vanessa Show on Channel 5 to talk about fathers at birth. Turns out a producer had heard his interview on The Baby Show website and wanted him there for a discussion segment about birth! How could we refuse…?!

So scrapping all previous arrangements for Thursday, Dean travelled to London to record the show. To say he was nervous would be a major understatement! He was petrified to be doing his first TV appearance only a few days after his very first ever live media interview! But, of course, he was also really excited. The people were brilliant and he had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Pearl Lowe and Christina Hopkinson, as part of the segment on the discussion of fathers at birth. They were lovely and certainly put Dean at ease (although nerves kicked back in once the cameras started rolling!). You can see his appearance here and judge for yourselves how Dean got on at The Vanessa Show.

Feel free to comment as we would love to hear your feedback. It was a long day though – Dean left home at 11.30am, and didn’t get home again until 8.30pm (luckily Thursdays are Steph’s evening off!)

But there was still work to be done… Friday saw us at a meeting at Peterborough Hospital to discuss some of the logistics of our partnership, and then followed by an agreement that we would produce contact and reference packs for the community midwives, so that became our focus on Saturday!

However, the support and excitement of what we are doing, coming direct from the midwives is so refreshing. It really is a pleasure to be working with them all.

And finally, we finished the week on Sunday with one of our Couples Antenatal Workshops in Kettering. Our classes are jointly run between the both of us, to make sure that we cover all the essential points from both the mum and birth partner perspective. It was a really great class – we thoroughly enjoyed it, and then arrived home in time to spend the remainder of the afternoon in the garden with our two children.

So a busy week made busier by some unforeseen media appearances! A great experience though and we look forward to seeing what the next few weeks brings us.

So that was our hectic week how was yours?

After reading this story this week I have been thinking whether there is any right punishment?

The story is of a 15 year old being racially motivated to harm another human being – pushing a teenager holding a 7 month old baby into a bus lane. At first I looked at the story of a teenager pushing a child intentionally into a bus lane. Reading the piece again I notice that it was in fact an indirect attack with events happening before.

I think of me as a 14 year old girl and the pushing of each other into the main road while waiting for a bus home from school (obviously in my case this scuffles were between groups of friends and were not racially motivated).

At the moment we are teaching our ideas of right and wrong to our child without even knowing it or even enforcing it. To think of my daughter at 15 hurting a 7 month old baby or any other aged human being is incomprehensible to me. My beliefs though are introducing a a more holsitic approach to punishment, using descriptive methods to explain why certain actions should not be used. As a child of more physical punishment I am keen to encourage our daughters growth with explanation, example and description. However I understand that every child is different and other parents have other methods that work for them and thier child.

Some may be angry at the sentence of a year of empathy and anger management classes and the £50 fine -  custodial sentences are not an option for the under 16′s. I agree that the punishment seems minimal but thinking through it depends on the knowledge and depth of teaching the individual receives to re-educate them so that there is no chance of re offending again.

On the other hand I am left wondering how events led to this and what we can do as individuals….what are we teaching our children about the world to encourage such actions?

It makes me angry to think that there are still racist and violent people out there – those that have children and by no effort pass on their thoughts, morals and encourage actions without a thought of a consequence.

What are we teaching in our homes, within our friend and family circles and in our schools for the next generation to understand each other, other cultures, other areas of life that we should embrace and appreciate not disregard because they are not what we have previously experienced.  Just because our parents, grand parents and great grandparents were unaware this does not mean we should carry on the same.

I am lucky to live in a city that is so culturally diverse it’s excites me every day that Fizz will have a choice of so much to develop herself, her personality and her own beliefs.

Do you think this was the right punishment? How do you feel about this case? Is there ever a right punishment?

I’ve started working with a life coach. I’ve started to notice since having my daughter that my concentration span is minimal and that I have become rather scatty.

Before having my daughter I was the organisational queen, Monica from friends wasn’t a patch on me, my OCD cleaning and my role as a Personal Assistant to a Head of Service within local government meant I was the ultra PA – I organised everything, even my knicker draw was laid out in a particular way and I’d organise husband’s draws too!

So when the offer came of working with a life coach in return for using me as a case study came along I jumped at the chance!

The first of my six fortnightly session was spent talking about where I thought I was going wrong. For me my organisational skills had disappeared. It took this person to show me what I already knew but also what I’d been missing.

My first task was to get diaries for different aspects of my life – family life/work life/business life  (I have my own business as well as having a 30 hour a week job). I was to give a set time to my own business in order to focus more clearly on each client, I was to put family appointments and diaries in order, I was to write a to do list everyday.

Now not all of this has worked but I’ve come to a happy inbetween to start with.

1) a family diary that has all birthdays/flat related items/important dates in

2) a rota for cleaning so that as a family we don’t waste a day tidying up at the weekend

3) A colour coded diary – so each area of my life has a colour and with my to do list I organise each day

Now – this has started to help, I feel I have more control and am starting to relax from the panicky state I got in if I didn’t do everything all at once. If something doesn’t get done it goes as a priority on the next day. I’m hoping to get to the stage where I’m not wading against a tide but am in fact focussed and more methodical. To be honest I’m starting to find it clearer now. Not so foggy and I can see the sunshine of my business blooming within this first two weeks.

The one I now need to plan out is my set times for business. This proves hard when I work with other people like me – mums who need to chat after the kids have gone to bed. Between 8 and 9pm is always the best time.

I’d love to hear suggestions on how you time manage and what tips you have!

Tonight it’s Earth Hour where many people will switch off their lights and other energy powered items to make a stand against climate change.

For our family we’ve decided to have an hour in candlelight with a board game. I’m hoping this will remind us that we can spend an hour without either the TV or the radio on. Just appreciating family life without any electrical distraction. The laptops will be switched off, the phones too. I wonder how long it will be before one of us caves to twitter?

In all seriousness though please get involved and do something for Earth Hour.

‘Earth Hour 2011 will take place on Saturday 26 March at 8.30PM (local time). This Earth Hour we want you to go beyond the hour, so after the lights go back on think about what else you can do to make a difference. Together our actions add up.’

Hello, good evening and welcome.

Where has the week gone? I am so tired, but at the same time, thinking about some amazing opportunities that have come  my way this week. I feel guilty that I’ve not been blogging properly for a while, but I just can’t seem to get into it again, with everything that’s going on.

There’s so much that I’d like to be able to put down in words, but either can’t as it wouldn’t be appropriate or, because the deals aren’t done yet. So what I can write about is this.. Things I’ve learnt or re learnt this week:

1. When something feels like a big deal, it’s probably not. Sit on it for 48 hours. See if you still feel the same about it.
2. Be prepared to take a risk. Even if other people are telling you not to. If you don’t have a sense of intuitive “yes or no” on something, go along with it, be open to the possibilities, until you’ve made your mind up.
3. Be wary when people are overly flattering of you and offer you things that are too good to be true.
4. Phone trusted friends when you are happy, not just when you are sad. It’s good to share good news.
5. Pick your friends wisely. Do not trust people instantly, this will save problems and make 4 possible.
6. Help someone out when you can. Not because you think it will bring you more money, presence or prestige, just because it’s nice to do it every so often. But don’t give away your best contacts.
7. Stick up for yourself. Work out whether you are going  to respond to criticism of your business or ignore it as being the spouting of desperate people who are jealous of your achievements and want some of  it for themselves. 
8. Be yourself. Whether it’s the Chairman of Mothercare, a Trustee of Wellbeing of Women or a mum at pre school, be yourself. You’re fine as you are. In fact, more than fine.
9. When you get given lovely smellies that are lavender based and you don’t like them, pass them on to someone who will appreciate the thought.

I won’t stretch this to ten, because that’s my thoughts. I haven’t got one more, so I’ll leave it there.
What have you learnt or re learnt this week?

It’s true. They do exist. Accountants who know what they are talking about and can explain it to muggles like me, so that I even understand it  late at night! And she was a lovely person – I thought Accountants had to be kept away from the General Public? (and she had an Orla Kiely handbag so  I was impressed as soon as I met her…)

I’m taking to my blog to tell you all, because I know so many other self employed people who don’t believe it to be true…

I asked Rachel Yoxen, of Riverdene Accounting, all sorts of stuff. I can’t remember it all now because I am so tired. But when I do, I will start blogging about it – getting her to check it first, teacher style, and share my learning with you. Rachel is doing her website this month, and when it’s live I’ll send you all a link to it – so you can benefit first hand.

I swear to you, she uttered the  following phrase about HMRC “I don’t know why people worry about  it, they’re actually really nice”. She must have a direct line that’s not available to the rest of us then….

I’m rambling, so I’ll go, but how do you learn about accounting stuff?  Do you all have a Rachel Yoxen hidden away somewhere? Because I’m a *nice* person, I’ll share her and what I learn from her with you. You’ll all be hearing more about Rachel in the coming months anyway, as she’s taking on new clients at the moment, which is good news for all of us. If you want to contact her let me know and I’ll message you her personal contact details.

nite

I’m learning all the time. I’m kind of ashamed to admit it, kind of not, but I’m learning so much it’s hard to keep pace. Anyway, I’ve finally gotten around to installing the “like” plugin for facebook on my blog and this is here to test that it shows up. So if you can see the “like” facebook icon, please click it. Thank you.

If you want to do it, I’ve got the winzip, just drop me an email (liz@westoncommunications.org.uk) and I’ll send you a dropbox link to it, along with a link on how to plug it in.. I did it in <10mins…