It is very well known that florists take very poor care of themselves. When you aren’t taking proper care of yourself, you’re just causing yourself more health issues, stress, and this may start to affect your company and designing. The other issue of not taking care of yourself is that it can effect those around you, making for weird environments at work and home. Floral.today dove into the internet to find statistics, advice and easy steps to help super busy people take better care of themselves, their company and their future.
How not taking a second to evaluate yourself or your business could be effecting you. 1. Personal - Business - Nutritional and Physical Health - Relationships, Business and Personal - Mental - Organization and Schedule Outside of Work 2. Business Practices That Go Unnoticed or Get Ignored - Employee/Customer Relations - Online Reviews and Comments - Industry or Business Image - Owner/Employee Relations - Product Sales or Organization - Store or Shop Issues - Scheduling or Meetings
Even though you don't have the time, it may be worth your time to take a step back and find some answers instead of taking to the internet to complain, communicating with your employees to see if they are really happy with their jobs, taking a bag of carrots to work instead of those Pringles to snack on, or contacting that customer that left you a bad review. We will be doing the personal suggestions today and the business statistics and helpful thoughts/opinions and suggestions on Friday! Here are some things to try doing, check out, or think about! 1. Leave business at work and home at home! - When you take your work home, you take away the time to spend with your family and for your body and mind to rest. When the body and mind do not rest, no matter how much sleep you get, you will start to become easily tired, emotionally touchy, burned out or unorganized. The other important part of your life is your family, and when you have no time for them, then they in turn will find they have no time for you. It's hard to love someone when you have to compete with a business or job for affection or you miss important life moments because you're just too busy. It's when you miss those first steps or look at your partner and find the spark gone in their eyes that you will understand what I'm saying. - On the other side of the coin, unless it is urgent or important, when you are at work be at work. You should be updating photos on Facebook or websites or pushing a sale on those gerberas you have extras of, not checking out beach wear. You should be focused on getting the wedding finished instead of discussing so-in-so aunt's cousin's sister that got a new cat and it hates snow. There is always a little time to appreciate everybody's life, but you are there to make money, and unless you are one of the few designers that can work and talk at the same time, put that energy into your work. If you have to remember to do something at home, set yourself an alarm on your phone or write yourself a note and stick it to your steering wheel. This will reduce having to spend time worrying about getting that milk after work, and more time getting your proposals all done and sent out. 2. What are putting in your mouth? I'm not saying you have to be on a diet or become a vegetarian, but you are only as good as your body. As a designer that has dealt with life threatening illnesses and now dealing with long term things such as arthritis, I completely understand how important it is to take care of your body. Not only can you try and avoid illness, your energy levels, blood pressure levels and overall mood can be affected. Heart issues, Diabetes, and muscle/bone deterioration are some of the worst issues florists are dealing with today and since you're all adults I'm going to be offering easy food ideas that are hopefully quick, can be prepared ahead of time, or are good replacements for an easy start. I will never be able to replace those Christmas cookie plates that cute little old ladies bring in or the shop pot luck every so often, but simple changes can make a great impact.-Breakfast- ~ Plain Donut with Mixed nuts. A plain donut has around 280 calories compared to your basic bakery muffin's 510 calories. This is based off a Dunkin Donuts' plain donut and a basic bakery muffin. The nuts provide you with a great source of protein and you can throw in a milk or juice along with this. ~ Breakfast Sandwich! Throw toast or english muffins into the toaster while you're getting your coffee and when they are toasted throw some deli meat or an egg(if you have time) and a slice of good cheese and you're good to go. This takes a lot less time than it seems as everything is already cut up and this can be wrapped into a paper towel and easily travel. ~ To-Go Parfait. Fill a tupperware container (I use the 2 cup/473 ml Rubbermaid container) with the yogurt of your choice, throw in some granola or trail mix, some nuts for protein and some fruit to help give you energy till lunch. You can put the yogurt into the container the night before so that when you are running out the door, all you have to do is throw whatever sounds good into the container, pop on the lid and you're out the door! -Lunch- As most designers skip lunch, I have one good snack and one good lunch suggestion. ~ Healthierish Sandwich! Try and use a whole wheat or multi-grain bread (look for whole wheat flour, avoid wheat flour and enriched bleached flour) for a higher amount of nutrients. If you don't like bread, use a pita or a tortilla. Add hummus instead of bbq, ketchup or mustard, as it is high in fiber and protein, so it will keep you feeling fuller longer and it is a great low calorie substitute. Throw your favorite veggies on it, mine are usually spinach, peppers, onions, and sometimes shredded carrots. All can be cleaned and prepped beforehand saving time. Wrap that baby in some wax paper or a tupperware container, grab a couple pieces of fruit and get to work. ~ Grazing Replacements and Ideas! Pre-cut vegetables are so easy and can be prepared way before hand so there is no time wasted and only excuses made to not eat them over chips or popcorn. The easiest are peppers, baby carrots, grape or cherry tomatoes and celery. Nuts are also a great snack as there are many different kinds and they are one of the best snacks for you if you get lightly salted or unsalted. Natural trail mix or granola have such a wide variety to choose from, you get sweet, nutty and granola flavors all for the price one. -Dinner- -Dinner is the least important of meals, but the one meal that most people focus on, so here are some recipes to do. These may not be easy but as a person that finds cooking therapeutic at the end of the day, you might enjoy it also.- ~ Cajun Shrimp and Rice ~ ~ Thai Noodle-Steak Salad ~ ~ Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables ~ ~ Rosemary and Ranch Chicken Kabobs ~ ~ Lemon Cheesecake with Baked Plums and Blackberries ~ ~ Tangerine Ginger Sake Sangria ~ 3. Relationships Even when you're tired and maybe you had a bad customer, always be careful how you express your work day to those outside your workplace so people don't think that it is the only thing you ever have to talk about. Too much complaining to or in front of some people will usually result in those people not wanting to work with you or find ways of avoiding you. Though it's good to let off steam every once in a while try and monitor how much your doing it on social media or repeatedly to people around you to avoid losing friends, customers, or future jobs.For every time you unload on someone try to listen to someone or a couple people twice as long so that it shows you are aware of others and not just yourself. Always remember the boy that cried wolf too many times and that should help you in the end. My final thought for relationships is how do you treat other designers or industry colleges when not needing something from them? It's always good to try and get to know those people you call your friends but only see them 3-5 times a year. You never know where you'll find an amazing real friend instead of just trying to find user friendly friends you just get rid of when you get what you want. Interestingly enough, the one person that was the most user friendly I've ever met, that cared very little for people unless they are a benefit to that person in some way, taught me that it's important to invest in friendships for a strong relationship in the future and I hold that very dear when it comes to making friends and keeping them.
4. Deep Breath and Count to 10! No matter how strong of a person you think you are if you don't take a second to breathe and relax your mind you'll find yourself dealing with anxiety, depression, confusion, and any other major issues that can ruin your every moment. 9 different major kinds of depression affect 6.8% of american adults and 6 different kinds anxiety affect 18% american adults making anxiety the top mental illness in the US according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Sadly there are many large names in our floral industry that have suffered greatly from debilitating depression and anxiety, but some have been able to find their way back to running powerful business and rebuilding strong careers through meditation, medication, time management, simple added lifestyle practices and additions of routines to their days. You can always find help in our industry when ever you feel that everything is just falling apart or you are coming to a point of not being able to handle things. We here at floral.today are always here to help point you in the right direction and so are so many of the great people throughout our industry all you need to do is take the hardest step and contact us. If you ever get to such a severe point you can always call National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) 24/7 or you can visit any emergency room and they will help you with anxiety attacks or any questions or problems. Easy Tricks for Mentally Relaxing - Step back, close your eyes, count to 20-30 and do deep breaths - - Carry A Notebook, You can always write down what you need to do in a day, what is stressing you out, or thoughts you don't want to forget but don't have the time to remember them at that moment. This creates a referents for later in the day or for the next day so you don't have to keep 5000 things in your brain. - - Meditate, as one of the oldest ways of helping with depression, anxiety, and high blood pressure this is one of the best ways of relaxing your find and your body. This can be done at the end of the day or to start the day. From yoga to Tai Chi there is no wrong way to meditate. Check out this LINK to get yourself a confidence boost and to get started! - - Create a routine where you have more structure and a formal schedule to follow so you will have more control of your time and have a better feel of what will happen during the day. -
5. Scheduling Whether it's a physical planner/scheduler, computer calendar or program, phone calendar or phone alarm clock. Taking 5 seconds to jot down when and where you need to be is a great way to reduce a ton of stress and save great amounts of time. The great thing about computer or phone programs such as google calendar is that you will be notified with messages or warnings so you won't be late and don't have to worry about remembering the meeting or event all day long. When you can reduce the amount of things going on in your head you can focus on whats going on around you and devote more of yourself to it and make it perfect and reduce the stress of remembering who, what when, where and why until you have to.
Though this was a bit of a rant and many of you will disagree with the points I have made, I remind you that it’s an opinion and observation that has been stated throughout the article. There’s so much more to taking care of yourself and bettering yourself. If anything, think about how you are affecting family, colleagues, customers, and people around you, as well as how they perceive you. I could care less that you wear nice clothes, have a nice car, or have a bunch of things because at the end of the day if you can’t take of yourself or others around you, then what are you really stressing out and being so busy for? Remember, we don’t live forever so make the best of the very short time you have, and try and enjoy your life while you still have time.
Join Me Tomorrow,
