Virtual Zen

Happy Chrisloween! Suffering from holiday confusion ..

The other day, when I walked in to the grocery store, I was greeted to my right by a magical display of brightly lit Christmas trees and colorful, animated Christmas decorations. As I turned the corner, I saw in front of me, a huge arrangement of large, orange pumpkins.  My 6-year-old daughter turned to me and said, "What is this - Chrisloween?!"

She was right - the holidays have definitely become merged!

It's October, so I expect to see the pumpkins and maybe a turkey decoration or two, but Christmas?  It used to be that we weren't exposed to Christmas decor until after Thanksgiving (and some people thought that was too soon).  That was half the fun of shopping on "Black Friday": to get in to the holiday spirit through the wonderful holiday music playing in the malls along with the magnificent decorations. It was a great transition marking a new holiday season. Now what is there to look forward to?

By Christmas I'm going to be so sick of seeing everything - kind of takes the fun out of enjoying one holiday at a time.  And what happened to Thanksgiving? I didn't see any Thanksgiving wares at this particular store.  Are we skipping it this year and moving straight from Halloween to Christmas?  Shame, because with its' focus on being thankful and on family, Thanksgiving is actually one of my favorite holidays.

The older I get, the faster time seems to pass.  Now that I'm forced to think about, and prepare for holidays months in advance, and on top of each other, I feel like I'm being forced to move my life along even quicker. Can't we just slow down and enjoy life in the present? I hung a fall wreath on my front door today and that's were I plan to focus for now. I'm going to do my best not to even glance at the Christmas items - it will be here soon enough! But, for those of you who are so inclined to hit the fast-forward button on life - Happy Chrisloween!

Blog Action Day Is Here - Unite to Help the Environment!

A couple of months ago I had read that in October, Blog Action Day would be here. It kind of snuck up on me, but thanks to Chris' blog post this morning, I was able to jump on board. What is Blog Action Day?  It's the concept that on October 15, 2007, blogs around the world would unite to write about one theme - the environment.  The goal is to get everyone talking to help improve the future of us all. Now, mind you, my little blog is just a fledgling, but I figured that even if I only touched one person in some way to help the environment, that it would be a step in the right direction.

What's my theme? Conserving water by cutting back on the purchase of bottled water.  Sure there has been a lot of press lately about how bad all those nasty plastic water bottles are for the environment, but the issue goes a lot deeper. 

A few years ago (back in 2001), my family was personally impacted by the bottled-water industry when their well went dry, partially as a result of the over-extraction of water from a neighboring aquifier in Wells Maine by large water companies.  My parents, Betty and Cal Wilder, had to live for five months without running water as a result, until they could restore water to their home at their own expense by drilling a new, and much deeper well. It forced my mother and brother, Robert Wilder, to take action and join with a group of residents to stand up for their rights and initiate legislation to regulate the amount of water that could be drawn from this aquifier, and to make  the  public aware of this problem.  As my mother wrote in her article,"Issue Activism in Wells", July 16, 2003,

"From kitchen table to Governor's desk, a small group of citizens concerned about the Branch Brook Aquifer pursued a grassroots issue that brought about a new state law."

Granted I'm no activist like my wonderful Mom, and I have to admit that I have always been a large purchaser of bottled water, but my parent's story really stuck with me over the years. Recently, I decided to do my part to try to cut back.  What did I do? I purchased a SIGG and now rely primarily on the filtered water from my own refrigerator for refreshment. Every little bit helps, right? Plus, I think my SIGG is very cool (it's the one pictured above)!

What can you do do make a positive impact on our environment?

If you'd like to contribute to a charitable cause to help, click here.

Do You Use Environmental Triggers To Jog Your Memory?

Recently, while reading an article in Fast Company about the use of environmental triggers to market your ideas and make them more successful, I realized that I actually use environmental triggers all the time as day-to-day reminders. The authors, Dan and Chip Heath comment:

"If you have something you don't want to forget, don't scrunch up your brain and try really hard to retain it; just install an environmental trigger to do the remembering for you."

It really works!  For example, when I know I need to make a loaf of bread (I make my bread with a bread maker), I leave the bread pan on the counter as a reminder. If I need to drop some clothing off at a donation center, I leave the bag right by the front door.  These small visual cues trigger my memory - I just never knew there was a name for them.

The primary focus of the article is on how savvy marketers can use environmental triggers to create memorable messages and images, but as the author's point out,

"Whether you're judoing a multinational or just reminding yourself to pick up milk, try planting some idea triggers in your environment."

Try it!

Happy Birthday AssistU!

Last weekend I did something very out of character for me; I drove nearly 3 hours to MD to spend the day with a group of people whom I had never met. Why? Because AssistU was celebrating it's 10th Birthday and I just had to be a part of it.

Assist University is the brainchild of Stacy Brice who recognized 10 years ago that there was a need for a training  program to help Virtual Assistants (VAs) establish their businesses in the best way possible.  The creation of AssistU helped to formalize the entire VA profession. Stacy's vision was unique, and her standards were very high (and still are!), resulting in the premier training organization in the industry.

Over 30 new and established VAs and guests traveled from all over the country including Hawaii for the event. Also represented were Canada and even London! It was an amazing gathering and I feel privileged to have been a part of it. I had the opportunity to finally meet my wonderful trainer, Antonette, my classmate Laura Jo, my VTP Buddy, Pam, and of course, the amazing Stacy Brice and her partner, the COO of AU and founder of Writewell University, Dawn Goldberg!

I also had the chance to hang with Lex, Laura A, Esther, Vicki, VTP-trainee Michelle, Laura P, Rachael, and so many, many, more fabulous people.  By the end of the day, we were no longer strangers, we were friends. I hope to get the opportunity to see them all again one day!

Happy Birthday AssistU!

If you are interested in becoming a VA, check out the training program at AssistU - you'll be glad you did!

If you're looking to partner with a terrific VA, take  a look at the AssistU registry. This free client service helps match successful people with qualified VAs.

For another great resource to help you find high-quality VAs, browse the VA registry at the VACOC.