A recap of the past 7 days posts

If you were binge watching Netflix, battling friends or foe online or taking in some extra beauty sleep. You may have missed my first 7 blog posts ever! So here is your chance to catch up on any posts that you have missed and you may just witness some writing improvement along the way, but don’t hold your breath…;-)

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My 1st post ever was about where I was and what I was doing during the breaking news of the corona virus outbreak. Follow our adventure both leaving and returning to the country, it was quite the ride.

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My 2nd post is about how to stay on task during the pandemic. It can be so easy to lose time being lazy and doing nothing productive. These are just a few tips for keeping a little work ethic going while you work at home.

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My 3rd post is just some tips about how to save money to be able to travel. This post is for those who think they cannot travel because of money constraints, have a read as you never know what idea could be sparked as a result.

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My 4th post contains tips for enjoying a weekend in New York City. It is a fast paced city with plenty of opportunities good and bad. Have a quick read if you want to avoid some of the pit falls of one of the most exciting cities in the world.

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My 5th post is about exercise ideas you can do at home during the pandemic. These tips will help to keep your mind and body in tune with each other while we are cooped up indoors all day long.

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My 6th post is my top 3 Movies and TV shows of all time. What is your top 3?

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My 7th post is filled with tips on how to survive a long bus trip. There are some great tips that people overlook, so have a look and see what tips you can benefit from. Pssst…they work for long car rides too!

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So if you missed any of the past 7 postings then be sure to catch up here and if you would like to be added to our mailing list to be informed when our services start up again then be sure to sign up to our mailing list in the column above and to the right.

My Top 3 Movies/TV Shows Of All-Time

The Covid-19 pandemic has us binge watching TV Shows and Movies for a while now. So I figured I would put out my list of Movies and TV Shows that I see as my top 3. This was an impossible list to try and come up with because 3 is certainly not enough, but it leaves room for some interesting answers as you trim down your answers. So with out further delay, here are my top 3 favourites.

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#3

Movie - Training Day with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke

I loved this movie from the jump with it’s focus on dirty cops, life in the hood of LA, bumping music you can feel in your chest and of course the back stab. Most of all for me seeing Denzel play that role and make me believe him is why I loved this movie so much.

#3

TV Show - Ozark with Jason Bateman and Laura Linney

I stumbled onto this show because as a motor coach driver I actually had to drive through the Ozark’s on a quilting trip…lol…yes, a quilting trip. Anyways, after coming home I saw the show on Netflix and figured I would give it a shot and oh boy am I glad I did. Can I just say that Marty and Wendy Byrde are the perfect couple! This show has ups and downs, shocking moments, sad moments, heart felt moments and a lot of ruthlessness to go around. This show is worth taking a look at.

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#2

Movie - The Usual Suspects with Kevin Spacey and Gabriel Byrne

This was a star studded movie that according to Wikipedia was shot on a 6 million dollar budget back in 1995. I loved the way the movie was told in the past tense and narrated quite well. The shock for me was the ending as I didn’t see that one coming and that is why it is number 2 on my list.

#2

TV Show - Breaking Bad with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul

This show had an amazing 5 year run and it was one of those shows that ended the way it was supposed to. (not like “LOST”…the ending still irks me to this day) I think I have a soft spot for criminals as I watch this list take shape…lol

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#1

Movie - Pulp Fiction with Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta

This star studded movie directed by Quentin Tarantino is by far hands down my favourite movie of all time! This was the first movie that took I think it was 3-4 separate story lines, maintaining that separation until a little past half way through and then started weaving all the story lines together. It was unbelievable to watch at the time as I was saying to myself what does each story have to do with the other as the movie was playing. Then you start getting that uh huh moment as the movie starts to come to a close. This is a must watch movie if you have never seen it!

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#1

TV Show - The Walking Dead/Fear The Walking Dead

If at the very least you haven’t heard of The Walking Dead, then you truly are living under a rock! This show along with it’s spin off counter part (Fear TWD) that aired when TWD was in production (off season) was perfect timing for us diehard TWD fans. It basically meant we could be watching zombie TV all year long. I initially fought watching this show (TWD) as I hate blood and gore (now I watch UFC and TWD…go figure), but after TWD took North America by storm. I mean talk shows, radio stations, athletes, co-workers, dammit I finally gave in to the peer pressure about a year later and never looked back. I luuuuuuvvvvvvvvv this show, probably in part because so many main characters get killed off that it pisses me off that I have to watch more…lol…so if you haven’t noticed, I recommend this show. Watch out for the new spin off “World Beyond”!

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This is my list of favourites but to be honest there are so many other shows out there that could have made the list like “Making A Murderer”, Silver Linings Playbook, Alias, Life Of Pi and the list goes on.

What is your favourite Movie/TV Show of all-time? Let me know in the comments below.

5 tips for staying productive while working at home…

During our current world pandemic with the introduction of the Corona virus in our human and now recently animal population. We have been forced into work at home businesses for some and others who find themselves with more time than they expected and are trying to learn something new. The issue we are facing is most of us are not used to this new way of life and are struggling to keep ourselves on task and find we are falling behind with what we need or should get done each day. So my tips for staying productive are as follows.

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Have A Plan…

I think the most important tip for working at home is to have a plan of action. I know this sounds simple but how many times have you set out to complete a project and then got distracted and ended up in a totally different area. Happens all the time to me (I actually got side tracked for 2 hours while writing this post because I didn’t plan my day and forgot about 2 webinars that I signed up for) so I adopted an idea that I discovered while doing some research online. It was the use of a whiteboard, now I have included a picture of mine so you can see what I mean. All you need is the whiteboard, A black Sharpie marker, an erasable black marker and post it notes. We are going old school here as no technology is required for this one. So basically you separate the board as follows. 1st column which will take up most of the space is your ‘options’ section. This area is for projects that you want/need to tackle, so fill it up. 2nd column is your ‘ready’ section, which can fit 6 post it’s that are moved from your options area as items you are ‘ready’ to start working on. 3rd column is broken up into 2 sections with ‘The Pen’ and ‘Today’. ‘Today’ is at the bottom of the column and for 1 post it at a time. If for some reason you cannot complete the task because you are waiting on some information, then you can move that project to ‘The Pen’ and start a new project while you wait on info for your previous one. Finally our 4th and final column which is ‘Done’ and that is for completed jobs. The feeling of watching your ‘options’ column empty out and your ‘done’ column filling up is quite satisfying.

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Exercise & Nutrition

I believe this point most people overlook and it can be an important one. I know when I am working at home I tend to get lost in my work and sometimes lose hours before I realize it. Working from home you have a mindset of comfort and everything is at your finger tips and easily accessible. This can put you in a state of ease and knock you out of your regular routine of eating properly and getting your daily exercise. Even if that exercise is just you walking into your building at work or heading to the cafeteria for a drink. The point is you are moving and in some cases getting some fresh air which can do wonders for your performance and focus. So taking a 15 min break and going for a walk (so long as you practice physical distancing) can do wonders for how you focus when you return. Also we tend to forget to eat when home and out of our regular routines, so be sure to make time for meals and snacks. The best way for me because sometimes i get so buried in my work that I set alarms for myself so maybe after an hour I will take a 15 min break or so on. Do what works for you and you will be more focused and productive.

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Location Is Key…

If you find yourself struggling to maintain good work ethic while at home, why not try to set up a home office if possible. This office can have as much or as little as you like. The main takeaway is if focus is an issue then maybe you need to act as if you are going to work and have an area (if possible) where you can be hidden away from distractions. Pick a spot where you normally do not go so you are a bit uncomfortable. If you can, have a desk and chair set up for you to work at. The goal here is to try to make it like you are walking into work as much as possible to get you on the right track.

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Social Interaction

This next point I thought of based on the responses of stay at home mom’s that I have heard over the years. The biggest pain point for them was having no adult interaction/conversation. When you are home day after day and your only conversation is on a child level with some brief adult interaction mostly created by deliveries or errands you run, it can get quite boring which leads to you feeling uninspired. The same goes for people who work at home but don’t take time out of their day (doesn’t have to be everyday) when they may be feeling down to talk to a friend. When you go to work you interact with different people all day long which keeps your mind stimulated. However at home you are dealing with the same people all day every day which can make a little social interaction a welcome distraction and quite refreshing. Try it the next time you are feeling out of sorts.

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Define Your Working Hours…

This last tip is pretty important if you are working with a team, but also if you want to remain productive while working at home. If you work with a team having the same hours everyday will allow your team members to count on you during the times you have established. This way there is no guessing as to when you will be available and the work will flow better amongst colleagues when a defined schedule is followed. If you are on your own then having defined times will help to keep you on task and also be available during working hours for clients or vendors to get in contact with you.

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So those are my 5 tips for staying productive while working at home…my favourite one is the whiteboard as it keeps me focused and on task. Do you have a favourite tip for staying engaged with work at home? Leave it in the comments below!