The Sentinel: Work From Home

Make the most of your morning hours for more productive days

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Family Features - From a regenerative bath to that first cup of coffee, early morning rituals have the power to heal, restore and fuel. They can leave you feeling accomplished, empowered and ready to take on the day. How you spend your hours from 5-9 each day can ensure you're well prepared to tackle whatever your 9-5 throws your way.

Establishing a well-planned and consistent routine removes the guesswork and makes it easy to accomplish more during these essential hours that set the stage for the day ahead. Get a jumpstart on your day with these tips to make the most of your morning routine.

Set Personal Goals

Just as no two people are exactly alike, your morning routine should reflect your unique needs. Some people need these early hours to ease out of sleep and gradually work toward a busy day while others jump out of bed ready to set the day in motion. Decide what you can realistically accomplish in your waking hours before you hit the office or school drop-off line and plan a sequence that makes sense for you and your family. When you have a steady routine in place, it's typically easier to keep up with habits like early morning workouts, and on days when your energy is lagging, you can shift into autopilot and still get everything done.

Create a Rejuvenating Space

No matter your 5-9 routine, the bathroom is central to it. You can start the day with a more positive outlook when you get ready in a space that's equal parts functional and beautiful. With stunning design, innovative features that make life easier, environmentally conscious performance and do-it-yourself installation ease, the Aspirations Collection from American Standard provides a full suite of bathroom products to start your day right.

This collection gives you plenty of reason to consider upgrades, whether coordinating a full bathroom and accessories or installing just one or two elements like a unique faucet. Choose one with a pull-out, swivel spout to quickly clean those hard-to-reach corners or a touchless option for hands-free convenience. Find the right sink to match with four different stylish options that lend a personal design while streamlining morning routines for you and your family. Awaken your senses with a four-function showerhead and keep all your bathing essentials organized with a clever shelving wall panel. Reflecting nearly 150 years of quality craftsmanship, design and reliability, each piece within the collection delivers big on style and performance.

Practice Good Sleep Habits

The way you end each day influences how you start the next one. Going to bed on time, avoiding screen time before you turn out the lights and creating a comfortable sleep environment are all keys to restful sleep. However, managing your sleep doesn't end once you reach dreamland; your wake-up routine is also an essential aspect of a healthy sleep schedule. One of the biggest detriments to quality sleep is hitting snooze to delay your day. Just a few more minutes easily becomes 20, 30 or more and none of that time is quality rest, so you're not really gaining anything.

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Ensure You're Well-Equipped

Few things can sidetrack a good morning routine like discovering an empty bottle of shampoo or an empty can of shaving cream. Make a habit of regularly taking inventory of your morning supplies. Watch for sales so you can keep backups on hand to ensure you'll always have your favorite toiletry items ready to help you feel refreshed and ready to go.

Make Time for Breakfast

Countless studies affirm the importance of a well-rounded breakfast. Researchers have found good nutrition provides fuel to help give you energy, promote clearer thinking and problem solving, improve mood and memory, and more. If you can't stomach a full meal, look for alternatives to give your system a morning boost, such as a protein-rich smoothie early and a more substantial snack later in the morning.

Enjoy a Mindful Moment

Making time to relax or do something you enjoy can set a positive tone for the day. You might savor a few quiet moments over a cup of coffee or spend quality time with a pet. Early morning light and nature sounds can provide calming background for meditation, or you might simply use the time to organize your to-do list so you feel better prepared to tackle the day.

Take Time to Tidy Up

When it's time to put the workday behind you, it can be easier to make the mental shift from work mode to life mode when there's not a list full of chores awaiting you at home. As part of your morning routine, make your bed, clean your vanity countertop and complete other small chores to make your evening load lighter.

Guest Commentary |
Our cell phone dilemma

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

Do you miss the old telephone days? They weren’t that long ago. Back in the old days, all we had were landlines. You may still only have a landline but it’s becoming rare as more people depend solely on cell phones.

When you traveled in the past you had to find a pay phone to make a call. Pay phones were not that easy to locate and they were expensive. Today, pay phones are rare.

Hotel telephone calls were terrible. It cost a fortune to make calls from a hotel room. If you made several, you had a big bill to pay when you checked out.

Long distance calls used to be the pits. We have all had family and friends who lived in other counties or other states. You couldn’t talk to them very much because it could easily add $20 - $30 to your bill. Thirty years ago, that was a lot of extra money for a phone bill.

Today is the golden era of mass communication. We pay a price for our cell phone and we talk on it all month. I realize it depends on the plan you have. Overall, people use their phones and call wherever they want to call and talk as long as they want to talk. For just a very small monthly fee, I can talk to someone in most in any country at any time of the day, most of the time.

We’ve grown very reliant on our cell phones. We have to know where they are every minute of every day. Life becomes a dilemma when we can’t find our cell phones.

I have hundreds if not thousands of treasured family pictures on my cell phone. I contact all my family and friends on my cell phone. I don’t know their phones numbers. I punch in their name and their phone rings. All my work associates are contacted via my cell phone. I stay in touch with them by simply sending them a text or sometimes calling them. I would not know how to contact them if I lost my phone.

I do most of my work each day on my cell phone. I can gain access to my websites and other business support sites to do a lot of the work that pertains to my vocation. I send and respond to emails on my phone. My wife, children and I stay in contact through my cell phone.

The navigation feature tells me how to get to places I haven’t been before. Occasionally, if I get lazy, I pull an app up on my phone and about 40 minutes later I have food at my door. I check my airplane travel on my phone. I make sure my flight is on time and verify my seat assignment. The list goes on and on.

When my cell phone dies or is lost, it becomes a big problem. It becomes a problem not only for me but for other people who count on me to fulfill various work commitments and assignments. Of course, we all doodle on Social Media. Without our cell phones or tablets we would miss out on all the “junk” that we constantly see on Facebook, X, Instagram, and etc. Without your cell phone, you might not know what everybody else is doing. Back in the old days, the only way we knew what everyone else was doing was to listen in on our eight family party lines. If you don’t know what this is just ask an older person.

Often, the cell phone becomes a hassle. Multiple text messages from unknown people, politicians, scammers and others can become wearisome. We delete, block, unsubscribe and we still receive them. However, we can turn our phones off. We should definitely do this more than we do.

Please consider turning it off during your Thanksgiving dinner. Also, why not consider turning it off when you are having a dinner with your spouse or friend or family. Give it a break. We’ve all seen couples sitting in restaurants with each one of them starring at a cell phone. Give it a rest! Talk to people and make some personal connection with a real person.

We can all “live” life for an hour or two without looking at our phones in order to have some real conversations with real people. However, you’ll be comforted knowing it’s in your pocket or purse for your full attention at any given time.

Glen Mollett is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

Online platform helps indies and gig workers take control of key aspects of their venture

NewsUSA -- Even before the COVID-19 pandemic swelled, the ranks of work-from-home employees, freelancing was on the rise as workers across a range of fields sought more flexibility and control over their work lives, enabled by the latest advances in technology. In 2020, there were 59 million people doing freelance work in the United States. This is an increase from 2014, when there were about 53 million people freelancing according to Statista, a leading provider of market and consumer data.

The demonstrated success of working remotely means that independent workers will be key to the future of work, even as many people return to in-person office settings.

To thrive both professionally and personally, independent workers need support and tools to promote their skills and manage their business.

New app helps independent workers and freelancers stay organized and in contact with clients.

Photo: Yan Krukov/Pexels

An online platform known as Indy provides these features and more. Indy offers a complete productivity suite that helps independent workers take the management of their businesses to the next level, with tools and guidance for creating contracts, generating invoices, and everything in between. Additionally, their blog, The Independent Worker, is focused on addressing topics of interest to freelancers, ranging from business development to managing burnout.

"We proudly empower today's 'Indies' - including solopreneurs, freelancers, consultants, contractors, microbusinesses and side hustlers - to streamline the most time-consuming parts of operating their businesses. We help them work smarter, get paid faster, and thrive," says Sebastian Gyr, CEO and co-founder of Indy.

The Indy app offers freelancers a suite of tools designed to help them own three key aspects of their business: :

Marketing. Indy provides templates for proposals, project briefs, and profiles to help you organize your pitches, and showcase your unique skills.
Organization. Time tracker and task management tools help you keep everything organized, and Indy also offers a chat feature that freelancers can use for quick communication with clients.
Business management. Templates for legally-binding contracts and non-disclosure agreements take a lot of the effort and stress out of contract creation, so you can get right to work and invoicing tools will let you quickly and easily send highly professional invoices to the client directly to be paid either electronically or the old-fashioned way - via a check in the mail.

Indy takes pride in empowering an inclusive and diverse community of freelancers, including the LGBTQ community, Black Americans, BIPOC, and workers with disabilities, who are often underserved in the workplace despite the recent rise in equity initiatives. Leaning into these tenets, Indy recently launched a new, digital series called 'Miss Independent' featuring a Black drag queen who offers short videos commenting on freelancing and the freelancing life.

"We're spotlighting what's currently missing for today's virtual workforce and are boldly embracing the opportunity to drive conversations and narratives around equitable pay, diversity, and inclusion, by enabling the success of all workers, especially those from underserved communities," according to the company.

"We celebrate the uniqueness of those human beings that we serve by providing the products, services, space, and the megaphone for them to be their authentic selves, shine, and thrive."

Visit weareindy.com for more information and to create an account for free.

Tricking out your home office, 5 fab design ideas for a cool work space

(NewsUSA) - The last 12 months or so of the Coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated to a large number of employers that working from home can boost productivity, reduce turnover, and lower organizational costs. As the world returns to 'normal', some CEOs and CFOs are enjoying the bottom line benefit from a work-from-home workforce which has significantly reduced utility expenses and lower person-hours needed for support services like janitorial and housekeeping. Many no longer see the need to lease or mortgage large commercial space for administrative staff and functions.

Photo: Roberto Nickson/Unsplash

For many professionals working from home is here to stay either part-time or full-time for a growing number of employees. Self-employed or salaried workers in the computer support and programming sector, healthcare, data entry, sales and virtual assistance career fields can benefit from working from home with flexible hours, zero commute and greater productivity. Teachers, tutors and corporate trainers are all enjoying the convenience of working from home.

Not everyone has a dedicated home office, but since WFH is here to stay, now is the time to create a quiet and comfortable workspace in your home. Your ultimate goal is to create and customize an efficient work space where you can also enjoy working.

Some favor a Spartan and minimalistic space free of visual distractions. Others will want to fill it with their favorite artwork, sports memorabilia, two or three additional monitors - one for watching sports, of course - a beer fridge ... you name it.

The best thing about a home office, is it is YOUR office. There’s no reason not to personalize it and make it a great place to work, right? After all, it is in your home, you can decorate it the way you want.

Over time, play around with lighting, colors, and furniture to find the ultimate setup for the space you have to work with in your abode. Redecorate when you budget and schedule allows it. You could be working in a cool space like one these home offices below. Here are some creative spaces and places to consider.

FRESH & MINIMAL

Photograph: Rebecca McAlpin

If you're able to use a whole room as a workspace, it can be outfitted fully with custom built-ins and decorated in appropriate style.

Lisa Michael Interiors juxtaposes crisp white-painted hardwood cabinetry with navy-blue nautically inspired wallpaper and accessories in this shipshape Boca Raton home office. Visit www.hardwoodinfo.com for more about putting American hardwoods to work in your home.

In a Philadelphia house, designer Mel McDaniel uses three beech desktops, purchased at a local big-box store, to turn an alcove into a simple but effective workspace for two people. Vintage chairs, painted white, and a pair of residential table lamps complete the homey yet professional look.

OFFICE IN A CLOSET

Photograph: Alan Tansey

For many homeowners, finding sufficient space for a dedicated office is a problem. One solution, even in a small apartment, is to transform a closet with hardwood built-ins. Michael K Chen Architecture shows how it’s done with this admirably compact yet surprisingly roomy example in a New York loft.

Photograph: Paul Barnaby

If you live in a multistory house, you may have a dark space under the stairs that could be made to look and function better. In Los Angeles, Hamilton Architects transform one such triangle into a bright home office with a built-in hardwood desk and a strategically placed window.

Photograph: Eric Roth

As Hutker Architects and designer Kathleen Walsh demonstrate in this farmhouse on Martha’s Vineyard, the height-challenged space under the eaves in an attic can be the ideal spot for a substantial work surface. Dormer windows bathe the custom oak-and-steel desk with daylight while also providing a view.

THE FULLY FITTED OFFICE

Photograph: Jessica Glynn Photography @jessglynnphoto

If you’re able to use a whole room as a workspace, it can be outfitted fully with custom built-ins and decorated in appropriate style. Lisa Michael Interiors juxtaposes crisp white-painted hardwood cabinetry with navy-blue nautically inspired wallpaper and accessories in this shipshape Boca Raton home office. Visit www.hardwoodinfo.com for more about putting American hardwoods to work in your home.