Category: At Work

The work that we do at Lifestyle Elements makes for a very ‘non-traditional’ office setting! We are constantly in and out of the office and we all work from our own home office spaces, getting together to troubleshoot, brainstorm and work as team when required. I found a great article on Mind Body Green shared […]

Sunday 8th March is International Women’s Day – a day to celebrate the achievements that women have accomplished throughout the years and also to re-assess where gender equality still poses an issue around the world. This year’s theme is #MakeItHappen, “encouraging effective action for advancing and recognising women.” I have been so lucky in my […]

I came across an article a week ago that seemed crazy to me at first. The author, Michelle L Bryant, stated that the key to success and effectively managing your time is to only ever spend 10 minutes on every task that you undertake. My first reaction was to scoff and close the browser window. […]

[vc_column_text pb_margin_bottom=”no” pb_border_bottom=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Pssst….you can buy this mug here. [/vc_column_text] [vc_column_text pb_margin_bottom=”no” pb_border_bottom=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] Recently there has been a quote floating around the internet which says “You have the same amount of hours in the day as Beyonce.” Now, there are always cynical people out there who like to comment […]

by Oliver Burkeman, (The Guardian ) It surely can’t be a coincidence that Peter Drucker, who died in 2005, was (a) one of the few management thinkers to talk almost unbroken good sense. Drucker, who spent several decades as a consultant and sat in on countless corporate meetings, left with this impression – “one either meets or […]

If you find that you’re stressed out and overwhelmed at work, now may be the time to brush up on your organisational skills. Getting and staying organised can help you know what you’re supposed to do and when you’re supposed to do it. The best way to get organised and stay organised is to stick […]

In the workplace, a total of 3.2 days per worker are lost each year through workplace stress*, so it’s important that business leaders are mindful of work/life balance for the optimum mental wellbeing of their employees, and the creation of a healthy workplace. Mental wellbeing in the workplace continues to be a major issue for […]

Is there really such a thing as work/life balance? I don’t know. What I do know is that a balance is usually between two things that are quite different to each other. Some would have it that it’s a balance between opposites. If that was the case, then we should rename work/life balance the death/life […]

While researching my personal effectiveness program, and looking at the issues that make it hard for us to manage our time, I stumbled across a fairly lengthy – but very intriguing – research report about how stress impacts our ability to think and act. Sustained stress can have a lasting, dulling effect on our intellect […]

How to play with time, and make time work for us! There are only 24 hours in any given day for everyone. It is how we choose to use those hours, which draws the line between the procrastinators and those who manage their time wisely.  Instead of stressing yourself out, there are some simple ways […]

I was thrilled to be featured in the Sunday Mail article ‘Work. Life, Family And All That’, written by Genevieve Meegan (along with a gorgeous photo of myself and my daughter Harper, left). I was in very good company, sharing the page with Gale Edwards, Christine Zeitz, Suzy Reintals, Natasha Scott-Despoja and Antoinette Jones. The article […]

Work related employee expenses are almost unavoidable in terms of running a business better, the act of keeping on top of piles of crumpled receipts, reimbursing, tracking and approving employee spending is a complicated and time-consuming task. We know it’s complicated and we like to make being an employer easy, so we made it easy […]

When one of my Consultants left after 7 years I was excited for her. She was taking a big leap of faith and pursuing one of her life long dreams of becoming a paramedic. It was at her farewell when it hit me how important it is to reward staff on a random, yet regular […]

I recently read a great post and video blog, ‘Why Setting Boundaries Is Key On The Road To Job Happiness’  by Jenn Korducki Krenn of the website Dream Champs. It immediately resonated with me and reminded me of my earlier working life. How many of you have experienced the situation of sitting at your desk until 6, […]

Everyone has had one of those days – where you feel like you didn’t get anything accomplished at work.  I’ve been there myself.  You went to work, you talked to people, you wrote emails but you didn’t really get anything finished.   Why? Here’s a list of ways to rethink your workday so you’re more productive: […]

At the start of the year Tim and I were advised that the office space that we utilised was no longer going to be available. It wasn’t a complete surprise, and in one sense it seemed like perfect timing, as we were actually moving house the following week. However, one of the main reasons we were moving was […]

A recent survey reported in The Herald Sun shows that 40 per cent of non-working mums feel stigmatised for staying at home and 58 per cent of working mothers feel labelled as not taking parenting seriously. In the last ten years, more and more mums are returning to work earlier.  10% return to work  in […]

Some of my concierge colleagues recently shared an article from the Sunday Herald Sun entitled ‘Experts warn of the perils of outsourcing your life’. “The perils of outsourcing? Really?” (For those of you who are Modern Family fans, picture Cam saying “Really Mitchell? Really?”). I ask you to please refer below for the definition of […]

Corporate Concierge services are still a very new concept in Australia and New Zealand. Many people view it as a luxury and can’t understand why they would offer a Corporate Concierge service in their organisation. We have had such positive responses from the organisations we have worked for that we wanted to share with you 5 […]

“If you want to be an effective leader, start leading the way with regular breaks. “ This quote comes from the blog post ‘Take A Break! Bad Things Rarely Happen” by Tristan White, CEO of the Physio Co. which also happens to be one of Australia’s Top 20 Places to Work. It’s the final line in the […]

Do you Procrastinate? Based on some figures, it is estimated that as much as 95 % of the people are prone to procrastination. Amongst them, 20 % of them are chronic procrastinators. How is procrastination affecting your rewards and profits? Your plans for the Year, quarter? Procrastination is about putting off a task which we […]

Welcome to our latest ‘Balance Beam’ work life balance profile, brought to you by Kailah Shannon from Coffee Secrets. Once again we provide you with a fabulous insight into an organisation implementing work life balance initiatives. Our aim is to inspire you to seek greater work life balance inside and outside your business. I hope you enjoy […]

How do you feel when you hear the word DELEGATION? Does it make you chest tighten? Did you clench your hands just a little? I bet that many of you thought to yourself, “yes, that’s all well and good for small tasks and admin tasks, but there are just some tasks that only I can […]

The vision of working at home in your PJ’s with fluffy slippers may be what pops into your head at first with the occasional break to watch Oprah. However in reality working from home is more demanding of you as an individual than any role where you have the support and guidance of co-workers. Is […]

The number of organisations utilising the services of a Corporate Concierge is still relatively low in Australia. In fact it is quite difficult to get real data on organisations who have implemented a concierge service. “That’s because we don’t need corporate concierge services!” I hear you say. In America however, many organisations are starting to realise […]

I’ve been making to-do lists for as long as I can remember.  Work stuff, personal stuff, blog stuff…you name it…I’ve made a to-do list about it.  But I understand that not everyone does this and it may not come as easily to others.  So I’m going to give you some of my list-making secrets. It’s […]

I work part time from home, which has it’s positives and certainly it’s challenges. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the differences between working full time and part time. I’ve come to realise it’s not just about the physical hours you put in, there is a mental or ‘thinking’ component that has to be considered. My biggest challenge as a […]

Prior to 1969, an impossible thought was landing on the moon and mankind achieved that feat. So with the utmost respect achieving balance in your life in 2011 is absolutely possible. And the good news is that you don’t need to be a NASA rocket scientist, you just need to have a plan and remain […]

Don’t to forget to share this post with your followers and friends! [twitter style=”horizontal” text=”Share on Twitter!” float=”left”] [fbshare type=”button” float=”left”][hr] It seems like the harder we try to achieve it, the busier, more stressed and exhausted we become. You only have to Google ‘Work Life Balance’ (over 32 million results) to know it’s something […]

Prior to 1969, an impossible thought was  landing on the moon and mankind achieved that feat. So with the utmost respect achieving balance in your life in 2011 is absolutely possible. And the good news is that you don’t need to be a NASA rocket scientist, you just need to  have a plan and remain disciplined. […]

Welcome to our latest ‘Balance Beam’ work life balance profile, brought to you by Kathyrn Williams from Youth Off The Streets. Already our Balance Beam profiles have provided inspiration and ideas to our readers seeking to improve work life balance in their organisations and every day lives. I hope you enjoy this latest ‘Balance Beam’ profile, and […]

I am a regular reader of Red Balloon CEO Naomi Simson’s blog. She provides wonderful insights into the world of an entrepreneur, as well as offering interesting commentary on relevant workplace issues. One of her recent blog posts Free Childcare for all Australians particularly struck a chord with me. As many of you know, I am […]

We have had a great response to our Balance Beam series and are excited to present to you this week our sixth profile, brought to you by Imelda Argel from Imelda Argel & Associates. Imelda’s profile particularly focuses on her development on an internship program, and interesting way to enable better balance and reduce pressure on staff. We […]

It won’t come as a surprise to those who know me that I am a bit of a gadget geek. I also regularly have good intentions about my health and fitness, but only sometimes can I commit and achieve my goals (the positive being that I do sometimes achieve my goals). Therefore, I really enjoyed […]

Did you know that employees who have control over the design and organisation of their personal workspace are happier, healthier and up to 32% more productive? Research conducted with over 2000 office workers, by Dr Craig Knight from the University of Exeter in the UK, reveals that simply allowing employees to enrich their workspaces using […]