25 Ways to Simplify Your Life

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by Chasity Kuttrus

Does it ever seem like your life gets more complicated by the day? With so
many messages, offers and obligations coming our way it’s easy to feel
overwhelmed. But you need to simplify in order to clear the clutter away to
reveal what’s truly important. Here are 25 ways to simplify your life at
work and at home.

1. Remember who is most important to you and make sure they know it,
everyday!

2. If you start reading a book and you don’t like it….put it down and
start something else. And don’t feel guilty!

3. End relationships that require a lot of work…but with very little return.

4. Reduce (or eliminate) the number of rewards programs you’re enrolled
in. Only keep the ones you know for sure you’ll get a return on.

5. Resign from outside commitments you don’t feel 100% passionate
about.

6. Clean out your closets.

7. Create a master password list.

8. Know when to ask for help.

9. Hire someone to help you clean your house. Or, if that’s not
possible, get yourself on a basic cleaning schedule.

10. Stop drinking pop.

11. Don’t collect catalogs. Do you ever really read them?

12. Find a really great calendar system for work and home….and use it.

13. Mind your own business. Don’t gossip. It’s unproductive, takes up
time and breeds more.

14. Exercise. It helps clear your mind, keeps you healthy and fit into
your clothes better (which helps avoid getting dressed dilemmas!)

15. Keep your hair appointments.

16. Start – and end – meetings and appointments on time. Getting backed
up messes up your whole day.

17. Don’t dwell on mistakes – move on.

18. Limit your Facebook time.

19. Gas up your car when you still have 1/4 a tank left…not when it’s on “Empty.”

20. Plan your meals for the week.

21. Delete emails and documents you don’t need…or can get from someone else if you do need them later.

22. Drink your coffee black.

23. Focus on one thing at a time.

24. Get serious about purging. Throw unimportant “stuff” away.

25. Breathe!

Woman of the Week – Cindy Powell

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Each week, we feature a fantastic new woman we think you should know. Some of these women are clients, some are friends, some are women we’ve only just met. But they all have this in common: they are dynamic, interesting gals who have agreed to share with us their insights and secrets to success.

Cindy Powell

My Current Job/Company: Chief Risk Officer, State Auto Insurance Companies

My Birthdate: 7.7.60

My Work: Oversee our company’s approach to identifying, assessing and managing our risk profile. Responsible for innovation and change management as we execute our business strategies.

My Passion: My family and my career.

My Family: I am truly blessed! Bob (supportive husband, best friend and personal cook), Kathryn (29), Kristin (27), Jason (son-in-law, husband of Kristin). Kathryn and Kristin inherited their father’s beautiful sea blue eyes and kind loving disposition. My family’s “behind the scenes” system of support and sacrifice has been critical to enable my career. For their unconditional love and continual support I am thankful.

My Hero: My mom. At 84, while her body gives her fits, she holds tight to her sharp wit, positive outlook, loving personality, artistic eye, culinary gift, constant giving of herself and during these difficult economic times, continues to be an example to her kids and grandkids on how to live modestly and still enjoy life to the fullest.

My Escape: Playing golf with Bob – just the two of us

My Pet Peeve: Selfishness

My Indulgence: Yoga and dark chocolate

My Roots: Cleveland, Ohio. Big family who lived for Mom’s Saturday baking days and Sunday afternoon dinners – and… the Cleveland Browns!

My Future: Someplace relaxing and peaceful with Bob

My Love: Friday night – date night

My Movie: “Rudy” (individual perseverance) and “Remember the Titans” (team perseverance)

My Quote on Life: “Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

My Accessory: My wedding band

My Advice to Young Women: Stuff will always happen and try to get in the way, so do your best to keep your focus on what you value the most and make it your #1 priority. You will never have regrets.

How I Balance it All……………
One ball at a time (and only with frequent reminders from my husband).

10 Ways to Make an Impression at Work

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With a little effort, it's not difficult to stand out among your peers.

by Chasity Kuttrus

Most women who get ahead do so because they go the extra mile. They are deliberate in their actions and activities and they stand out from other employees.

But how do they do that? Actually it’s not that difficult. In fact, it requires no extra skill sets, training or talents. Just a little bit of awareness and effort can go a long way.

Here are 10 easy ways to set yourself apart from your peers and make an impression on everyone around you.

1. Meet deadlines consistently. And if you can’t, let people know as far in advance as possible. Build a reputation for being reliable.

2. Make others look good. Pay someone a compliment in front of her boss. Give credit where credit’s due. Help put others’ good work in the forefront. People will remember this.

3. Take responsibility. Don’t throw people under the bus. You may think you’re saving your own behind….but at what cost? People don’t respect people who let others take the fall for them.

4. Be positive. Do I need to expand on this? Positive people are just more appealing and easier to be around. Period.

5. Respect people’s time. Don’t keep people waiting – whether it’s your boss, a client or even an intern – their time is just as valuable as yours. Start and end meetings on time. Give people plenty of notice when you need something from them.

6. Be polite. Say the magic words – “please” and “thank you.” There is nothing worse than someone who conveys an aura of entitlement….or rudeness. Show your appreciation in all circumstances.

7. Help others. When you have the time, help other people. They won’t forget it.

8. Do what you say you’re going to do…..and then exceed expectations. Don’t overpromise. It’s better to set expectations a little low and then consistently go above and beyond them. Become known as someone who always goes the extra mile.

9. Be organized. When you’re organized, you’re on top of things. And it shows. Establish foolproof systems for keeping things straight and then use them. If you need to do an organization system overhaul, it’s worth taking a day or two to do so. You’ll see immediate results and you’ll be amazed what a stress buster it can be.

10. Know how to do simple tasks. Even if you have an administrative assistant, learn how to do basic things that are critical to your job, like access the company server, change your voicemail message or enter data into a spreadsheet. This way, you are never at a loss if your admin is out of the office or unavailable.

The workplace is a complicated environment. It’s easy to get sucked into the politics and believe that’s where you need to focus to get ahead. No matter what point you are in your career, keep your eyes focused forward and consistently practice the strategies above and I promise, you’ll be leaps and bounds beyond most of your peers.

Woman of the Week – Belinda Sherman

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Each week, we feature a fantastic new woman we think you should know. Some of these women are clients, some are friends, some are women we’ve only just met. But they all have this in common: they are dynamic, interesting gals who have agreed to share with us their insights and secrets to success.

Belinda Sherman

My Current Job/Company:
Director of Strategy and Execution, Huntington, Wealth Division

My Birthdate:
5-14-1969

My Work:
I direct the sales strategy and execution tactics of Huntington’s wealth division.

My Passion:
My family and my career.

My Family:
Joseph (Supportive Husband), Madelyn (Beautiful Daughter- 4), Alexander (Amazing Son – 4)

My Heroes:
My father.

My Escape:
A great song, a mystery novel … or a family beach vacation.

My Pet Peeve:
Closed mindedness

My Indulgence:
Red wine and pizza.

My Roots:
I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio with a happy and humble family.

My Future:
Very Bright!

My Love:
Listening to my children giggle or having them run and tackle me when I come home from work.

My Movie:
Always

My Quote on Life:
“Peace…It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” (Unknown)

My Accessories:
Great shoes.

My Advice to Young Women:
You can do anything you set your mind to regardless of your position in life. Even in times of great trouble, all can change with a choice.

How I Balance it All……………
Not well enough. It is difficult to be an interactive Mom and have a demanding career. I do not ever feel like I am good enough at either. However, I desperately want both, so I will continue to try to figure it out.

Five Success Factors For Working Moms

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Columbus, Ohio, my hometown, was recently named Forbes Magazine’s best places to live for working mothers. The criteria included critical things like higher salaries for women, shorter commute times, the number of women owned businesses, among other things. You can read the entire article here.

I feel very fortunate to live in a city that boasts a culture that embraces and supports work-life balance and I, for one, have benefited from Columbus’ attributes.

But, at the end of the day, what matters most is your attitude and the steps you take to make working and parenting work for you. No matter what city you live in, here are five keys to success as a working mom.

1. Figure out a system for meals. This is one of the biggest stress points for
all moms, working or not. Plan ahead, freeze things, order take out once a week – whatever you need to do to remove some of the pressure of feeding your family.

2. Get someone to help you clean the house. Even if it’s only once a
month, try getting some help. If you have someone already, you know what a blessing it is. If you don’t, you are going to be surprised how much stress it can remove.

3. Make time for you. Oh, boy. This one is hard. You’re probably the last one you take care of and you get the leftover energy and focus. First, work out regularly and make it a priority. Then, on top of that, find an hour or two of completely “you” time each week. Read a book, go for a massage, just relax, alone.

4. Don’t let being a mom interfere with being a good employee. When you’re at work, you need to work. Being a working mom doesn’t give you special privileges at work; you still need to get the job done on time and done well. However, if you make sure to deliver on your work commitments consistently and reliably, when you do find yourself needing to leave early or a little extra time on a project, you’ve built enough credibility that it won’t be an issue to your boss or your colleagues.

5. Find an after school solution for kid pick-up/homework. Again, this is a really important item and one that will create an enormous amount of stress if not
addressed. After school programs, shared baby sitters and more can help reduce anxiety over after school time.

Being a working mom isn’t easy. Here’s to all of you out there juggling career and family and here’s to cities like Columbus that are making things a little easier for us.

Woman of the Week – Susan Rector

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Each week, we feature a fantastic new woman we think you should know. Some of these women are clients, some are friends, some are women we’ve only just met. But they all have this in common: they are dynamic, interesting gals who have agreed to share with us their insights and secrets to success.

Susan Rector

My Current Job/Company:
I am a Partner with regional law firm Ice Miller LLP, based in Indy (successor to Schottenstein Zox and Dunn)

My Birthdate:
February 14th (thank goodness my mother didn’t listen to her aunt who wanted to name me Valentina)

My Work:
I work with smart, creative people to help them protect their intellectual property and grow their businesses. I particularly enjoy working with women business owners and executives.

My Passion:
I am passionate about life and seek out experiences to live life to the fullest and improve the communities of which I am a part.

My Family:
Neil, my husband of 31 years, my biggest cheerleader and personal chef.

My Heroes:
Field researchers who devote their lives to improving the circumstances for wildlife worldwide.

My Escape:
Any vacation — whether three days or three weeks — to get away and experience something very different.

My Pet Peeve:
Narrow-minded people

My Indulgence:
Red wine. Dark chocolate. Great filet. Preferably at one sitting.

My Roots:
Small town. Big hearts. Values to live by.

My Future:
TBD

My Love:
Without a doubt, Neil is the love of my life.

My Movie:
Annie. It reminds me that the sun will come out tomorrow…….

My Quote on Life:
“You get out of it [life], what you put into it.”

My Accessories:
Scarves and Victorian jewelry

My Advice to Young Women:
Find a career that matches your internal job description. Consider working for yourself and building a business where you won’t have bosses, only customers.

How I Balance it All……………
I am reminded of Felicity Huffman’s quote: “I juggle everything and balance nothing.” I do the best I can, but sometimes feel like the circus clown spinning a plate atop many sticks without breaking any. Easier said than done.

Woman of the Week – Lisa Borkowski-Ludwig

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Each week, we feature a fantastic new woman we think you should know. Some of these women are clients, some are friends, some are women we’ve only just met. But they all have this in common: they are dynamic, interesting gals who have agreed to share with us their insights and secrets to success.

Lisa Borkowski-Ludwig

My Current Job/Company: Vitreo-Retinal Specialist/ The Retina Group

My Birthday: 12/23/1968

My Work: I practice a specialized type of Ophthalmology which deals with the Retina. I see patients in the office and perform surgery.

My Passion: My family, work and close friends

My Family: Matt (supportive husband of 10 years), Nate (7) and Lauren (6)

My Heroes: Elizabeth Blackwell, Martin Luther King

My Escape: Beach, spa

My Pet Peeve: Negative people, laziness, bad driving

My Indulgence: Lifetime TV, wine

My Roots: I was raised in a loving, middle-class family with 2 brothers. I grew up in a relatively small town.

My Future: Fulfilling work and family life, watching my kids grow.

My Movie: Anything that takes my mind off stressful situations–especially those movies that make you laugh.

My Love: A smile on my kids’and husband’s faces; helping my patients

My Quote on Life: “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, I used everything you gave me.” (Erma Bombeck) and “Live beyond yourself.”

My Accessory: My wedding band

My Advice to Young Women: Never believe anyone who says or implies you cannot do something. Work hard, but do not put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect.

How I Balance it All: Excellent question–Prioritize, be organized, and ask for help. I am fortunate to have a supportive husband who helps with our kids in many ways and cooks for us!