small business, Self improvement, working at home, mental health, cooking, hobbies, gardening, wellness, health, fitness, motherhood and raising families

IF YOU ARE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO MOTIVATE SOMEONE THEN IT MAY BE TIME TO TAKE NOTICE

Sometimes you feel like you are just nagging and nagging.  If you find that there is someone in your family who you cannot get motivated to do anything then it is worth having a discussion with them about their feelings.  Often a person who is depressed is just running 'flat line'. They just cannot get excited about doing anything, and to even get a laugh out of them seems almost impossible.  People who are depressed often just want to hide away in their bedroom and be by themselves.

If you are finding this is the case, and they say they just 'don't care', it may be worth having a talk with a doctor.

Some hints for helping carers are in our ebook Mental Illness – Coping Strategies For The Carer 

Depression is a form of mental illness, and those that suffer depression do need supportive help until they can get back in control of things again.

DO YOU WORK AROUND THE HOUSE WHEN YOU ARE WORKING AT HOME

I like to take a break about every hour and half, and when I do I will go for a walk and put the washing on, water a few plants, feed the fish and birds. 

Some people who work at home say that you should concentrate on only your work, but I feel the need for about 10 mins exercise, and a mental break from the routine of work.  If you think about how an office works, people are always stopping for a chat here, a chat there.  Sure they may be talking about work, but it is still a break isn't it.

How do you feel about all that?

HOW TO MAKE CANDLES IS COVERED IN OUR EBOOK

Candle Making – Start With Confidence will tell you everything you know to make candles for your upcoming gifts.  Don't delay in learning this hobby.  What is so great is that it is not expensive as gifts go.

Read about what is around the globe

<a href="http://www.candlemakingcraft.com/candle-making-jars/">Using Candle Making Jars</a><p>You can easily save jars suitable for candle making which will create beautiful candle displays for your home decor for daily use or special occasions. You can use any type of jar that you have on hand to make a container candle. …</p>

<a href="http://workathomefiles.com/2008/08/10/candle-making-another-work-at-home-idea/">Candle Making – Another Work at Home Idea</a><p>I’ve just added candle making to the list of work at home ideas after seeing prices for candles at a homewares store! My dad used to make candles as  a hobby interest once and no kidding the kind of stuff he produced at home surpassed …</p>

MOTIVATION IS OFTEN HARD ENOUGH ANYWAY, BUT DEPRESSION CAN REALLY AFFECT YOUR MOTIVATION.

When you are depressed even the smallest task can seem huge, and it can be very hard to handle day to day events when you are depressed.  For example, if you have to ring someone up to sort out an account problem, it is almost an insurmountable task.  The issue itself is bad enought, but to have to talk to a person you do not know can just be too much.

What can seem like procrastination can actually be the symptom of depression.  For more information on handling issues our Mental Illness – Coping Strategies For The Carer ebook may be of help to you.

HOW SERIOUS ARE YOU ABOUT 'WORKING' AT HOME, OR ARE YOU JUST 'STAYING' AT HOME?

I love working at home, and I must say, I am a bit of a work-a-holic.  I am not a TV watcher, so it does not interest me one little bit to turn it on during the day, and even a night I often leave hubby in front of it and go and work.  I love to take time off during the day, so working at night suits me just fine.

Have a read of this blog I found for you:

<a href="http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/2008/09/12/working-at-home-myths-vs-reality/#comment-44110">Comment on Working at Home: Myths vs. Reality by Robin Noelle</a><p>I do work more and harder than nearly anyone else I know, but I do it on my terms and since it benefits me, how can I complain? That said, I don’t have kids and I doubt that I would be as focused or successful working at home if I did.</p>

A Guide to Working at Home will help you with many ideas if you are wanting to work from home.

WHEN A PERSON IS SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION THEY OFTEN DO NOT REALISE IT

So often a person can feel down, think that they feel low because something that has gone wrong has triggered the low emotion, or they just do not realise that the fact that they do not laugh anymore is just their personality.

If you know anyone who says to you, I just don't feel anything any more, I don't get excited anymore, then it may pay to suggest that they have a talk with a professional.

A person can be depressed, but not actually feel really, really low as is often expected.  A person may just trudge along on their daily grind and not realise that it can be a whole lot better for them.

But what does happen is that when problems do arise, they are so much harder to handle.  Coping strategies for carers is covered in our ebook Mental Illness – Coping Strategies for the Carer.

There are helpful tips in there for all stages of caring for a person with a mental illness.

HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR SEWERS WHO WANT TO WORK FROM HOME

The fact is, if you are a sewer, you probably have specialised in a particular thing, like adult clothing, childrens clothing, quilts, or such like.

If you really like sewing then here are some suggestions for making money from your skills. You can:

1.  Set up a website and promote your products online.

2. Set up a 'shop' on ebay and sell your products there.

3. Set up a party plan system for your clothes.

4. Sell at markets or fairs.

5. Sell through retail outlets who like to sell products that are a bit different.

6. Sell at retirement villages where the residents find it difficult to get out around the shops (I have done this and they are interested in clothing for themselves, clothing for the grandchildren, gifts, especially necklaces that slip over their heads, and earrings.

Retirement villages can be very profitable.  You book a time with management, go in for about 3 hours, and sew the rest of the week.

When I was doing this, I had great flexibility in working from home.  My bookings were made weeks in advance, so I could plan myself really well, and have lots of time off too.

If you are going to sell using any of these methods, you will need to have your own label, and washing instructions attached to your garments. 

Other things you could do to sell are make your own candles or soaps.  These are very popular as well.   Our Candle Making – Start with Confidence is a great help to the new candle maker.  With A Guide to Working at Home you will have lots of information to starting making a nice little income from home.

LET'S FACE IT, WHO WANTS TO GET OUT THERE DRIVING IN THAT HORRIBLE WINTER WEATHER!

Sitting in the luxury of your home and working is much nicer than having to jump in and out of a car in the cold weather, and maybe walking a Km to work as well.  Who needs it?

I loved working at home when the kids were growing up because I knew that I could get to them if there were any problems.  There was one stage when they were under 10 that I had a 3/4 hr drive to work, and often traffic jams at that, and I hated it.  I never relaxed until I was only a few minutes from home.

There are opportunites for working at home now that never even existed when my kids were small. If I had young kiddies, I certainly would be wanting to work from home.  Absolutely no doubt about it!

Check this out and see what you think. 

<a href="http://www.sisterwoman.com/BlogDetails.aspx?BId=305">New Here!!</a><p>I own and opperate my own home biz… so scheduleing around house work and my kids is key. I do online and offline marketing and account set up and teach other mom's how to work from home with free training and support and websites to …</p>

Don't forget to get your copy of A Guide to Working at Home when you want more information.

IF YOU ARE A CARER OF A MENTALLY ILL FAMILY MEMBER read more

When you have a family member who is currently ill, don't forget to look after yourself as well.  There seems to be no quick fixes with helping get someone well after a mental illness episode. 

As much as we want to get them well, it just does not happen unless the person who is ill gets motivated to do so.  Part of your helping them will in trying to find the right trigger to want them to get well.  It may be the fact that they are getting older and want to 'have a life' or it may be that there are some new family members, like new nephews and nieces. 

What ever it may be, try and find that trigger that will help them get well.  Or, should I say motivate them to take their medications and do other things to improve their lives.

Our Ebook Mental Illness – Coping Strategies For The Carer can be downloaded at http://ebooksnowonline.com/family/mental-illness-coping-strategies/   This ebook as lots of strategies for coping in the present, and also it looks at the future.

DO YOU KNOW, I AM NOT NATURALLY A MAD FITNESS FANATIC?

It takes some serious thought to get me out and about going for a walk, or some other exercise.  I really don't mind playing golf, or going for a swim, but when I can't do either of these I find it so difficult to just 'go for a walk'. 

But, in saying all that, I do grit my teeth and do it because I know that when I am sitting at home at the computer for 5-8 hours a day I most definitely need to exercise.  I can really feel myself get all stiff around the hips if I do not get out there and pad those paths.

Talking of padding, maybe I should get myself a dog.  Would love to, but OH the responsibility.  i might have to take IT for a walk!

Seriously though if you have a work at home job or business, keeping  fit and healthy when working at home is very important.  In the last few weeks I have really made an effort not to have too much junk food in the cupboards.  For me junk food is all things sweet!

It is just so easy to grab something when at home.

Really, all this comes down to routine and organisation, doesn't it?

If you are thinking about having home based business you could get more ideas from A Guide to Working at Home.  Having several income streams is a great idea.