3 Ways to Fight Symptoms of Burnout

Blog, Lifestyle
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Guest post by Chelsea Lamb at Business Pop

Audio version here: https://anchor.fm/reel-review-by-lauryn

Stress and anxiety are at an all-time high, with the pandemic exacerbating unprecedented widespread mental health issues. Add the everyday stress of trying to run and grow a successful business, and it’s no wonder you’re feeling overwhelmed. Fight the symptoms of burnout using these tips:

Combat Dread First Thing

Many people suffering from burnout wake up with a feeling of dread on workdays but begin their day by picking up their phones and checking their email. While this may feel like a productive thing to do, you’re missing an opportunity to get your day started off on a positive and mentally healthy foot.

Instead of picking up your phone and immediately giving your life over to the demands of others, take some time first thing in the morning to connect with yourself and charge your battery for the day. Take ten minutes to practice mindful meditation or go for an early morning walk. Pay special attention to your body as it gets used to being awake for the day, feeling grateful for everything that it does for you. Spend time thinking of the positive things in your life, even in these stressful times, that you are grateful for.

Fight Exhaustion by Optimizing Breaks

It’s tempting to spend workday breaks scrolling on your phone, but much of work duty is frequently spent looking at screens. When you’re tired at work, spend your breaks doing activities that help rejuvenate you and give your brain a break.

Instead, consider engaging your body. Lack of movement throughout the workday is hazardous to your health, but even small movements and exercises can help reduce the harm done to your mind and body by the ceaseless sitting that work can entail. Consider a regular walking lunch, and devote 30 minutes every day to moving. If you want more, try running instead. Whatever you choose, invest in a fitness tracker or smartwatch with a swanky band to enhance motivation and help you track your progress. 

Dehydration can also contribute to exhaustion, so drink water during your breaks to give you more energy and boost your mood. Vitamin deficiencies can cause you to feel tired, as well, so pack a nutrient-rich snack to enjoy during your breaks and take a vitamin if necessary.

Stop Feeling Overwhelmed by Sharing the Load

When you’re an entrepreneur, your business can feel like your baby, and it can be difficult to feel comfortable letting other people manage important aspects of its functioning. Spreading yourself too thin, though, is a recipe for disaster. The damage from you burning out will be much more significant than the small pains that might accompany letting someone else share the load.

Look at everything in your business that is essential to its functioning. This might include product production, services performed, money management, social media management, and other things vital to your business’s success. Decide which of these you are best suited to handling and which can be designated to someone else.

Payroll and taxes are two areas where mistakes can result in costly fines and the degradation of employee trust and satisfaction. Use a payroll service to take the worry of getting employee paychecks (you can set up a schedule, for example) and court-mandated payouts such as alimony and child support correct off your shoulders. If you’re on the fence, ask what is payroll help worth to you and your business? Do you really have the time to handle weekly payroll and keep track of all of your finances? If the answer is no, then it’s time to employ a service that can manage payroll as well as handle your taxes so that you don’t have to keep up with changing tax laws. Services such as these may seem extravagant but save you money in the long run.

Be proactive with handling the symptoms of burnout so that you can continue leading your business with confidence. Start your day off right and build from that foundation with meaningful breaks and by delegating tasks. You and your business will both be better off for it.

Published :)

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Hello Reel Family!

I AM SO HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE MY BOOK IS OFFICIALLY PUBLISHED AND AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON AMAZON!

confessions proof cover 1

Thank you for all of the positive messages I have received about this journey 🙂

From a budding relationship with the Director of Financial Aid to get free tuition  to living with roommates (which she calls the Chamber of Bitches) this is a collection of stories about sex, studies and student loans.

More importantly, these fragmented stories are built for you. To keep it interesting, all of the stories are based on true events with a spice of imagination. Confessions of a College Girl is more than the complicated emotions of a struggling student. These stories allow you, as the reader, to become this college girl’s best friend.  Hope you enjoy this genuine, unapologetic story of a fictional college girl 😉

Yours,

an Author

Book Writing Update!

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I have been writing for five days straight.

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The writing process has been such an adventure. As of today, I have finished the manuscript and on my third round of edits.

I am exhausted, to say the least. I am so excited though! Can’t wait for you all to read about an authentic fiction story. 🙂

If you are currently writing a book would love to hear about your journey! 🙂

Subscribe for more juicy updates!

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Me editing this book. . .

Let’s Create Change: A New Athletic Epicenter

Blog, Entertainment, Law and Entertainment


Happy reading!

Today I thought I’d shed some light on sports. The names of top male athletes come to mind easily: Lebron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tiger Woods, Lionel Messi, Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, Tom Brady….the list goes on.

Not only are these athletes incredibly gifted, but they have also become the epicenter of sports and entertainment. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with it. Sports have been the focal point of entertainment since the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece.

But how many of us can easily name 10-15 top female athletes? We all know Serena and Venus Williams. That’s an easy one. But do we choose to regularly follow the careers of Sloane Stephens, Dara Torres, Allyson Felix, Lisa Leslie, Simone Biles, Paige Tapp, Missy Franklin or Naomi Osaka?

I bet there are people who follow LeBron James so closely, they know what he had for breakfast this morning. That being said, the heart of sports and entertainment is male-dominated.

I am not using this as an opportunity to bash on male athletes, cause let’s face it….they are great to watch. 😉

Instead, let’s take a chance to admire all athletes while recognizing the male-female disparity in sports. Let’s create a new athletic epicenter. One that celebrates the accomplishments of both male and female athletes.

I hate to get all Miss-America on you. But I don’t care. I write to spark conversation, not to please you. ( Okay, okay. I tried to be all tough there, but I actually hope you like these article. Thanks for reading btw, your awesome).

This Brings me to Adidas.

As one of the largest sports companies in the world, Adidas launched the Here To Create Change Campaign to showcase female athletes. Director Doug Liman, known for Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Bourne Identity, The O.C., and Jumper collaborated with Adidas to create an amazing project that I am humbled to be a part of.

Yes, I was featured in this commercial. Sorry, had to mention it. ( Don’t worry I get to a broader point).

The Adidas: Here to Create Change commercial was released this past summer. It begins an alarming statistic: Only 4% of all athletes presented in the media are women.

I’m shooketh. As a former Division 1 Athlete and school record holder, I’ve dedicated countless hours to relentless practices, unaccommodating coaches, cutting out sugar, and pushing myself to the limit during tournaments.

For the people who go to the gym 2-5 times per week and get your sweat on, I admire your dedication to health and fitness….

Literally everyone at the gym….

But it’s not the same. Athletes, like other professionals, work diligently to perfect their craft. Therefore, all athletes should be celebrated. Both men and women.

I am proud to advocate for female athletes. In front of the camera, actors have the chance to showcase powerful messages to various audiences.

In our own lives, we cater to unique demographics. Conversing with co-workers, chatting with friends, or getting your side hustle on through Uber or Lyft, enable small, yet crucial opportunities for all of us to be actors—to advocate for what we consider to be right and challenge what we consider to be wrong.

Let’s all make this commitment to ourselves and fulfill it.

Let’s be here to create change #CreatorsUnite


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Netflix’s You: No, it’s not Love, it’s an obsessio​​​n

Blog, TV Shows

** this entire article reveals some spoilers from the Season 1 Episode 1. I didn’t ruin too much. Besides the first episode is so good, you’ll probably just binge-watch the whole series anyway…so it’s perfectly fine to read the article (:


Dan Humphrey… you have some explaining to do. In case you missed that reference, Dan is a fictional character from a show that is near and dear to my heart: Gossip Girl. Only this time, instead of chasing after Serena Van der Woodsen, he is after another blonde girl in the big apple.

HOW DOES SHE NOT FEEL HIS PRESENCE?! I’m shooketh.  source

In Netflix’s You, Penn Badgley is Joe, a witty manager at a charming New York bookstore who has a crush on a girl named Guinevere Beck. But, his attraction quickly turns into something more. He plans a day “together.” And by together, I mean he lurks in the background of Beck’s life for an entire day as she is painfully blissfully unaware of his presence. How is he able to do this you ask? Through social media of course. If this was a subliminal message about the data privacy, this show nailed it. I’m 30 seconds away from putting all my accounts on private and shutting down this blog. Luckily, the Global Data Protection Regulation enacted in May 2018 has us kind of covered. As a law student, I have my thoughts on this. But I’ll elaborate later in the Law and Entertainment section.

I was hooked throughout the entire episode. Joe’s voice-overs were relatable. Real. Funny. And blunt with a splash of cockiness. Just how I like it. It’s edgy, mysterious and attractive. The perfect recipe for a Lifetime thriller.  

Joe Schmoe is reallll confident too. Especially when you see how homeboy gets into Beck’s apartment:

  • He finds Beck’s schedule and her address online;
  • Calls the gas company to inspect her apartment on her busiest day of the week and
  • pretends to be her boyfriend (power move) so he can enter the house.

I know this is completely wrong, but I’ve never seen trespass to land look so sexy.

My only problem is Joe’s attempt to blame his manipulative actions on ”love.” You would think that with all his time in a damn book store he would know the literary difference between love and obsession. But since he doesn’t, let’s start with a basic vocabulary lesson:

Love, according to the dictionary means “an intense feeling of affection” or the “deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone.”

While “obsession,” according to Google Dictionary means: “an idea or thought that continually occupies or intrudes on a person’s mind. “

To be honest, none of these definitions sound particularly interesting. But it’s the dictionary, not the romantic rhetoric of Paulo Coelho quotes. So just sit there and deal with it as I make my damn point.

There is a clear line between love and obsession. We crave this romantic love. I would say it’s not our fault, but it is. Unhealthy relationships and habits are engraved in our culture. You know this love too. It’s the one somehow makes fiery arguments, busting car windows, or burning him with your curling iron out of jealousy a display of “intense feeling or affection.” But let’s keep it reel ( see what I did there lol). Blaming another person for your own emotions is just an example of poor personal boundaries. Jealousy is demeaning to your partner and implies that he or she can’t control themselves. Making up after breaking up is always a fun time. But if your partner always tries to nudge you in a certain direction by using sex, then you won’t actually find what’s really bothering you. I’m not saying don’t have a good time. Find the root of the issue. If not, the behavior is nothing more than a murky reflection of your values. A partner is more than an asset, they’re a person, willing to engage in emotional support.

Blah blah blah with all this serious talk. Let’s get back to the interesting parts. Isn’t this why we watch TV in the first place?!

There is something about this “attraction gone wrong” storyline that is just SO DARN APPEALING! I know it sounds hypocritical. But I need to watch the drama unfold…but I definitely don’t want it anything remotely similar to happen in my life (* Note: this is what people in your circle think when you’re going through some shit but no one ever says it).

Although we’ve all seen it before, as an audience, we can’t get enough of this dangerous love affair. This is why movies like Obsessed,  The Perfect Guy, Single White Female, and Fatal Attraction continue to remain popular. But the show You adds its own unique twist and I am LOVING it. Even the character development is on point. Benji, Beck’s sleeping buddy? ex-boyfriend is a frightening conglomerate of the worst guys I’ve met, seen, and heard about in my own life. It’s captured perfectly when Benji says to Beck, ” It looks good on you….the extra weight” after Beck had terrible sex with him.

Overall, we learned a couple things from episode 1:

  • Joe Schmoe is a sneaky mofo. (The character’s name is actually Joe Goldberg, but I really wanted a rhyme.)
  • Beck needs to look up from her phone more often.
  • I should probably get some blinds on my apartment windows…

 

Lastly, episode 1 ends with Benji locked up in Joe’s dungeon underneath his bookstore and I SCREAMED at my laptop, OMG he’s gonna kill Benji!?!

I’m not going to spoil it for you. All I know is this: whether Penn Badgley stars as Dan Humphrey or Joe Goldberg, even if he does some sneaky CIA shit…THAT’S A SECRET I’LL NEVER TELL! I’m loyal to Gossip Girl and you should be too.

I’m a dedicated fan, with too much time on my hands…
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I know this post was a long one but Episode 1 had such great content so it really got me typing. Enjoy binging more episodes, you know I will.

xoxo, RR by LR

** I KNOW IT’S CORNY BUT I COULDN’T RESIST!!!!!!!

 


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