Life Tips

I always look forward to seeing what the new design will be on the elementary school Field Day shirt every year. Some great, some average and some blah. At first, I thought this year’s “Field Day is good” was bland. I knew it was a play off “Life is good,” but it didn’t captivate me. However, since then, it grew on me. My eight-year-old didn’t get it. Then the next morning, the newspaper had the “life is good” line in the article about Trader Joe’s and I showed it to him. (Yes, Dallas and places around Texas are finally getting Trader Joe’s!!)

I still have two of my favorite Field Day shirts. A couple of years ago, I caught a shirt one of the P.E. coaches wore and loved it. Then, I looked at the year on it thinking it was before my kids’ time at the school and couldn’t believe it. I could’ve had that shirt. How did I miss it?

The neat thing about the Field Day shirts is they sell for $5. PTA always sells them for as little as possible making only pennies (rounding to nearest dollar) because they want to make it as affordable as possible — not a profit. Huzzah, PTA!

Brain food…

• How to Minimize Interruptions When You’re Working: One of the reasons I’ve been efficient in my entire professional career is because of my deafness. Because of that, I never get phone calls. I think that’s where many waste time. OK, so I make up for it in obsessively checking email. I’m REALLY trying to cut back.
• 38 Life Lessons I’ve Learned in 38 Years and 15 Life Lessons They Don’t Teach You in School: Imagine what a better place the world would be if many of us read these and follow them — bosses, employees, family.
• How Many Times a Day Should You Check Your Email: I’m awful. But I’ve had some days when I force myself to ease up. I close Thunderbird more often and instead just do a quick scan on the BlackBerry for urgent ones. In Gmail, I switch to Contacts so I keep Gmail open along with Chat.
• Using Quora to Boost a Freelancing Career: I tried to use it this week to look up some questions and it felt overwhelming. The best thing to do is have something very specific in mind when searching. It’s too big for generic.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• 55 Hysterically Funny Smart Autocorrect Bombs: Warning — Lotsa cuss words and lotsa laughs.
• 10 Rejected Mother’s Day Gift Ideas: Smart move.
• The Anatomy of a Cupcake: Yum.
• 10 Most Amazing Flashmobs: Still looking to join one.
• Geek Zodiac v2.0: Me a samurai? Nahhh… Oh wait. Does this work like the Chinese New Year? You look at the previous year if you were born before the Chinese New Year? That would be astronaut. Eh… [Link: Bitrebels]

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In coming home from a long doctor’s appointment, I decided to take the tollway for most of the way to get home faster. I rarely drive on the highway, so you’d think I’d be more alert about the exit. Yep, I missed it. I caught the sign for the exit, but thought I wanted the next one. And, of course, it was further than the usual distance to that exit taking me a bit out of my way.

Photo from sxc.hu user maavi

How did I miss it? I had too much on my mind with paying attention to cars, looking for exit signs and noticing all the construction I hadn’t seen before. I had too many filters in my mind getting in the way of the one filter I needed — the right exit.

A Filter Problem

I use Gmail more than meryl.net email. The meryl.net email has been around for years meaning 100 spam emails come in daily. The email app does a good job of diverting spam into its dump out of the way. Still, spam messages clutter email on the mobile device, which makes it harder to identify good emails. Gmail relies on all of its users in creating effective spam filters, so I rarely see spam in Gmail outside of the spam folder.

Some of my regular email newsletters stop appearing where they should. They ended up in the trash despite having their assigned labels, which should’ve filtered them to the label folder. Gmail, why are you throwing away my good email? I studied the “delete” filters to see if something confused Gmail like my multitasking on the road did to the point that I missed the exit. Having used Gmail since 2004, the list of filter felt like a mile long. (It’s still long after the clean up, but it’s more efficient and updated.)

Fixing Filters for Fitter Filtering

Time to take Gmail filters for spring cleaning. I remove every filter that deleted an email and clear many label filters. The only ones that remain — it’s still a bunch — are the ones most recently created. The nice thing about Gmail’s filters is that appear in the order they were created. So the top ones are old and go bye-bye.

When I unsubscribe to an email newsletter, I also delete the filter. But sometimes I forget. This cleaning helps clear those. I prepare myself for piles of emails showing up in the inbox after the filter wipe out. Anytime an email comes into the inbox, I either unsubscribe or create a new filter. It’s hard to let go of some email newsletters, but I tell myself that a cleaner email account is more important than subscribing to the email newsletter just in case I get around to reading it.

I’m paying attention to my actions when reading emails with several labels (email newsletters, for example). If I delete them every time, then I unsubscribe unless there’s a reason to keep them such as the rare coupon. If an organization sends too many emails, I see if they have another subscription option to get fewer emails or unsubscribe. (I don’t think any organization needs to send an email more than once a week aside from the Groupon types.)

Inbox, Spam and Domains

The only emails coming into the inbox are the quick ones that I read and delete in an instant from looking at the subject lines (Groupon is one). I also try to avoid creating filters with subject lines or @domain.com with no user name. For “@domain.com” filters, I limit those to clients from companies unlikely to have unrelated emails coming from their domain. For instance, if I had a contact at Apple, I wouldn’t create an “@apple.com” filter since it’s plausible I’d receive newsletters and notices from that domain. In this case, a filter with the contact’s complete email address works best.

I also bring back the spam folder. I had done away with it and told Gmail to send all spam to trash. But after the filter clean up, I want to check the spam folder for anything that slips through.

You can apply these steps to any email account with filters.

Results: The two email newsletters that kept landing in the trash stopped going there. I also have fewer emails coming in since I shed some of the email newsletters.

Next: Cutting down on checking email. I’ve been working on this habit all year and have improved a little. But I still check emails too often. The problem is that I need Gmail open most of the time so my husband can reach me through Google chat. I tried the chat window pop out, but it felt awkward. Even with the pop out, Gmail must stay open or else it closes the chat window.

Multitasking has its strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes when the brain or filter has too much going on, it can let something slip through. Choose your multitasking activities wisely. Sometimes it’s more efficient to focus on a single task than to do many. Or in Gmail’s case, clear the filter cobwebs so it can make better choices.

P.S. Instead of checking emails this morning, I wrote this blog post. Now let’s see if I can work for a couple of hours without checking email. (Oh, boy. Help!)

What tips do you have for managing emails more efficiently?

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Meryl Evans

It’s human nature for people to not look past someone’s speech to discover the person first. I know it because I live it. Oscar winning film, The King’s Speech, echoes this message. Zach Anner, co-winner of Oprah Winfrey’s Your OWN Show, reinforces the message that people with disabilities want others to see them as people first.

It’s happened many times in my life. People giving me all kinds of looks as soon as they hear my deaf accent.

Nod … Nod … Nod …

Saying, “What?” also stresses me because it gives  people another reason to think I’m less than intelligent. Of course, everyone says, “What?” However, add the accent to that and it sends a different message than a simple, “I didn’t catch it the first time.”

No wonder many people like me have “head nod syndrome.” We’d rather nod our heads to indicate we understand when we don’t because we don’t want to make trouble or risk others seeing us as inferior.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” While true most of the time, people with disabilities know that humans often judge the wheelchair, the stutter and the monotone voice before the person.

Qualifying for the Job

On Your OWN Show, Zach Anner mentioned that he didn’t want people to think he got this far just because of his wheelchair.  Some think people with disabilities get a pass to meet diversity quotas or some other reason. Although it can and probably happens, it wouldn’t happen repeatedly because we need to be able to do the job.

Many people with disabilities are harder on ourselves than anyone ever could be. Growing up, my mantra was “Keep showing them you’re just as good or better as anyone else.” Had I been born with hearing, I may not have had the successful life that I have. That mantra is what helped me work for what I have.

Oprah along with co-hosts of Your OWN Show Nancy and Carson were right to worry about Anner’s stamina. Oprah explained that doing a TV show is grueling work. Even Anner worried about that when he found out he was a finalist for the show. When I was a kid — like most little girls did, I wanted to be an actress when I grew up. Of course, I later realized it wouldn’t happen.  I never expected to have a career in front of the camera, on stage or on radio because I don’t have the speech quality needed for these jobs.

What about the whole “set your mind to it, make your dreams happen?” Even if I wanted to be a news reporter or in a front-of-the-camera job, it still demands high quality speech. I took speech therapy for years, and no therapy can fill in the key component that helps speech: hearing. However, I’ve been on TV and did a couple of plays. They were memorable experiences.

I also appear in BBS: The Documentary. Director Jason Scott asked if I would be offended if he added subtitles to my portion. I thought it was a great idea. In fact, Cupcake Wars sometimes adds subtitles for French pastry chef’s Florian Bellanger’s comments. Good for Cupcake Wars. The show didn’t let Florian’s accent stop them from using his expertise, which enhances the show.

It’s Business

I never considered having my own business and fell into it. I love the work. I love the clients. I love the diversity. Thank goodness for technology for making it possible and allowing people to see me as a business person first.

Marlee Matlin stars in the upcoming edition of The Celebrity Apprentice. It will be interesting to see how she handles business especially since people rely heavily on cell phones. I read somewhere that contestants must use the speaker phone to avoid legal issues. Well, if she’s like me, she’ll be sending text messages — if that’s allowed.  So it’s not just about her dealing with challenges, but also the rules of the show and the contrived situations.

An uncaptioned preview (Meaning: this is how I interpreted the preview without the words to go on) of The Celebrity Apprentice showed Nene Leakes fake signing as if she was mocking Matlin. Though negative, you have to give Leakes credit for treating Matlin like any other contestant. They mock each other all the time.

What challenges have you faced and how did you overcome them?

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My second child and older son turned 12 this week. Wow. Last year of the tweens. It won’t be long before he’s taller than me (5.5″ to go). E Since he loves to play video games, I’m sharing this article I found on his birthday: Factoids of the day: Game not over. The article highlights how games make us better. It’s all true, but we still need to limit video game time for kids or else they’d play all hours. Gotta get ‘em movin’!

The Challenger disaster happened 25 years ago today. I was in school, but I can’t recall how I found out. The only thing I remember feeling stunned while watching the explosion in front of a clear blue sky and seeing the looks on the family’s faces that looked neither happy or sad because they didn’t know what happened yet. AP asked Facebook readers where they were on this day. It’s a chilling read.

Brain food…

• 22 Social Media Marketing Tools: Apps for managing multiple social media IDs in one spot. [Link: Alan K'necht]
• Ten Useful Hacks to Make Things Happen: Another winner from Valeria Maltoni.
• If You Think Someone Is Mentally Ill: Loughner’s Six Warning Signs: I believe it’s important we’re all aware of these signs. Unlike sinus infections and diabetes, mental illness is an unseen illness — and a very real one that needs treating infections and pneumonia.
• Five great Gmail timesavers: I didn’t even know about Smart Mute, but then I don’t fall into too many group conversations — thank goodness.
• Thsrs: The shorter thesaurus.
• Kill Your To-Do List: Some people just need to dump to dos altogether and try this one. Be sure to check out the comments for more great advice.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• This is the web right now: Another winner from Oatmeal.
• iPad Game for Cats: Smart doggy!
• Social Media Guru Robbed after Using Foursquare: This is actually a parody of a very serious problem. I stopped using the service months ago after reading several true horror stories. I loved the service, but it’s just not worth the dark side of it… [Link: t2]
• 36 Facebook T-Shirts to Match Your Status Update: First it was Twitter tees… now FB. LinkedIn far behind? Nahh… too serious of a social network.

Ah, Monday can’t catch a break. Celebricat Garfield hates Mondays and lets us know how he feels about them every chance he gets. (“Garfield Monday” has over two million results in Google search.) Change Monday’s name and the new name would have the same problem. Remember Shakespeare’s ol’ rose by another name would smell as sweet?

Despite Monday’s bad rap, a few folks do look forward to Monday. Don’t believe me? Well, there’s the seven-year-old whose 8th birthday falls on a Monday. The government employee who enjoys a long weekend because some federal holidays occur on a Monday every year. (MLK, Jr. Day, President’s Day, Columbus Day and Labor Day, in case you wondered.) The football fan who loves a good Monday Night Football clash.

My Mondays won’t be normal for three weeks. It should’ve been two, but a sick kid turned it into three. Well, hey, there is a bright side! It was just one kid versus all three. Some school districts started school two hours late. The independent school district here is closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. So that knocks out next Monday. One kid has several appointments on the Monday after that. I bet something will find its way on my calendar for January 31.

I began three blog posts / stories late last week that were in rough shape. They’re still a jumbled mess. I had hoped to finish one today and then edit tomorrow.

I went to pick up one kid, missed my turn and took the not-so-picturesque route to my destination that took me way out of the way. Normally, I can correct my course, but these were newer streets that aren’t on my GPS. That’s one turn I don’t want to ever miss again — brain, please burn this in memory.

I’m a gal of habits. Habits help with my stick-to-it-tiveness. It feels unbalanced and awkward when I start off the work week with something outside of the norm. That’s why I often volunteer and make appointments on Thursdays and Fridays. I relax more on those days knowing I’ve accomplished a lot of things for the week.

Hey, I got a blog post done. What did you learn from this post? Sometimes the stars align and muddy your day. You make the best of it and celebrate the little things like this blog post.

Let’s hit Monday upside the head with something positive — our favorite day of the week. Mine is Thursday. Not quite weekend, yet close enough knowing a whole Friday plus weekend is coming. Don’t you hate it when you wake up in the middle of the night on Saturday and realize you only have one day left of the weekend? Sundays are typically not a fun day — groceries, cooking food for the week ahead, chores, etc.

What’s your favorite day of the week and why?

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As expected with the start of a new year, publications flood the market with articles on goal setting, planning, reviewing. As a person who likes to think medium (as opposed to big), I struggle with figuring out what I need to do to ensure a more successful year. Many successful people create loads of products, work long hours affecting family time and taking on a lot of things at once with no end in sight.

Photo credit lpierard

So my mind swims with thoughts of creating products, writing a book, getting a graduate degree, doing this and doing that. As it stands, I have little time to blog here and contribute articles to several publications. How can I think about adding some of these?

If I turn this whole goal setting and planning into a big production based on what the experts advise, I don’t think it’ll happen. At least, not for me. You argue that nothing happens without you. True. However, these suggestions overwhelm and paralyze many folks including me. For most people, they’d do nothing. As a one-person freelance shop, I need to keep it simple. And I’m sure many freelancers find themselves in the same position.

Ignore the Fancy Advice, Make Your Own Rules

The people appearing in these articles had one thing in common: passion. So, I reflected on what I love. This led to my three rules, which I cover in Drowning in Goal Setting? Go Simple along with three steps to come up with your own goals. A quick recap:

1. Keep clients happy.
2. Keep marketing.
3. Keep mind, body and spirit in check.

It’s Never Enough

Sometimes you can’t do everything you want now. It bugs me when I read articles saying to stop putting things off, stop waiting for the “right time” to start like when the kids move out. Excuse me, but if I start grad school now, it’ll sacrifice family time and break all the rules.

No. I’m going to enjoy the time I have with my kids now. They will be adults for a much longer time than they will be kids. In Success Magazine, Zig Ziglar says his success comes from “home field advantage” — meaning he makes sure things go well at home before tackling work. A happy home means a happy person outside of home.

The problem for people like me — when you make the money you want — it won’t be enough. When you accomplish XYZ, it won’t be enough. When your resume lacks an advanced degree, it won’t be enough. Instead of focusing on the destination, I pay attention to my daily journey with an occasional review of the big picture.

Some things require going with the flow and making things happen along the way. I cannot and will not over commit. To do that will negatively affect the three rules. Taking on too much will interfere with my ability to deliver great results for current clients. It also leaves little time for marketing. And an overwhelming load affects body, mind and spirit as it’d force me to sleep fewer hours and sacrifice exercise time. When one or both of these happen, it hurts the spirit.

I exercise daily. I make time for that. But it means sacrificing something else.

Simple Works

I accomplished a big personal goal in 2010. I didn’t start on January 1. I didn’t wait until January 1. Heck, I didn’t even start on the first day of the month or a Monday. I started on a Thursday at the end of March. I made up my mind and started right then. Business is like that. I watch my business and professional lives and make decisions based on what’s happening and a little temperature taking.

Of course, I don’t stand by and let life happen or pray for clients to come to me. I go for it. I ask for it. I look for it. It works without a one-page plan or specific goals such as writing three articles a day. The key is that I need a snapshot of today to decide what I’ll do tomorrow. I adapt and change as needed.

After a quick big picture and small picture review, I figured out what I could do and accomplished two things in the first week of the New Year that I hadn’t in a long time.  And I did it without complex planning. I may not be able to do this again next week because I change course as needed and the snapshot may show something different.

What are your most important rules?

How did you feel when you woke up on 1/1/11?

One thing is for sure, I didn’t wake up at my usual time that morning or for any of the last two weeks of the year that I took off from work.

All right … all right …  I completed a few things for work, but my mood soared from the satisfaction of crossing them off my list in 2010.

By that afternoon, the mood did a 180. The brain decided to think about fourth quarter taxes, end of year tax prep, three birthdays in my family in January plus one in February and other stuff. Not exactly a party. I love January for birthdays, but after four of us having them all in under a month — I appreciated my youngest coming along late April. Had the guy arrived in February, he might’ve missed out on some fabulous times with us suffering party burnout.

While dealing with the beat down, my mind fast forwarded to a special family event in which preparation should start within a couple of months. My thoughts roamed around the whole “I’m so busy today. How can I have time to deal with that?” thing putting a damper on 1/1/11.

Stop that!

I share this with you because I know I’m not the only one who panics when I think about a bunch of stuff in one shot. I will get through it all. Just think one step, one day,  one hour. You and everyone you know that goes through this will get through it, too.

I reminded myself to count my blessings instead of sheep. (Yes, I watched White Christmas along with It’s a Wonderful Life and Sound of Music.) Too many continue to suffer from the recession, famine or worst. It’s a Wonderful Life also reminds us that every single one of us has a positive impact on other people’s lives — whether we believe it or not.

Kyle Maynard, author of No Excuses, appeared in an article in Success Magazine. If you’re not familiar with him, the wrestling champion was born without arms or legs below his elbows and knees. One day while on tour, he held a little pity party at the airport because he was just a 19-year-old who missed home, his friends and a stress-free life.

Two men recognized him. They had severe burns from being wounded while serving as military police in Iraq. Their injuries landed them in a rehab hospital for intensive therapy for over a year. The two heroes caught one of Maynard’s TV specials that inspired them to fight for their lives. The meeting humbled Maynard knowing his own story helped two people who faced greater adversity than he had.

Incredible. I should re-read this paragraph when my mind decides to make trouble that prevents moving forward.

It’s OK for life to wear us down a little as long as it doesn’t go on for too long and affect our progress.

How do you handle it when life gets you down?

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I know how important Christmas is to those who celebrate. I would love to say “Merry Christmas” to every single person who celebrates. But I don’t want to risk offending people, so the generic “Happy Holidays” it is. When folks wish me something, I respond with a simple “Thank you.” Toddlers and younger kids, on the other hand, like to correct people. Two of my kids have done that… blush.

More fun than brain food. Your brain deserves a break.

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Joyeux Noel! And many more…

Brain food…

• Some Tips on Evaluating Literary Contests: Some contests look legitimate. Don’t let ‘em getcha.
• How to Find Opportunity: Turning half empty glass to a half full one.
• Top 10 Resolutions to Set for the New Year: Going beyond the old lose weight resolution. Seriously, why wait until January 1? If you want to change something, start as soon as you make up your mind.
• 75 Apps for Enhancing Your Facebook Page: Now if I had time… but then again, my original page has fewer than 25 likes, which I now need to transfer over to the business page. Then again, I am not doing much to compel folks to like it.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Lunar Eclipse: Gorgeous shots from DC, New York and elsewhere.
• Top 10 Everything of 2010: It had to happen.
• Stupidcoworkers.com: Stupid happens to everyone even to geniuses.
• Funny Facebook Groups: Just joined People Who Always Have To Spell Their Names For Other People. Now, I wonder if my mom conspired against her two daughters. Siblings’ names: Elisa and Michael.
• 10 Craziest Cookies: Nom nom.
• My BlackBerry Is Not Working: Hilarious with a creative twist. Special thanks to codeman for subtitles.
• Crack up at the Crandall Family Christmas Cards: Wish I had that kind of courage and creativity. Scroll to bottom and work your way up so you can see them in order.

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I thought about naming this the Aquarium edition in honor of the field trip I went on with my son’s second grade class this week where I loved seeing my son’s face as he was in awe of some of the discoveries. (Like in this photo.) However, Thanksgiving is a delightful holiday, perhaps my favorite because it contains no pressure and no stress. The only stress for some folks may be the cooking. There’s no shopping for gifts, sending holiday wishes and preparation outside of cooking like decorating the home.

My mom does all the cooking. And guess what? She says Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday. Her and Dad’s anniversary always falls around Thanksgiving. They married on Thanksgiving in 1955. Though Dad passed away in 2007, I sent her a note on her anniversary date. Mom appreciated the senitment. So if you know someone whose spouse has passed away, go ahead and drop ‘em a line on their anniversary date. Just because a mate is gone doesn’t mean you have to forget the date.

Just be with your fave people (OK, maybe Uncle youknow gets on your nerves — remember people don’t live forever and you don’t have to see them daily)  loved ones and relish the time together. For my family, add “watch the Dallas Cowboys.” Yeah, yeah… they lost in an exciting come from behind game. You gotta give ‘em credit for trying when their playoff hopes are long gone.

Brain food…

• How to Enchant Your Customer: I rarely link to popular sites and experts, but this one from Guy Kawasaki is a worthy read.
• How to Be an Original in a Blogosophere Polluted with Regurgitations: I’ve covered topics that many others have. One thing I try to do that no one else can… be me without focusing on me as my life is not that interesting.
• Six Dilemmas That Freelancers Face Over the Holidays: I take some time off. I hope you do, too. Gotta give that brain of yours a break and experience joy.
• achieving, without goals: Yes, it’s possible.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Pac-Man Cookie Cutters: Is it me or do these shapes make those cookies look more delish?
• 12 Funniest Misspelled Billboards: Oddee says it best, “Misspelling is not good, but to have it in a super size panel makes it much worse.”
• Butterbeer?! Oh Yes, Friends! Butterbeer!:  Sugarbear’s recipe looks simpler than some of the others posted. I must just try this. I wonder how using sugar free cream soda compares.

Tell us about your Thanksgiving.

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As a kid …

I’ve been on both sides of the special needs parenting relationship. Well, I don’t think I was a special needs kid, but I do have a unique challenge because I’ve been deaf since birth. My parents always told my teachers to treat me like any other kid with one exception: make sure I sat where I could read lips.

However, my parents championing for me didn’t stop there. In third grade, the school put me in the lowest reading level and in the middle of the math level. Mom disagreed with the placement. The school moved me up to the middle reading class and to the highest level math class. It worked well except my mom didn’t like the reading teacher. One advantage of being a “sort of” special needs child is that I picked up this championing skill from my mom and put it to work with my child.

The magnet program started in fourth grade in my school district. The magnet program is an honors type program where kids worked with harder material and faster. I didn’t make the magnet program because my standardized test score wasn’t high enough. Mom had me tutored and retake the test over the summer and I entered the magnet program in fifth grade. It was one of the best years in grade school.

As a Mom …

As a Mom of three kids, I’m on the other side of the coin and have one child with unique needs. While I’m open to talking about what makes him different, I don’t write about it online. It’s not for me to reveal. I don’t want to affect his future (not that it should). You and I know that the Internet has a memory of a million elephants and exposes its memory to everyone.

The downside of not talking about it publicly is that parents in the same situation don’t have me as a resource to know they’re not alone. I came across a blog about a Mom in my situation and appreciated her sharing experiences. Instead of posting online, I talk to parents in my area. However, I sent a message on Facebook to one parent I rarely see to find out how her moving was going. Her family hadn’t moved yet and she told me about her child’s current challenges.

I told her about a program in our public school system. She knew nothing about it. At least, she was in touch with the right administrator who can help her child get into the program that I spoke of.

No matter what support they have, parents of special needs kids never stop fighting for their children. Even with my child in a special program, I have had to go up to bat for him when something wasn’t working.

As a worker …

Thanks to freelancing, I have the flexibility to be there for my kids when they need me without the guilt. While I always put in my hours, I felt stressed when I had to leave the office outside of lunch time. Goodness knows, we have lots of appointments and meetings with teachers. These meetings occur during the day, a time when corporate parents struggle to leave the office. Then, they may have to make up the time by working late — more time away from the kids. A vicious cycle.

Fortunately, more companies offer flexibility. I believe that as long as the employee gets the work done well and meets goals, then flexibility shouldn’t be an issue. Of course, if the hours start shrinking too much — then the manager needs to address it.

Companies may fear hiring parents of kids with special needs or people with special needs. But we tend to stick around longer, which keeps turnover low. When we find a good company that’s flexible, we tend to be more loyal. Because of the work parents do for their kids, they tend to put the same type of knowledge and energy into their jobs. Also, people living with a unique situation have creative ideas because they look for solutions that few need. Just read Chynna Laird’s bio below and you’ll see what an amazing person she is who does more than most parents of children with no unique challenges.

Inspiration for this post …

I wrote today’s post as part of the WOW-Women on Writing Blanket Tour for Not Just Spirited by Chynna Laird. The book is a memoir of a mother fighting for a diagnosis when countless doctor’s told her that her daughter was just “spirited.” Chynna shares the heartbreaking reality of mothering a child with a severe “No touch” rule. She calls it “Mothering without touch.” Although Not Just Spirited is the perfect match for parents of children with sensory processing disorder (SPD), the determination and victories shown in the book will encourage anyone parenting a child with special needs or working to overcome an obstacle in their own life.

Chynna has also written a children’s book, I’m Not Weird, and resource book about SPD, At-Home Strategies for Managing Sensory Processing Disorder: A Guide for Parents. She is now working on another book, White Elephants. When not writing, Chynna is a mom to her three young children and a student wokring on her BA in psychology.

Win …

If you comment on today’s post by 11:59pm on December 1, 2010, you’ll be entered to win a copy of Not Just Spirited: A Mom’s Sensational Journey With Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). The unbiased and robotic Random.org has the honor of picking the commenter whose name will go into the WOW drawing for the book. To read Chynna’s post about parenting and a list of other blogs participating in Chynna’s Blanket Tour for more chances to win, visit The Muffin.

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