Jacquie Ellis

Are you happy at work? Are there toxic people at work? How is your productivity? Negative or toxic work environments affect productivity. Let’s be honest. When work environments or cultures are positive, work is great. Sure there might be stressful situations but it will be somewhat manageable because people are working together.  Then someone starts doing something questionable or being negative. That negativity breeds a toxic work environment very quickly. A negative influence is four times more powerful than a positive person. That is why you need to surround yourself with positive people. This toxic environment makes it very difficult to stay productive at work. Why is that? Toxic Work…

Illness or death for a loved one is never easy to process. Your mind is filled with all of the emotions and may not be thinking through the specific tasks that you need to get done. Learning how to create a family emergency binder might just be the solution for being more prepared for a crisis. We’ve had a number of close family members pass away recently and it had me thinking about a family emergency binder. Do I know where all of the important papers are for the house? Would my adult kids know where to find information needed to pay bills? Does my husband know who to contact…

It’s that time of year when summer camps are open for registrations but how do you choose? Which ones are best for your kids and won’t break the bank? What if they are full already but looked amazing? There are so many options but you don’t know where to begin. This easy summer camp planning guide for parents is perfect for simplifying your summer. **disclaimer** This summer camp planning guide does not include a magical mom taxi for taking said children to or from their summer camps. That wonderful task is still left for yourself or someone you trust. Enjoy that mom taxi time it can be amazing! When kids…

Barriers come in many forms, but learning how to get over mental barriers is the worst. Mental barriers come with that inner voice that tells you what to do or not to do and they can hard to recognize and hardest to overcome. In the Goal Setting and Tracking Series, I talked about the categories of barriers and how to identify barriers that may stop or delay your goals. What happens when you come across a mental barrier? What do you do when you are frozen in fear of overdoing that next step?  You thought that the barrier was ‘lack of knowledge’ or ‘lack of time’ or just some other…

Is gender balance at work a positive step towards equality? Or does it raise more questions and doubts? These are all valid questions that we need to ask ourselves as we strive for equality in the workplace. I’m a female engineer with over 20 years of working in a man’s world. It hasn’t been easy and there have been times where I’ve had to adjust my approach to “earn” enough respect to be heard at that conference room table. It is easy to get upset at that last statement and shout from the roof-top that it shouldn’t have happened. However, I want to offer you a different perspective today. One…

It’s International Women’s Day this week and it has me thinking about gender balance. Not just gender balance in the workplace but gender balance starts at home too. The theme for the 2019 International Women’s Day is #Balanceforbetter. Many moms feel like they carry the burden of home organization and parenting by themselves, and don’t realize the benefits of delegation. Should gender balance start at home? I keep hearing moms, tired and exhausted moms, say their husbands don’t do enough around the home or with the kids. These are moms that work outside the home, moms that work from home, and stay-at-home moms. I’m going to be very clear here.…

When life is chaotic and stressful, sex is the last thing on your mind. That busy mom brain has no desire for sex. Is stress killing the libido? How is it that when you are on vacation, the libido improves? Why does it take getting away from “all the things” to help find that connection with your spouse? I’m fascinated by the science behind this topic, mostly because of my inner geek. Don’t worry though, I won’t get deep into the scientific reasons because I want to help you find healthy ways that will help you boost your libido. I want to help you build a strong relationship with your spouse or…

Have you ever felt dissatisfied with life? Is there something missing? Creating an intentional life is the key to creating the life you want. But how does one start? Where do you start? My intentional life came naturally over many years. So much so that when I started hearing the term, “intentional living” I was shocked to find out that I had been following this path already as part of my Seeking Simple Life journey. In one of my most recent articles about work routines, I talked about the key to being successful using work routines is using intention. It was intentionally setting up routines that work for you and…