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November 13, 2013 by Laura Riordan

A Season of Smart Service: How to Avoid Giver Burnout

Are You a Selfless Giver?

This time of year is made for givers with countless opportunities to offer time, money, ideas, skills and cheer. However, after giving thanks, giving gifts and giving toasts we can be left fatigued or burned out. Burnout looks and feels differently for many of us, but for me it typically surfaces with feelings of resentment, lack of interest and sloppy work with little follow-through. If you have a giving personality, you’ve probably felt like this from time to time.

October 7, 2013 by Laura Riordan

Reentering the Workforce on Your Terms

Picture this, you have been given a gift of two free days to spend as you would like, without your children or spouse. How would you choose to spend those days? I would choose to work! Yes, work is what fuels my soul and how I show up in the world outside of my family. I, like many people, have a to-do list that is a mile long. I also have dreams of girl’s weekends with spa treatments. However, working gives me a place to express my ideas and have my talents validated by that other important thing…money!

Does this sound familiar?

September 25, 2013 by Laura Riordan

Testimonials Help Transitions

Fall equinox marks more than the changing of seasons for many parents. With kids back in school and a solid routine in place, we have more time to take care of ourselves and refocus our energy on our goals. I typically welcome this time to invigorate my coaching practice. This year, however, as I began planning workshops, speaking engagements and accepting more clients, I felt a sense of doubt that I was still a good coach.

I’ve had doubts about my effectiveness as a coach before and a few public speaking-induced panic attacks, but I can usually quiet these fears with

April 19, 2013 by Laura Riordan

Positive Procrastination

My house is never cleaner than when I have something really important to do. I am like a Tasmanian devil of de-cluttering and cleaning. I have a standing excuse that I need an uncluttered environment to think, but deep down I feel more benefits to procrastination than a clean work space. Here are a few:

You get to put off unpleasant tasks in favor of more enjoyable things
Problems may end up getting solved without any effort from you
You can delay challenging decisions to gather more information
Open space and time enhance creativity

October 31, 2012 by Laura Riordan

Making a Change? Get an Accountability Partner

About six months ago, I was faced with the challenge of how to grow my business through social media. I had just walked out of an inspiring seminar armed with information on Facebook pages, Twitter handles and LinkedIn profiles…I was ready to get to work! But a few weeks later, I had not made any progress toward my goal. I flipped back through my notes from the seminar and found a scrawled notation in the margin: “get an accountability partner!” An accountability partner is someone

May 7, 2012 by Laura Riordan

Tips for Parents to Transition into Summer

The warm weather in Marin the last few weeks has created a bit of spring fever. Many of us have already been to the beach and hosted early season barbeques. Fueled by this warm weather and the taste of summer, I decided to begin my summer planning. I opened my calendar and clicked through June filled with recitals, graduations, ceremonies and the last day of regularly scheduled activities. Then came July and August. The open weeks stretched out like blank pages in a writing test booklet. Suddenly, I was facing two months with no plans…help!

February 6, 2012 by Laura Riordan

Making Space for Love

Making space for love seems like it should be easy, but often it is not. In love we are present and connected with our partner and feel more fully alive. Unfortunately, in our busy and over-scheduled world presence and connection can get lost. We grow to see our partners as a collection of their faults. When they walk through the door we see, “always late, forgot it was Valentines day, sink full of dirty dishes, etc.”

Our partners are the people who see our true beauty and deserve our best efforts to make space for love. I hope the following tips can help you fall in love again this Valentine’s Day.

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November 3, 2010 by Laura Riordan

Setting Goals From the Inside Out

I don’t know about you, but when those year-end magazine issues appear on the newsstands, a feeling of dread comes over me. I know that I will begin to look back and assess the year according to what I did or did not get around to. I will review the best and worst moments and feel guilty for time lost or time ill spent.

My feeling of dread really sinks in when I review my to-do list. I find it interesting that the items left undone are those I am not passionate about or invested in. Further, these items are not linked to any of my goals, but put on the list out of a responsibility

April 27, 2009 by Laura Riordan

The Sustainable Mom

The Sustainable Mom: Building a Stronger Family Through Self-Care
When I first heard the popular saying, “if a mom is happy the family is happy,” I cringed a bit with a sense of yearning and dread. In theory, I know that I am responsible for creating my own happiness and that if I do not attend to my own needs that my family structure suffers. In practice, I have a difficult time putting my happiness and myself first. I also know that I am not alone in this struggle. I would like to share two of the most common challenges to a mother’s self-care and present some strategies