Community Magazine April 2019

78 Community Magazine Ellen Geller Kamaras D oes the thought of Passover preparation cause a knot in your stomach? The minute I hear the word “Purim,” I think about Pesach following 30 days later and I start to get anxious. For those of you who go away to a Pesach program for the entire holiday or stay with your parents or in-laws, Passover can be relatively labor- and worry-free. If, however, you are staying home and need to turn the house over for Passover, it’s no easy feat! The good news is that many of us have improved our Pesach preparation with time and have worked to adopt a positive attitude and concentrate on what’s truly meaningful about this holiday. Nonetheless, Pesach preparation can be labor-intensive and overwhelming. As a former finance professional with a specialty in business process documentation, and as a life and career coach, I am focused on process improvement and mindfulness. Let’s partner to simplify our 2019 Pesach preparation process and work smarter, not harder this year. Work Smarter To 'work smarter, not harder' is a business axiom about prioritizing efficiency above everything else. It means researching and using obtainable resources, tools, technologies, and strategies to find better ways to accomplish your work or tasks. Efficiency andorganizational experts have found the followingtips to be successful in working smarter. Implementing these strategies for your Pesach prep can help you avoid Pesach overwhelm. Break your project into action tasks and into manageable chunks of time. As a life and career coach, I have seen this approach lead to positive results in achieving one’s goal of productivity. Can you use this method for your Pesach prep? Of course! Choose a task, such as refrigerator cleaning, set a timer for the estimated time you think you need, and go for it! This tool is aligned with SMARTING your goals. SMART goals are those that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely – they have a greater probability of getting accomplished. The Best Way to Work Work in short surges with concentrated focus. Professor K. Anders Ericsson studied the performance of elite performers such as athletes, musicians, and chess players and found that they work in short bursts of time and take frequent breaks in between. Therefore, resting improves performance. Working in short and concentrated surges increases productivity and helps people avoid The Parkinson’s Law, which states that work expands to fill the time. If you start preparing for Passover a month in advance, it will take you a month to finish the project. Closely related is gettting enough sleep. Don’t burn the candles at both ends. Remember, we need to put our own oxygen masks on first. If we don’t take care of ourselves, we won’t be there for the people we love. Avoid multitasking. Neuroscience shows that we are wired to be mono-taskers, and that less than 3% of the population can successfully multi-task. Don’t switch back and forth from project to project or from one Pesach task to another. It can hurt your ability to function. Take a Break Plan breaks in advance and give yourself rewards. Practice self-care and some “me” time. Go for a walk for half an hour, put your feet up, close your eyes and listen to some music or treat yourself to a smoothie. Working towards that reward when the task is either completed or 50% done will help you focus, and gives you something Passover 2019: Work Smarter, not Harder