Things my mom says

Here are some of the things my mom taught me as a child, hopefully they can help you, too.

You have time for what you make time for.

This is for all the times I said “but MOM, I don’t have TIME to do _____” as a kid. This is a constant reminder whenever I’m juggling too many tasks. It helps me break down what I’m doing, why I’m doing it and ask myself “is this what I want to be spending my time on?” If it is, good! Otherwise, fill that time with something you find more valuable.

Work while you talk!

When we’d do yard-work or anything physical, it’d be easy to pause the work that you’re doing and chat. My mom would always say “Work while you talk!” which to me is a springboard to multitasking; if you can accomplish things simultaneously, get it done!

Well, that was a learning experience!

Whenever something did not go as planned, or went horribly off the rails, my mom would affectionately call it a “learning experience.” This is a really great attitude to have toward failures and things going wrong in your life. It helps you think more about the “lessons learned” phases, which we often forget or try to blame others for the outcome, and instead focus on how you can do your part better the next time.

If you can’t sleep at night, you didn’t work hard enough during the day.

I know this field is filled with insomniacs for many reasons, but each time I can’t sleep, I think about her saying this and the next day, I put myself into more action. I’ve found that it’s the best way to fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. (otherwise, she always said to read myself to sleep — that one usually works, too).

There are obviously many more things that she’s taught me, but these ones seem to stick out a lot in the workplace.