The Best Backpacks For Kids To Tote Their School Essentials
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“When choosing a backpack, be sure to remember the two most important characteristics—the size and material of the backpack,” says Jessica Eastman Stewart, founder of Joyfully Managed Family and a mom of two in Oakland, California. “When choosing the size, be sure to get one that fits their size now. A preschooler will struggle to manage a backpack that is sized for an upper-elementary-aged child.”
A backpack’s material is key, as Stewart explains. “When choosing a material, remember that backpacks get tossed onto the floor, into the dirt of the playground and on the floor of vehicles, so be sure the material is ready to handle that wear and tear and is easily cleaned.”
Once your kid reaches a certain age and has to carry a long list of items, staying organized can be a challenge. Clear systems help, says Eastman. “I recommend a sign near the door of your home that reminds you and your child what needs to be packed each day—homework folder, sunscreen, water bottle, lunch, snacks, extra clothes, etc.—to make packing their backpack easier.”
These 5 Habits Help Me Stay Organized When I’m Feeling Down, So I Can Still Manage the Day
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Nonprofit co-founder Jessica Eastman Stewart is also a big proponent of the daily list. “My tip is to identify three-to-five things that are critical for your home to function each day. Post it on your fridge or microwave and get into the habit of doing this list after you finish dinner,” she shares. “You don’t have to do everything, but if you do a handful of key things that matter in your life, it will keep everything at a manageable level until you cycle back to feeling better again.”
How to Use Weekly Updates to Be a Better Manager
Full article on Lattice.com.
“Great leaders consistently communicate about what matters most for the organization,” said Jessica Eastman Stewart, a longtime nonprofit leader who now consults for and coaches other nonprofit leaders. “Weekly [reports] are a great way [for] a leader [to] ensure their team has the clarity they need to do their best work.”
When it comes to weekly updates, think ‘short and sweet.’ If you write a novel each week, it’s unlikely your team will get through it, Stewart said. Include what matters most, she advised. Clarity is key — even when the path forward isn’t clear, said Stewart. If a big event may need to be postponed, for example, it’s important to spell out what is known and how the next steps will be determined.
But just as important as these nuts-and-bolts updates is praise, something employees crave. In fact, to bolster employee engagement, Gallup recommends recognizing employees for their good work every seven days. Managers should call out the big things, such as the completion of a year-long project, as well as the little things, like gratitude about a small act of kindness between team members.
“Weekly updates provide an opportunity for managers to celebrate and appreciate the contributions of members of the team,” Stewart said.
“Appreciation can’t just be, ‘Thank you for doing the budget.’ It has to be, ‘Here’s what specifically you did well and here’s why that matters,’” she said. “When you connect the ‘why that matters’ part, it helps everybody see their connection to what we’re collectively here to do.”
A bottom-up approach, where employees share updates with their manager and team, can call out the need for upskilling to complete a project or uncover new ways to collaborate. Perhaps one team member needs feedback from an organization’s customers, and their coworker is organizing an event with those very people, Stewart said. Weekly updates shared among a team could highlight the need and the opportunity and bring the two together. “It can prevent teams from missing opportunities to make things better or collaborate better,” she said.
Traveling: Where Does My Newborn Sleep?
“Our babies slept as newborns in pack ‘n plays in all sorts of closets while traveling,” said Jessica Eastman Stewart. The mom of two cautioned that travel cribs can be expensive to check as an extra item when flying, but they would bring one if they drove somewhere. “We would buy one to leave at the location if we planned to visit again (like grandparents),” she told us.
Stewart has also rented from baby gear rental companies, borrowed from hotels, chose AirBnbs that advertised having a pack ‘n play, and have even purchased a cheap one on site and then donated to a local Goodwill.
6 Ways to Find Time for Yourself As a New Mom
Jessica Eastman Stewart explained how she and her partner created a “weekend formula” where they each get alone time as well as alone time with the kids. “Knowing that every weekend would have some alone time that I could plan however I wanted was really critical,” she told us. “Without the deliberate planning, we wouldn’t have made it happen most weekends.”
Some parents are overjoyed at the prospect of permanent daylight-saving time.
Full article on Insider.
Jessica Eastman Stewart, a mother in Oakland, California, said that whether the US shifts to permanent daylight-saving time or to permanent standard time "matters less to me than just ending the nonsense of changing back and forth twice a year."
"Every time we spring forward, my children end up waking up so late that we struggle to get them to school on time. When we fall back, we end up awake way too early in the morning," and everyone is tired and grumpy at night, she added.
How Many References Should You Have on a Resume?
Full article on UpJourney.
“Skip the references on your résumé completely. The limited space available on your resume is valuable for real estate to tell your story. Using that space for references and their contact information will waste that space.
I have hired dozens of employees over the years; not once was I interested in references at the resume stage. I always talk with references before offering a job to someone, but that step comes later in the hiring process.
The best hiring managers are likely to want specific types of references like a former manager, so you might need to give them different names later anyway.
Focus your resume on your accomplishments, awards, and experience, and then prepare well to nail the interview. Your references will come in later to sing your praises.”