Book Reviews by Age, by Common Sense Media Stories have the power to calm us, to entertain us and to take us on journeys for hours at a time. Reading may just be the key to getting some time to focus on your work while you are home with kids. Common Sense Media is a wealth of information about all things kids media, including age appropriate reading. This must-have resource link provides an interactive age selector and book titles with reviews for the age you have selected. When kids are little it seems like we read the same…
Read More
Full disclosure, I am in a dual career couple marriage and my business partner happens to also be my life partner and husband. We have been at this for 20+ years. We don't typically lead with that fact because we want our clients to know our brand and culture, not our marital status. Our corporation is more than competent to bring solutions to very large brands who depend on us to manage their brand compliance. What does it matter that we fell into working as business partners and we happen to be married? It doesn't. It's not easy. Most of…
Read More
I have been working remotely on and off for many years. It so happens that I am in an office currently but have been working at home again during this health crisis. I have gone back to a few bad habits which included skipping lunch. This is a surprisingly common habit among remote workers. For that reason we are sharing simple lunch ideas to refuel for that afternoon Zoom Conference meeting. Our ideas are brought to you by the largest social media food platform on the planet - Buzzfeed's Tasty Brand. Beloved by digital natives and Millennials, Tasty provides fast…
Read More
Music can calm us while we get through a stressful workday, focus us to help finish a project, propel us to work that extra hour or two when we are less motivated, and perhaps most important, it can filter out the "noise" of your new office where ever it may be. These are playlists along the theme of work focus and productivity from Spotify Music. Morning Coffee House Chill Instrumental for Work and Study Focus - Peaceful Piano Lo-Fi Beats Brain Food (hypnotic electronic) Morning Classical - (uplifting) Classical Focus Have a Great Day - feel good timelessly fun songs…
Read More
One way to focus and filter out household sounds while you work at home is with music. But how does music influence you. Does it distract? Does it Focus? Does it make you happy/sad? Thrive Global unlocks the science behind music and its ability to boost productivity and focus. Seems like a no-brainer for anyone new to Work-From-Home, so we are featuring it here at BP Home Base. Check out our other post in this category for actual links to premade work playlists. Music Boosts Productivity - A short Summary of…
Read More
Top Five Free Meditation Apps Worthy of Your Attention Full disclosure, my idea of a meditation is 10 minutes with the "Calm App" ($60/annual fee), in the morning before work and previously at lunch in my car. I try to be consistent. That's about all I can do because I find it hard to sit still. However, after that 10 minutes, I feel like I've been on a mini-vacay. It's miraculous. So I'm a fan of the mainstreaming of Meditation. And I love that there are so many top of the line FREE apps. For me this small meditation…
Read More
Top At Home Streaming Exercise Services In all the work at home reading I've been doing, schedules, consistency and exercise are constant themes. Our county parks and beaches were closed as of today. People cannot seem to keep their physical distance while enjoying the great outdoors. Now our local trails are closed as well. What to do? Streaming services provide a schedule for your workout and a trainer to take you through it on a daily basis. If you cannot work out with your exercise buddy, this is one way to create a commitment you must keep. The…
Read More
A Letter to All Parents from Dr. Debra Jedeikin This is an image of my then 8 year old enjoying a pajama day, under the watchful eye of his Dad. He was building a ball toss machine for impaired Grandparents to use when they want to play catch with their dogs. To me this is an image of a more carefree time when the idea of dangerous Pandemic was not on our radar screen. It's a Saturday in the backyard working on a 3rd grade Science Project together. In her letter here, Dr. Debra Jedeikin tells us that…
Read More
If you are professional parents working from home for the first time, you are in good hands with this guide from the Harvard Business Review Press. I have found their content to be clear, concise and digestible. They are well researched and understand they are talking to consumers of content who need and want knowledge that can be used. We have a Biology major at home involved in the experiment of online University. But we remember what it would be like if we had to take on home schooling in addition to our jobs. For those of you who have…
Read More
Here's a question I posed to my friend the other day: Would you read a letter from China differently today than you would have 3 weeks ago? I would! That's why I'm posting this very down to earth letter from the Director or Microsoft China after their outbreak. She talks candidly about what she learned from remote work and most-interestingly, what she learned from her customers. Her letter was published on March 2, 2020. I am grateful to Lily for sharing her perspective. We think it's a golden nugget of insight that got lost in the plethora of LinkedIn feed…
Read More