Are you happy with your current work?

Its all still too new, even after almost a year, to say that I am happy. So much changes in recent months have all made it a bit hard to digest, but its all for the best , I believe

Its all still in the making. the transition from hired employee to freelancer is  not simple.

In many ways I am still a hired employee. I go to the office and need to deliver at certain times, but I no longer have the salary rather I need to submit an invoice.

The disadvantages:

I have more than one client, so I have more than one boss.

Everything in the business depends on me, so if I am sick, I do not get paid and the work does not get done.

I am limited as to how much work I can take on, the business is not yet stable enough to take on an employee.

The advantages:

I work mostly from home and my hours are more flexible.

I can be near my kids and not in a remote office all day.

I get some tax benefits because I now submit invoices (e.g. deduct home expenses to some extent).

I can raise my hourly wage.

I can work from anywhere! A laptop, Wifi Internet and a power extension is all I need.



I am still at the beginning of a log road. Its a wide wide way...

Ofra

Circles of plenty

Like a hand full of currents, I have many blessings in life. the currants are like little circles, circles of plenty...

The original prompt was: "What are you missing in your life today? "

Considering that its 01.18 at night here, I am probably missing sleep.

I could also use a few more hours a day to get everything I want done finished.

I miss more time with my kids.

I miss flexibility in time management, I juggle kids, school, work and its just exhausting!

I miss having free time - a mother an a wife rarely has time to herself.

I miss my friends, its been ages since I had the opportunity to get together.

I guess a larger income can never hurt.

But why dwell on what i am missing in life, when I can count my blessings?

For an enhanced quality of life, well-being and happiness, I am trying to stay positive. Its not always an easy lesson to learn for a grumbler like myself... But as I demand my son to always think positive, about what he has gained and not the TV hours he has not had the time to watch... I remind myself that I too, should dwell on what is plentiful in my life. Its just a happier state of mind! It really works!

so here we go again..."circles of plenty" approach this time...

Considering that its 01.18 at night here, I am probably missing sleep.

YES, BUT I ENJOY THIS WRITING EXERCISE, SO TS WAS WORTH STAYING UP

I could also use a few more hours a day to get everything I want done finished.

TRUE, BUT SOME THINGS CAN WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW. ITS JUST WORK OR HOUSEWORK, NO NUCLEAR BOMB GOING OFF OR ANYTHING SO DESPERATELY URGENT!

I miss more time with my kids.

YES, BUT ITS JUST GREAT TO HAVE THEM AROUND.

I miss flexibility in time management, I juggle kids, school, work and its just exhausting!

YES, BUT I AM NEVER BOARD.

I miss having free time - a mother an a wife rarely has time to herself.

YEH, EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE OF ME...COULD NOT HELP THIS ONE BEING A BIT N THE GRUMBLE SIDE, BUT HEY, THINK WHAT A COMPLIMENT THAT IS...

I miss my friends, its been ages since I had the opportunity to get together.

TRUE, BUT I TALKED TO TWO OF THEM ON THE PHONE THIS WEEK AND WE SMS ALWAYS, MODERN TECHNOLOGY GOES A LONG WAY TO KEEP US BUSY BUSY BEES IN TOUCH.

I guess a larger income can never hurt.

YUP! BUT I AM NOT STARVING EITHER , THANK GOD!

All is well in my world and writing this has just made my smile a bit bigger - its really works! proportion in good for the soul.

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite...

Ofra

Describe your bedroom. What makes it special? What would you like to change/add?

This is the post that got me to aggregate my prompt responses also to a blog format.
I realized that is some random way, I am writing my personal experiences, opinions and feelings  = that means I am writing my memoirs. So I wanted this to be on an online diary format I can access at any time...for posterity...for my kids...

-----
Describe your bedroom. What makes it special? What would you like to change/add?

(actually this is NOT my bedroom...)

My bedroom is not so special. Like many such rooms, it contains a double bed for my husband and myself, a cupboard fr our clothes, divided into "his" and "hers" and two counters on both sides of the bed - but the counters are not matching.

What makes it special is that the bed is actually  constricted from two skeletons of single beds (actually my childhood bed and that of my sister) with extensions - an improvisation that has enabled me to move the bed from one apartment to another with ease. They just do not make them this way anymore..the materials are good and the structure strong, so I saw no reason to change. the mattress is new of course...

Another interesting feature is that the room leads to a balcony, which I enjoy using in the spring and summer months. Last year my son started sharing this joy and announced that the balcony makes him feel like he is on a summer holiday/vacation. The sunset is nice from the balcony.

The two bed-side counter do not match. One is made of two Ikea stools piled one on top of another - to get the right height but keep stable. The other counter is a relic from my teen years, a set of drawers I repainted since.

On the wall there are a few pictures of the family - its been growing as the family grows. A thank you card we got during the 2nd Lebanon war from a family we let stay in our home after they could not stay in theirs on the border, and an African carpet. But the featured pictures are two portraits of myself, from my molding years, drawn by an anonymous American Painter.

Every night, as my children prefer to fall asleep in my bed, "because ts warm and large and we can all cuddle together" says my son, then my bedroom becomes extra special.

That is, until I move the kids to their own beds, so that I to can get some sleep.

Good night


Ofra

Who's one person you want to be more like? Why?

Love thyself!

I want to be more self assured like my mother

I want to be more loving like my son

I want to be more knowledgeable like my brother

I want to be able to take it easy with a touch of escapism like my husband

I want to have more positive energy like my daughter

I want to be more successful like my elder sister

I want to be diligent like my twin sister

I want to be more calm like my father

I want to be a better

I want to work at my hobby like my good friend the DJ  and my good freind the municipal council member

There are many people I admire, but mostly my family and close friends, from each of whom I can learn to become a better and more complete person.

However, I am not so bad as I am :-)

Happy holiday

Ofra

----
This one is my second featured response, in just 2 weeks of writing to prompts
I guess I have the talent...:-)

Talk about your motivation these days. High? Low? Where's most of your energy being directed these days?

Starting an independant business is a p rocess that takes up a lot of energy.

If until now all I had to do is get up and got to work (after getting the kids rady for school), now I have to get up and think about what task needs to be taken care of today, which clients to talk to and what are the tasks that can be postponed, and then to when to push them.

But on top of all that I need to think what kind of a business I am trying ot put together, what are my goals and what steps I hve to take to get there. the thinking an dplanning of this business is the hard part.

Afterall, task management is something that I also did when I was a hired employee. And I did sometimes begin to organize my day before I got to the office. The thing is, that I has a clear separation between working time and free or familt time and now those barriers have become fuzzy.

With the freedom to mange  my own hours and the natural tentency towards taking care of  the quick and mundane tasks, comes the challenge of truely manging my own time in the most efficient way, so that I do not find myself pushing work into the hours that should be dedicated to my family, just because a client called and I just have to get things done.

This reorganisation and developing time management habits, combined with the thinking process of planning a new business of m y own is taking up my energy and motivation. But its a rich man;s problem, I have set to help myself, so the universe will help me and I am sure that my business will happen!

Good luck to all the self employed people, and happy holidays

Ofra

Talk about your thoughts on climate change.

Climate change evangelists are worried about the poles and ice melting, I am just hot and sweating here...on the tip of desert land.

The climate here is not changing...its always hot and humid.

Actually it is changing, for the worse. I do not recall it being this hot and humid when I was a child...

Winter starts later (only in December these days) than when I was a child (then the drop in temperature came in November)

There are only 2.5 months of Winter here and the its Spring, during which, one could say that the temperature is relatively pleasant because the sun is shining and one is not sweating so much.

But in May the heat is on and one starts to sweat.

From July to September, the weather is intolerable, its not the tropics here, but it sure feel like it... As a child I do not recall it being this bad and it only lasted until August.

Climate change and global warming are real! I feel it every year as the days get warmer and more humid and my shirt sticks to my back and there is nothing I can do about it as long as I am outside.

I thin every person should do their little bit to help slow down global warming. Save energy, recycle, whatever opportunity knocks, we should take it!

Baby steps is the key! if everyone does something small in their daily routine, the impact can be great. Its like the motion of a butterfly's wings which can cause a hurricane... Just do something, that fits nicely into your life so that you can adopt it as a habit. this will guarantee that you continue to contribute to this effort in the long run.

Protect mother earth

Ofra

Who's the most "successful" person you know?

Successful is such a word full of...success.

Its easy to measure success with money, but I do not think its just that. Its about happiness and self satisfaction. Success is about feeling successful, its about believing in yourself and in doing something that is meaningful to you in your life. something that is also meaningful to others. Success is about being loved and appreciated both professionally and in one's private and family life.

This reminds me of a film I saw in high-school as part of a psychology course I took. A couple of elderly people were sitting and when death came along, they receive it with open arms and smiles, because they have led a fulfilling life and now accept that its time to move on.

So in light of all that I have written, I think the most successful person i now is my mother. I know she is financially well off, I know she is happy with herself and her lot in life, I know she has done some meaningful things in her professional life and that she is satisfied with her achievements. I know she has a loving family and that all her children are self sufficient and no one is in trouble... I know that she loves herself and is self assured and happy.

I can only wish that all these positive achievements and feelings will continue in her and that they will sustain her for many years to come.

I  love you mommy,

Ofra

What's the most interesting thing you've read about recently?

The bunnies got the spirit right...

Is there a connection between marketing and dating ?
Actually I have recently heard an interesting comparison of online marketing or growth hacking to a dating experience from more than one source. The idea is that online marketing takes a customer through a  journey. Dating is also a journey towards finding your (it is hoped)  lifetime partner.

Acquisition = blind date
First the customer needs to know that a certain  company/product/ or service exists - this is done via dissemination in various channels. Today social media is the starting point for most of the acquisition campaigns. These campaigns are geared to capture leads, get the prospect to sign into a distribution list (perhaps in return for a free gift or coupon) so that the company can start the communication process and the prospect enters the sale/marketing funnel

This is like going on a blond date. You saw an advert somewhere on social media or a dating site and now you opted in for the first meeting. You probably gave the other person you email or phone number so that you can coordinate this first meeting. The communication process has started.

Activation = relationship
Now the comply has the name of the prospect and its time to gain their trust. This is done by repeatedly sending more information to this person about the company or the service and generally keeping the service in the awareness of the prospect until they take some action and become an active customer.

In the dating world, this is the part in which people go out on dates repeatedly. If the communication is working, they will continue to date and will enter into the relationship phase. During the relationship phase there are various stages and hurdles that have to be faced (like meeting the partner's parents, deciding to move in together etc.). These are the "small sale" stages, each time one of these hurdles has been met and removed, it compares to the selling of a small product or service, on the road towards the main goal/ flagship product.

Retention =  matrimony
Now that a company has an active customer is all about getting them to make repeated purchases an also to spend more money in each purchase. up-selling, cross-selling and getting the customer more and more engaged with the product, so that the always keep coming for more. Alternatively this could mean getting the customer to trust the company enough in order to buy its flagship product, which is also the most expensive products. This could also means to get the customer into purchasing a retainer - retention mean getting the customer to always purchase, making them a source for growing your revenue.

This is a lot like matrimony. Once you get married, your partner has effeminately signed up for the biggest product, you! As the marriage progresses there is always retention and re-selling points: steps that you will take together that will get you more and more engaged and involved with each other. fir example - buying a house together, and having children. Here the revenue is not money but rather  deepening of the relationship and partnership. The more things you go through together with your partner the more deep the commitment you will have towards one another. It terms of the commitment currency, you are spending more and more in this relationship, becoming more committed and "repurchasing the product" every day - your commitment to your partner only grows.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this response - I have heard this in various sources recently, but I liked the inforgrahic Quicksprout has put together on this subject, so I ma sharing it here with you.

www.quicksprout.com/the-definitive-guide-to-growth-hacking-chapter-4/
This also reminds me of a blog post I wrote a couple of year's back for a blogging competition for a job seeking website - in which I compared getting a job to dating.

First you go to the interview (blind date/ first meeting) then you negotiate the terms of employment (relationship) and then you get the job (matrimony). In the post I used another  marketing model usually referred to as AIDA. More on that in another response...here is the link to the blog I wrote.

https://jobmob.co.il/blog/market-yourself-for-dating-and-job-search/

Wishing you a great weekend and happy reading

Ofra

Talk about love. Where do you feel it most these days?

My kids are always drawing hearts for me and giving me notes and tokens of affection..

Pixabay.com just got it right in this image

I am usually not very sentimental, I have never really fallen in love, but I rather build on a slow relationship...This includes my relationship to my husband, who claims to have fallen in love with me at first site. sometimes I envy him this experience, all the more so because the feeling has lasted for 12 years since...and still going strong.

My children are making me feel love, especially when they re asleep..oh! I am not trying to be a cynical parent, the kind who says kids are at their best in sleep. No, all I am saying is that during the day we are often too busy working, cooking, cleaning and parenting to take a moment to just feel the love. When the kids are asleep and I come in one more time to kiss them good night (as I do every night) then I get to see those sweet faces and I fall in love! Yes, even I do so! And then in the quiet dark room I can enjoy the widening of my  heart in peace and make the most of it.

The exception during the day is hearing my kids laughing at play. The sound of pure joy is the kind that just has to put a smile on your face and widen your heart, no matter what you are doing at the time.

Its the season of family holidays. We should take the time , what with all the shopping, cleaning and cooking to just enjoy a free evening with our children and family members.

have fun!

Ofra

If you could have lived in a previous era, which era would it have been? Why?

Moritz is not in England, but the castle is the general idea...

I guess I would choose Regency England if I really had to choose another era. Its a great era to read about, and the writings of Jane Austen and her counterparts demonstrates that women were given some freedom to become thinking creatures. But one must not forget that until very recently, women enjoyed very little freedom and in some areas of the world they still do not!

Also one must not forget that Austen came from a relatively privileged family - Although her father was "only a clergywoman, he was a gentleman - which means he came from the top tier of English society, and even if the Austen family did not have it easy and were not  millionaires, they certainly never needed know hunger.

In the modern era, classes and stations have become much more varied and even a simple person, who has a job and good sense to laying some money aside, can live a good and peaceful life. We enjoy many freedoms, including writing on the web for platforms like this one. No one stops me from writing and saying whatever is on my mind.

I think we are living in the best time yet, and I can only hope that this improvement will continue into the future, even after my lifetime (at least my children will be able to enjoy it).

Wishing you a best present day,

Ofra

Some more holiday season spirit - What's one gift you'd love to receive this year?

My son want's a computer

My husband wants to win the lottery

My daughter is happy whenever she gets new dolls

But what do I want? its a hard one...

I am not into getting stuff becasue its alsways a hassle to store it all. Every year during the holiday season you get all these dishes and nick nacks that you just do not need...but its a gift from people you love, so you keep it...but then there is not enough room for all this stuff!

My home is already over flowing, as I believ are many homes in this modern day and age. We are a consuming society and as prices become lower, we consume and stack  more and more.

This is why I try to give gifts that are consumable. I thikn getting a box of candy is better than getting a new decorative vase. The candy can be consumed - eaten and enjoyed, andthen its out o fthe way.

If you do not want  the sugar and the fats, then get someone a jar of nuts. Or better yet, invitethem for a nice breakfast  - your treat - as a gift. This way you also get to spend som time together. You can also decide to treat them to a hiarcut - this way nothing needs to be eaten...

I think that the gift I would like to receive this year would be a day off, and maybe a nice massage. this is the best gift one can buy a mother of two relatively young children....

Happy holidays,

Ofra

Talk about the holidays. What do you look forward to most? Anything you dread?

Nuts are a Hanukkah Traditional Gift

Holidays in any country can be happy yet stressful times. The holidays bring with them much joy and food and family but also perhaps a little to much of the food and the family...this is where differences start surfacing. December in Israel is a season of three holidays that come from the three monotheistic religions. We have the Jewish Hanukkah that most people here celebrate, and which is also commemorated in schools and kindergartens. We have Christmas, which turns Jerusalem and Nasereth upside down for two days and we have the Islamic Ramadan that comes in some years during the winter. All these holidays are celebrated together in the city of Haifa. During December, in the weekends there is a food festival and many other events all over the city.

I personally celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, so my kids get an extra dose of Chocolate. We have everything double. Candles, doughnuts, latkes, presents, a decorated tree etc. The kids love it! Days off at school turn my schedule into a logistic challenge and then there is also the dread of not finding the right gift for each person in the family. To top it all off, my son's birthday is at the end of November and my niece at the beginning of December, so there is always a bit of a struggle when each child will  get their special day to celebrate with family and another for friends, and all this in between all the other celebrations.

I am grateful that the children enjoy all the festivities , but I sometimes feel overwhelmed by it all. Thank god the double celebration is only in our household and not the entire family. In all the logistics and sweetmeats its easy to forget that this is the season of forgiveness, kindness, giving and generosity. I try to make a point to discuss these issues with my children, and stress that good doing is not bound by religion or by a certain holiday.

Wishing you all a happy holiday Season

Ofra

---


This one was selected t be a featured response

What would you perfect morning be like?

My perfect morning is a weekend morning or a morning of a day off, in which I wake up to the small and warm hands of my daughter or son, who have woken up and decided to join my husband and me in our bed, and I have time to cuddle with both children and keep all warm.

Its just a great feeling of love and family, and the fact that there is no hurry, no need to get to school or work on time, gives me a chance to true enjoy all this love. We can even read a book or watch a video together, something that the children love to do!

Then finally we get up to a nice sunny day in early Spring (its important that its not too warm or humid yet...definitely early Spring time) and go out as a family to eat breakfast in a coffee house nearby. The short walk gives us all a chance to stretch out and move about, and the breakfast out of the house saves me all the dishes that would usually be involved in a meal.

To top it all off, we all go for a longer walk in the park around the corner, which boasts a playground for the children and benches in the sun for the parents. The children play and run and my husband and I can enjoy some quality time and conversation. In a perfect morning, I am able to pay my husband attention and not always chase after the playing children. and yet, when they invite me to play with them, I do so eagerly and with great joy!

Good morning to every one.

Ofra

Think about your days. Where are you wasting the most time?

I have recently started working from home as a freelancing contractor. The easiest way to waste time when you are working from home is hopping from one task to another and not working methodically on a task. Its just so easy to get up and fold clothes from the dryer instead of sitting and getting mundane daily tasks done and out of the way on your computer.

Emails are also a time waster, your email can truly control you day and suddenly you look at  the clock ad ooops, 3 hours have slipped you by.

So how can this be avoided? Run a strict calendar. We all have electronic calendars at the tip of our fingers.

Set a time for looking at and organizing your emails. set another time for answering emails, set time for folding dry clothes. some people even set time for having sex...we are all sooo busy all the time, a schedule is of the highest importance. But only discipline in managing and adhering to a schedule will make that schedule work for you.

I don't always manage to practice what I preach 100%, but I do my best every day.

 Hope this is helpful

Ofra - MarCom4all