How to Avoid Analysis Paralysis for Women, Part 2

By Roz Jones

Welcome back to our three-part article on how to avoid analysis paralysis for women! Today, we’re covering one way to deal with too much information: Decision Trees

Read part 1 here!

Decision Trees Can Help You Make Decisions

Decision trees are tools used by people to help them make confident decisions. It helps them lay out several alternatives in a tree-like format. They can see most, if not all, the decisions available and can even set a pro/con rating on each choice.

The concept of a decision tree is an extension of a mind map. A mind map lets you create ideas and connections to those ideas. The decision tree is much like this concept except for a decision tree there is a score added to the branches of the tree. These scores often represent probabilities.

If you have three choices, you may assign two branches with 40% probabilities, and the third branch would receive a 20% probability. The total of the branches should add up to 100%. Remember, this is your decision tree, so you are free to use whatever allocations you like if any. If your system makes sense to you, then it is correct.

Decision trees don’t have to be intricate to be useful. You can use them to list out the alternatives for a decision and end your efforts there. You can also choose to update the percentage of completion for the path that you select. Again, there are no right answers when using a decision tree for your purposes.

Decision trees will have a certain amount of subjectivity associated with them. In most cases, coming up with probabilities is quite subjective. It’s only through experience that you’ll be able to refine the probabilities. If the project you are working on is a one-time deal, you won’t get the benefit of refining those probabilities and will have to start over with a new set of subjective probabilities on the next project. However, some branches may carry over to the new project, and you’ll have a better feel for what to assign to those.

Come back in a couple of days for Part 3!

I’ve just launched Shop With Roz, my online store filled with supplies and gifts for every caregiver. You can find a wide variety of products in the store to help yourself and your loved one. Check it out here!

After you have a look through the store, see any products you use and love as a caregiver, and think we should share them with everyone? Let me know!

It’s here, I am so excited to share a new caregiver app called CircleOf….This app will allow you to surround yourself with resources and experts from your community including ME!!!! As you are looking through the app, you will see my familiar face. I’m excited about this partnership and new ways to support you as you support your loved one. Here’s the link so you can explore the app. I would love your feedback and spread the word by sharing the link to family and friends.

Visit http://www.rozjonesent.com for more information on addressing mental health as a caregiver and check out my upcoming book!

How to Avoid Analysis Paralysis

By Roz Jones

Data bombards you. We have more data than we ever did due to the Internet. It’s great to slice the data every which way you can think of and create nice-looking reports that impress your colleagues and friends.

However, when it comes to decision making, you have to get to the point of making the decision. You’ll need to stop your data gathering and analysis and use what information you have to decide.

For many women, particularly women in a caregiving role, it may be difficult to make a decision because of overwhelm. With so much to do on a daily basis, how can we get all the information we could possibly need?

Some people will spend hours sifting through data, and none of them will get them any further in coming to a decision. They believe they need to see ten year’s worth of data instead of five.

Data is an important component in the decision-making process. It can let you know who your customers are, how much you can afford to put down on a house, or possible locations for your wedding. Information is also important to make confident decisions. Without the information, you could be shooting in the dark, and that is as bad as having too much information (probably wors).

To help you overcome the situation known as “analysis paralysis”, speak to your boss, family, or the people who are going to be impacted by the data and your decisions.

Don’t be a hero when it comes to analysis. You may be tempted to show off your research skills with more data than you really needed. But, if it isn’t within the scope of your decision, save it for future analysis.

In a few days, we’ll talk about one specific way you can deal with too much information, not enough decision making. Make sure you check back in!

After you have a look through the store, see any products you use and love as a caregiver, and think we should share them with everyone? Let me know!

Visit http://www.rozjonesent.com for more information on addressing mental health as a caregiver and check out my upcoming book!

How to Talk to Your Kids About Tough Topics

By Roz Jones

You might find it uncomfortable talking about some subjects with your kids. It might be because of your own background, your cultural or religious values. As a caregiver, one challenge may be even finding the time to sit down to have the conversation. Even though it’s difficult, it’s important to talk about the tough topics that affect our kids. It’s a good idea to identify the topics that might confuse, scare, or overwhelm your child.

Here are some tips for addressing the sticky topics with your kids:

If something sad happens within your family, like an illness, a death, or a divorce, try to be the one to talk to them about it first. Set aside time with your child where you can both be comfortable, and choose a safe environment where you can talk to them about it.

Keep your answers simple and appropriate for their age. Children under six aren’t necessarily going to understand or be patient while you give them a long, drawn out explanation.

Be honest and talk as truthfully as you can about the topic.

Come back to the topic. It will take time for your child to understand. Let them know they are welcome to come back and ask you questions about the topic at any time.

If the topic is one that is bothering them, be open and ask open-ended questions to help them describe how they feel or what they think.

Listen to your child. Make eye contact and get as close to their level as you can.

Above all, remain calm even if the topic is sad or difficult for you personally. It’s also okay to have feelings and let your child know how you feel.

After you have a look through the store, see any products you use and love as a caregiver, and think we should share them with everyone? Let me know!

Visit www.rozjonesent.com for more information on addressing mental health as a caregiver and check out my upcoming book!

3 Ways to Have a Conversation with Older Generations

By Roz Jones

Today I want to talk about having conversations with the elderly. Some people find it difficult or don’t know what to say to older people. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Whether you work or volunteer at a nursing facility, have an elderly neighbor who you want to get to know, care for an older loved one, or some other way you interact with the elderly, knowing how to have better conversations with them helps both of you thrive.

Senior members of the population are more prone to loneliness than other age groups. Weakened health, decline in physical mobility, and loss of driving privileges due to age all affect their ability to socialize. This doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy company.

3 Ways to Have a Conversation with Older Generations

Ask open-ended questions. Ask about their family, for example. Encourage them to talk about their life. Seniors are a wealth of knowledge, filled with stories from decades of life experiences, funny stories, inspiring tales of courage, relationship stories, or even shocking things like wars or living in the Great Depression.

Sit down with them with their photo albums, music records, or recipes and travel back through time, encouraging them to tell their stories behind the images.

Try to find a quiet place that is relaxing and has few distractions. Turn off radios, televisions, and your phone. Be mindful of hearing challenges they might have. You may have to speak a little louder, slower, and more distinctly so they can understand your words. Be patient if they struggle to find the right words.

Use these conversation starters to help you build relationships with older generations.

What life experiences gave you the most happiness?
How did your military experience shape you?
Tell me about your friends growing up? What was school like?
What’s your view on ….?
Do you recall the types of clothing or popular hairstyles of your youth?
What was your favorite time of day when you were younger?

After you have a look through the store, see any products you use and love as a caregiver, and think we should share them with everyone? Let me know!

Visit http://www.rozjonesent.com for more information on addressing mental health as a caregiver and check out my upcoming book!

Avoid Falling for These 3 Time Management Myths

By Roz Jones

If you’ve been reading about time management for a while, which you probably have, since everyone is interested in being more productive, especially at the new year; you probably have fallen for at least one of these myths.

Multitasking Helps You Get More Done Faster

If you’ve ever read job advertisements, you probably see them asking for “natural multitaskers” or “good multitaskers” as if this is good to be. The problem is scientifically, you cannot multitask. No one can. As a human, you can only truly focus on one thing at a time.

A person who multitasks might get by and do a good enough job, but if they really focused, they’d do better. Study after study shows that multitasking reduces productivity, increases stress, and it’s not even actually possible and in some cases, may be dangerous.

You Can’t Get More Time

This is something that a lot of people will be surprised to read. While it’s true that we’re all born with the same number of hours in a day, and most of us will live to an average of 78.69 years old, you can buy other people’s time. Because of this fact, you can get more time if you can find the funds to do it.

You Can Manage Your Time

When we talk about time management, we’re not really talking about managing time as much as we’re talking about managing the schedule you set for yourself, ensuring you have enough time and energy to do what needs to be done in the time given to get it done.

This requires that you understand how long it takes you to accomplish the task, knowing how to do the task right, which technology or equipment you need, and that you have the right resources to get it done. All of this requires planning.

One of the most liberating things you can do for yourself is to destroy the myths that are in your mind as facts. It’s hard sometimes to realize that so much of what you think is true isn’t. We all have enough time to get things done, if only we know and implement the ways that work best for us moving forward.

After you have a look through the store, see any products you use and love as a caregiver, and think we should share them with everyone? Let me know!

Visit http://www.rozjonesent.com for more information on addressing mental health as a caregiver and check out my upcoming book!