Some common physical symptoms include aches and pains, diarrhea or constipation, nausea and/or dizziness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, loss of libido, and frequent colds. Emotional symptoms may include moodiness, irritability or short temper, agitation or inability to relax, feeling overwhelmed, a sense of loneliness and isolation, and depression or general unhappiness.

When feeling overwhelmed by stress, it’s important to try to identify specific stressors and to examine how you cope with them. You can then work to avoid, alter, adapt to, or accept the stressors in your life. You can also pay attention to the fact that they are brought on by a specific stressor or a general symptom.

* To avoid unnecessary stress, learn how to say no. Know your limits and stick to them, in both your professional and personal lives. Whenever possible, steer clear of people who cause you stress. Take control of your environment – if scary movies make you anxious, for example, don’t watch them. Stay away from hot-button topics like religion or politics if they make you upset or cause conflict. And finally, pare down your to-do list. Separate the “shoulds” from the “musts” and drop anything that is not truly essential.

* To alter stressful situations you can’t avoid, express your feelings rather than bottling them up. If something is bothering you, convey your concerns openly but respectfully. At the same time, remain open to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same so that you can find a happy middle ground.

In addition, be assertive and deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. And finally, manage your time better. Don’t stretch yourself too thin and end up running behind.

* If you can’t avoid or alter the stressor, you can adapt to it. Learn to view stressful situations from a positive perspective. You can reframe a traffic jam, for example, as an opportunity for some reflection time. Also, look at the big picture of a stressful situation. Ask yourself how important the stressor will be in the long run and whether it’s really worth getting upset over. If not, refocus somewhere else.

Adjust your standards as well. Don’t set yourself up for failure by demanding perfection from yourself and others. Focus on the positive by thinking about all of the blessings in your life, including your positive qualities and gifts.

* A fourth way to deal with stress is to accept the stress you cannot change. Don’t try to control the uncontrollable – a category that encompasses many aspects of our lives, including other people’s behavior. Focus instead on things you can control, such as your reactions to problems.

Again, look for the upside when facing major challenges and try to see them as opportunities for growth. When the stress gets to be too much, confide in someone you trust. Expressing your feelings can be cathartic, even when you’re powerless to change a situation.

* Last but not least, learn to forgive – yourself as well as others. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world, and people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments and move on.

Remember that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so take time to relax and have fun when you detect symptoms of stress in your life. Set aside to time to rest, spend time with positive people, and do something you enjoy every day. Your family is there to enjoy. And most of all, keep your sense of humor – including your ability to laugh at yourself.

Take a look at your income so far for the month or a past month.  What is the thing that is making you the most income?  Write it down at the top of  a computer document or notebook paper.

Write down 5 ways you promote this product or service that work the best.  Now go and quickly do those 5 things.  Put this at the top of your list for the day.  These are proven things to earn you money and if they are working then you should be pushing them.

Next brainstorm 3 news ways you can promote your product or service.  Try and get them to be quick ideas if you have a big to-do list already that needs to be completed.  A few examples of quick things would be:

1.  Hit your twitter account with a link to a blog post or just a quick tweet and affiliate link or sales page link.

2.  Use your facebook account. Add a status update to promote this product or service.

3.  Add a blog post, it doesn’t have to be a long post.

4.  Add a link to your sidebar.

5.  Swap links with a friends site.

6.  Swap guest posts with a friends site to promote each others products.

Don’t neglect those things that are already making money as you look for more avenues.  If something is working then you need to jump on it and see how far you can push the income towards your goals.

Yesterday I got a bunch of blog posts up to be scheduled out for the week at Once A Week Cooking.

I also started another little program that I’ll post more about tomorrow.

Sadly, one of my long time attendee’s in my seniors fitness class passed away over the weekend. Even though she was in her mid 80′s, it was still a big shock to the system to know that I won’t see her three times a week in my class anymore. It’s been 2 years with her and she was so fit. You wouldn’t have had any idea her age. I’ll miss her.

I didn’t get much done on my to do list today and that is ok. I did get my to do list a little more focused today, so I’ll get it rocking right away in the morning after the kids and hubby get off to school and class. I only have so many hours to work tomorrow before everyone is home. Tomorrow evening I’ll have a lot to post about

Just some of the ways I plan to do this are:

1. Push my affiliates at Once a Week Cooking
2. Tweet daily on the Once a Week Cooking account
3. Get blog posts up there daily
4. Get 5 new PLR packs added to Busy Blogger PLR
5. 5 blog posts added to the Busy Blogger PLR site about PLR and it’s uses.

There will be more, but this is the quick to it that I need to do today or did last night. lol Also, I have more accountability numbers, but those are reserved for my Mom Masterminds group.

Our gym is moving to a training management company. I met with the company and they really are great. They are going to do great things for the gym. I met with them to discuss the changeover and other details of employment with them. If this had come almost 4 years ago, it would have been perfect for me. Having worked completely for myself for the last 3.5 years, I just couldn’t do it.

I really struggled with this decision. I’ve gotten to be good friends with the gym owners and I’m really good friends with our gym manager and her best friend. It wasn’t just a business decision I was making, but I had to keep it that way. I get to keep them too, I just won’t see my good friend as much and be able to hash stuff out like we do.

I will be training my current clients until they are done with training. The gym owners and new management are totally cool with that I only have a couple at the gym right now so I am not sure how long I will still be training out of the gym, but probably only weeks. As I am going to work on transitioning those current clients into what I used to do. Training from their homes.

Yep, I’m going to kick it back to how I started and how I fell totally in love with training during school. Training out of people’s homes. If we had the space we would set up shop here at home, but alas that’s not in the cards for this house.

So I’ll be hitting some past clients that I know aren’t going to the gym anymore especially. I’ll be hitting my facebook page and biz page about training. I’ll work on setting up some short bootcamps to get people moving. But most of all, I’m moving forward quickly and excited.

This is scary as can be. At least with my training biz before I was at a gym and had contacts. This means no new contacts just by spending more time at the gym. This means some serious marketing…of ME!

On a side note, all the details were presented to me last Wednesday. It’s only been a week for me to decide on a huge career move. In this time frame, I have had more sales at Once A Week Cooking than normal, my blogging has been every weekday on multiple blogs/sites, a VA client has had a remarkable presented to her that we will be looking at more hours for me per month, I had a training client come back that I love to work with, and I am actually spending less time online even though I’ve been home more.

That last paragraph kicks butt! I have a dollar amount of extra income I want to hit in the next 15 days. K, I’m tossing it out to the universe. I need to make an extra $500. That is above and beyond the normal income, that is what EXTRA means. I’ll be hitting my Mom Mastermind group. to keep me pushing ahead, that’s what it’s for. But I’ll also keep posting here to all my loyal followers. My goal is to go above, but I’ll post if I don’t make it.

I will have a more detailed plan for how I’m going to get to this goal. Some of those details will be posted soon, others will come as I figure them out. But the due date is May 7th. That is 15 days from tomorrow and I feel it only fair I get a day to map out something that’s only come to me in the last few hours. lol

So here’s to jumping off the deep end with no life preserver and no real plan! AHHHHHHHHHH

The funny thing is the first night my husband asked if I’d brought the laptop in from the truck. He gave me a very odd look when I said I left it at home. I’m not sure if he was worried I’d lost my mind or if it was because now he couldn’t use it either. He was ok, he has a Droid and can still google info during jeopardy. lol

Instead of the computer I went old school to pen and paper. I took 5 notebooks, some of them with ideas and bits of ideas from over the last few years. On the trip over I barely got anything done, but different story the rest of the time. With my new sleep schedule I’m up before everyone else without having to set my alarm. I wrote a minimum of 2 articles/blog posts each morning while drinking my coffee and enjoying the quiet. On the way home I was much more productive, finishing up 3 more articles and getting some reports read and notes made.

I’ve always been a big notebook user, sadly a lot of my stuff doesn’t make it out of the notebooks or is half done. I took this time to finish up some of those ideas and actually used up the rest of the paper in 3 of the notebooks. Today I’m busy getting everything off those pages and on to the computer. Finishing up so many articles and writing about ideas that have been wasting away was a huge accomplishment. I have felt so good about business in the last couple of weeks and this just capped it.

I’ve thought recently that I need to take a couple of days to myself and go to my friends cabin. Being this productive offine is solidifying that thought. If I took 2 whole days of no computer and no family distractions, I could get some incredible things finished up.

Unplugging got me excited about projects again. Actually, I guess you could say it brought the passion back. I am good at what I do. However, trudging through day after day and not revisiting incredible ideas I’ve had for sites and articles led me to forget that.

Getting back online was very different this weekend. Prioritizing is changing and I’m returning to some better habits. For one thing, some major cleaning has happened in my inbox. More about that tomorrow!

In a competitive world where small businesses need to stand out in order to survive, honesty is even more important. Here are a few tips for running an ethical and honest business:

1. Treat people with respect – You’ve probably been taught to treat people how you’d like to be treated. The same holds true in business. Customers will notice when they are being treated fairly and respectfully. If a customer has an issue or is upset, it’s even more important that we listen to them and ensure they are properly taken care of. Your customer’s reaction is simply a sign that they are frustrated and angry.

2. Honesty is the best policy – Whether it comes down to a testimonial for your website or deciding what fee to charge for your service, it pays to be honest and fair in all you do. Misuse of information or a testimonial can come back and bite you, and it’s just not worth the hassle in the first instance.

You can always start out with testimonials from family members or friends which are still honest. When it comes to fees for services, it’s not to say you should undercharge for your services or necessarily use other businesses as a guide, but do think about your customers and whether or not you feel your fees are truly fair all around.

3. Don’t cut corners – If a customer is paying good money for a set service then they will expect to receive that service to a high level. It’s important to maintain a high standard and not cut corners – whether it’s in regards to products or services. Taking shortcuts can lead to business disaster and a not so positive reputation.

4. Give back – Not everyone will agree that all businesses inherently have a responsibility to their communities and those less fortunate, but wouldn’t the world be a better place if perhaps they did? Not every person can manage to start a profitable business or work at a high-paying job. Giving back to the community, even in the smallest of ways, can make a difference to all involved.

You don’t need to be a large business to give back; a little goes a long way. Donating to a book fund at your local school or helping to build a community garden, giving back can take many forms and is beneficial to everyone. It doesn’t have to be a monetary donation. How about offering an entrepreneurship to a local teen who would like to start a business or your time and business skills to an organization? With a little thought, it’s easy to find a way to make a difference.

5. Stick to your word – This is a fundamental part of good business ethics. Whether it’s meeting your deadlines or following through with a venture you agreed to, sticking to your word is always the best policy. People will come to respect you for your dependability and honesty. Customers are more likely to want to do business with someone they know they can rely on and you’ll feel better for accomplishing something that is often not easy for many.

Sometimes things happen and it’s difficult for us to follow through but wherever possible try your best and keep the line of communication open. It will pay dividends in the long run. Not to mention it’s simply the right thing to do.