Boss Lady Series: How to Keep Track of Goals and Stay Fit with Ethel Cofie
Do you have a routine or a way to approach your day? Setting the tone for your day has a massive impact on how much you accomplish. This month I will be showcasing the routines of several boss ladies who work on the continent. Learn how they balance working hard with staying on top of their physical and mental health. By sharing our experiences, learning from others and deciding what works for us as individuals, we all can have a good life. Ethel Cofie has always admired people who had multiple jobs. She has multiple interests and is involves in several companies. Her work fits within three main buckets: women in leadership, entrepreneurship, and technology. In addition to having personal consulting work, running a technology company focused on digital strategy and transformation, she also runs an organization that empowers women around the world in the tech space. How does she stay on top of her work and make her health a priority? Ethel, constantly tweaking her approach to her professional and personal life, let me in on her secret to staying motivated. [bctt tweet=”To stay healthy and avoid binge eating, @ethelcofie travels with her own snacks and even hits the gym during work trips. ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Know what motivates you Like many entrepreneurs, Ethel describes herself as ‘uber-competitive,’ but at the same time, no one tells her what to do. She is always trying to be more effective, efficient and productive. If you enjoy keeping track of your professional and personal goals like Ethel, you should consider using software like excel to keep track. Ethel uses a spreadsheet to make sure she is on track with her goals and scores herself. Monthly she gives herself a score and daily she creates a to-do list that has up to 3 priorities. All her workouts are tracked in Apple Health so she can maximize the 30 minutes she dedicates to running each day. Visualize your success Success means different things to everyone but being clear on what you want will make it easier for you to attract it. Ethel takes this one step further by spending a few minutes each day before she starts work to visualize things that she will be able to do when she achieves her goals. Recently, Ethel has been spending time imagining how much fun it would be to take her immediate and some of her extended family on holiday. This keeps her motivated and focused. Make your health a priority The first thing that Ethel does in the morning is put on her running clothes. Once she has them on, she is ready to go. She swears she is not a morning person, but that she has just adjusted. She is just as dedicated when she is traveling. The first thing Ethel does when she gets to a hotel is asking where the gym is. She tries to keep her workout routine similar to what she does at home. She spends about 30 minutes running on the treadmill and about 20 minutes doing weights. Learn from others Find people to look up to online and offline. Ethel gives credit to productivity books for ‘curing’ her of wanting to do everything. She recommends starting with reading Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown or Radical Focus: Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results by Christina Wodtke. Online she tends to focus on accounts that are effective in spreading knowledge and provoking conversations like Dr. Ola Brown (Orekunrin) and Victor Asemota. Concerning working out, Ethel is inspired by Michele Obama’s arms. [bctt tweet=”Find someone that you look up to or inspires you to keep you on track with your goals – @ethelcofie ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Make the most of your trips Ethel packs last minute for trips but plans out almost everything else including snacks. She tries to get in touch with people who will be at the conference she is attending. About a week before the event, she will get in touch with other speakers and schedule meetings. If she is speaking, she starts practicing about a week before as well. To keep herself from binge eating, Ethel travels with her own snacks. If she is not able to get the cereal or energy bars she likes, she brings along milo. Eating these snacks keeps her from eating unhealthily and drinking coffee. By keeping track of her progress and planning ahead, Ethel is able to make the most of her time. Even if you don’t like using elaborate excel sheets or tracking software, just knowing where you started can keep you moving forward. How do you plan to push yourself? Do you do anything to hold yourself accountable? Read our Good Good Living Part 3 series w/ Maya Horgan Famodu Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
Boss Lady Series: How to Maximize Your Week with Maya Horgan Famodu
Maya Horgan Famodu came to Lagos about four years ago and knew no one. She had no connections and no start-up capital. What Maya had was an idea and the drive to establish Ingressive, a venture capital fund and a fantastic team that is building tech ecosystems across sub-Saharan Africa. Even if you are just starting out in Lagos, she told me, “…you can do whatever you want here. Don’t let someone tell you aren’t good enough or that your profile is not typical. You can create the space of your industry, and you can get it done.” [bctt tweet=”Start now before you are crazy busy to develop good habits – @mayahorgan” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] She has come a long way from when she started her business. She has gone from working all day and week on her business to figuring out how to break up her day and week into manageable pieces, so she is not only successful professionally but has time to follow her non-business-related interests. Maya shares how she spends her weekend and has some suggestions on how to balance your work with your other passions. Divide up your week so you can tackle all aspects of your professional life If you are like Maya and you tend to get very involved with details, you can schedule out your week with specific tasks, so you are forced to focus on every aspect of your business or position. For example, Maya focuses on internal team meetings and planning on Monday. Her Tuesdays are for reviewing the companies she works with. Wednesday is for external meetings and networking. Thursdays are for dealing with paperwork and reviewing internal processes. Similar to Wednesday, Fridays are for business development. She usually attends extended in-person meetings that might lead to a relaxing dinner or drinks. You can use Google Calendar to help you stay on track of your critical daily work themes across the week. Make the most of Your weekend Maya used to spend a lot of time going out but realized as a Lagos transplant she needed more time to reflect and rejuvenate in her favorite spaces so she could be her best. If she is not hanging out at her house or at the beach, she will only schedule meetings with individuals who she has both professional and personal relationships with. She calls Saturday her ‘Enjoyable Partnerships Day.’ Give yourself some quiet time, but start small She has learned that she needs time to rejuvenate to be at her peak. Maya plans to attend yearly quiet retreats that can last up to ten days. She tries to incorporate some of the same techniques into her life in Lagos. Her Sundays are entirely offline. She doesn’t check her emails or phone and might do some offline planning for the week. She also spends time reading and writing. She has found that when she reflects, she has space to think about new ideas. You might not be able to take ten days off or even an entire day off your social media, but you can start small. Maya starts off her day mediating, and you can start off by meditating for a few minutes to work your way up to 1 hour. Maya suggests waking up an hour earlier, she usually is up by 7 am, during the work week to get in some silent time. Make the most of your tribe: Find Your Core People When she is not working, Maya spends most of her time by herself or with one to two people. She credits her tribe with helping her get through the good and tough times as an entrepreneur. She suggests that you surround yourself with the right people. Focus on quality, not quantity. [bctt tweet=”You should have one to three people you can call on when things go poorly or that you can lean on – @mayahorgan” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Maya suggests having advisors you can turn to for your business or professional career and then emotional support, people who can tell you everything is going to be ok or set you straight. My biggest takeaway from Maya was the idea that you should start now before you are crazy busy to develop good habits. You don’t have to spend 24 hours working. Entrepreneurship and life, in general, is a marathon. If you want to do it for the long term, you need to set yourself up for success. Developing the right habits and routines can help with that. How do you plan out your week? Are you making sure to include time for your other interests? Want to learn how to build a health-conscious routine? Read our Good Good Living Part 2 series w/ Funmi Oyatogun Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
6 ways to tone down your stress levels
It is not uncommon to see someone you know, perhaps your friend, a family member, or a colleague whose demeanor is looking unusual, and you show concern by asking the question: ‘why is your appearance looking so dull today?’ and their reply goes ‘it is stress’. Recently, I attended a meetup where young women discussed ‘creating balance’. In the heat of the discussion, one woman mentioned that she was on an official assignment to a psychiatric ward and found that the leading cause of psychosis in women admitted was stress. I was both alarmed and pained. The term stress seems to be something everyone takes for granted but its effect on our physical, emotional and mental well-being is often disastrous. More women than men are prone to stress partly because besides the everyday hustle to support the family income is the added responsibility of taking care of the home front. Many studies have confirmed that stress could lead to deli-bating diseases like high blood pressure (which is constantly on the rise in recent times), heart attack, nervous breakdown, and many others. Hence, there is an urgent need for us to take the matter of stress very seriously. [bctt tweet=”On the scale of 1 – 10, how high is your stress levels? @awunliwomanup highlight 6 ways to manage stress. Read more…” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Stress cannot be eliminated completely, however, here are six ways to manage it. KNOW WHEN TO LEAVE WORK BEHIND Some women are naturally workaholics, while others are in the hustle just to outdo their contemporaries in terms of material acquisition. Whichever end of the divide you find yourself, be kind to your health and long term well being, you have to know when to stop. LEARN HOW TO RELAX Some people know when to unwind after a hard days job while some people see it as unnecessary. For example, I have a friend who stays glued to his laptop watching one series or the other after work and I get so angry until he explained that it was one of the ways he cools off after a hard days job. Whatever works for you, make sure you go for it. STRIVE FOR BALANCE It has been emphasized more often than not that being busy does not translate into being productive. To increase your productivity, prioritize your activities and determine when you have reached your limit. ASK FOR HELP This is especially for those who have the perfectionist syndrome. They believe no one can do it the way they can. Sister, if anything happens to you, there will be someone else who will do the job better than you, so put your health first. Leave those things you can delegate to someone else at work, outsource some tasks if you can afford it, and ask family members and friends to help out as a way of reducing your workload. PLAN AND PREPARE AHEAD We all know how what last-minute tension feels like. you begin to sweat profusely, you get jittery all over. To avoid this kind of scenario, do things well ahead of time. LET GO OF WORRY I have a friend who says worry is her recipe for losing weight. Worrying over an issue does not get the problem solved. Worry and anxiety tend to the release of stress hormones in your body. Rather than worry, pray, believe and take the steps you need to solve the problem. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
How to celebrate Valentines Day – with or without a Boo
With Valentines around the corner, Yes I’m sure you’ve seen the countless teddy bear, red roses and champagne combo begging for your attention. And being within the self-care era as a reigning champion. What are the options you could consider this Valentines? Single or not, you should have just as much fun as the next Motherland Mogul with or without a boo. There’s much to do outdoors (if you’re in a warm country) just as there is indoors for all the queens. You are a Motherland Mogul. And in case you’ve forgotten who she is, she knows what she wants and how to get it done. As a motherland mogul, you’re running your business/es- being a sister, a mother, a daughter, partner, or a wife. You have a lot on your plate and self-care sometimes falls last on that list. So how can you apply these strengths to having fun and unconventional day? [bctt tweet=”Wondering how to spend valentines day – with or without a boo? Here are some ideas…” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Be your own date You shouldn’t get anxious at the idea of spending time all by yourself. There’s so much beauty in taking a little pause for you. Valentine’s day is about showing affection, being sweet and thoughtful. Give all that love to yourself. Treat yourself like a queen, make that plate of pancakes and strawberries for breakfast, take a long stroll around your block and enjoy your company or even take that spa day you’ve always wanted. Create a vision board There’s so much power in visualizing the things you want to achieve in your life when you especially feel low- sometimes the anxiety of Valentines Day can leave you feeling some type of way. You could take a notebook and write down 3 things you’d like to achieve by the end of the week, Give yourself something to look forward to. So grab the magazines and start dreaming. Do this after work or during your lunch break. Grab your boo or a friend and visualize together. Doing this makes sure you have someone to hold you accountable on your promise. Share gifts with your loved ones The most amazing thing about giving gifts is that you made that someone feel special that day. This good karma will always come back to you when you least expect it. Try going for the less traditional route of valentines favorites- teddy bears, flowers and champagne. Be thoughtful in your efforts. Write a letter, visit your boo or friends and spend some quality time with them. We all just want to be seen. Cook a hearty dinner There’s something about good food that just cures the soul. You don’t need to be a foodie to understand just what I mean. Plus trying to make reservations on such a busy day is a struggle we don’t need, sis. Go on a grocery run with Bae or on your own. Queue a great show or movie to watch after your lovely dinner and mellow out. You can have major fun taking it slow too. Book an AirBnB sleepover with your girls You can never have too much fun with your girls. Especially when there’s a bottle of bubbly involved. Make a great girls night in playing games and gossiping the night away with some wine and pizza. You don’t need to go too crazy with the budget, find something in your town, just try something new and fun with your friends Work on your New Years resolutions New Years came and went, leaving most of us to make resolutions for the new year. Why not try to execute that one thing you haven’t worked on. Having a better idea of how you feel about 2019 and what you’re trying to achieve. Re-evaluate what you had listed and where you are now, maybe you wanted to go to a yoga or aerobics class or said you’d call your mom more. Attain at least two of your resolutions and challenge yourself to keep it going for 2019 Pursue your passion Life can get overwhelming- meetings, play dates, parent-teacher conferences, family. We juggle a lot as motherland mogul and we are the last ones we check on. The show has to keep running right? Think of a passion project you have always wanted to accomplish. Write that blog, Start that course, work on that business proposal. See this as an opportunity to be proactive, a chance for you to do you and feel no guilt. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
Boss Lady Series: How to Balance Social Media, Life & Business with Funmi Oyatogun
Funmi Oyatogun is a geographer and experienced designer. Her two identities feed on each other. She loves exploring the world and sharing her knowledge with others. She has built her business, TVP Adventures, using social media, primarily on Twitter. With her content and company, her goal is to open up the African continent for the world. I had a chance to talk with Funmi about how she balances building her business, remote team, and social media following working from her home office. [bctt tweet=”In this month of #GoodGoodLiving, @funmioyatogun shares how she’s balancing social media, life and business. Read more…” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Here is what we can learn from her… Visual person? Write things down Funmi has found that writing things down in her physical planner helps her stay on track of her work and relaxed. The night before, she finalizes what she will focus on, and writes down any new appointments for the next day. She writes everything out nicely in her planner and arranges them in order of importance. She also uses symbols to help her categorize her tasks. You can make a routine of writing out your work in planners therapeutic, using fun colorful pens and even stickers. Work from home? Create a separate home office One of the first things Funmi learned when she set up her business was that she should not work on her comfortable bed. She then got a desk and chair in her room but still always wound up in her bed. She decided that it was necessary that she physically travel to another space in her house. The physical transition also helps her get into work mode. She finds it easier to concentrate and has fewer distractions in her home office. Funmi also recommends that you put up your goals and or vision board somewhere you can’t escape it. As she spends about 8 hours in her office, she has a comfortable swivel chair and a space that helps her stay productive and creative. Social media critical to your success? Schedule it Funmi’s business started and relies heavily on social media but she is still learning how best to balance using it with getting her other work done. She tries to engage with social media first thing in the morning and later in the day, giving herself a large chunk of time in the middle of the day to focus on other work. Like Funmi, you should try these 4 tips to keep from mindlessly scrolling through social media: Plan content in advance ‘when your brain is fresh.’ Try to respond only to important notifications throughout the day At the end of the day, skim and select direct messages to answer. Not all messages deserve your attention Focus on responding to longer threads and comments at the end of the day Know thy energy levels Perhaps the most common theme throughout our conversation was the importance of knowing when to do certain types of work. Funmi wakes up very early. Even if you don’t plan to be up at 4:30 am, you can still plan your day around when you do your best work and feel most productive. She knows that it is best for her to do mindful tasks that require a lot of brain power and creativity in the morning. She finds that the stories she produces in the morning are drastically different from later in the day. As her energy wains throughout the day, her brain slows down by 4 pm, she focuses on tasks that are more routine. [bctt tweet=”If you don’t take care of your body, it won’t take care of you – @funmioyatogun ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Remember to recharge yourself Funmi spends a lot of time giving out and sharing her thoughts and content. After completing routine tasks, Funmi starts ‘feeding’ herself by reading, catching up with the news and watching documentaries. She makes sure to feed herself (literally) three times a day. She works out with a trainer in the morning first thing at last three times a week as well. During our conversation, she warns, if you don’t take care of your body, it won’t take care of you. How do you balance the creative process of developing content with responding and reacting to posts and comments? Do you make sure to ‘replenish’ yourself after spending all day posting and giving yourself out? Want to learn how to build a health conscious routine? Read our Good Good Living Part 1 series w/ Yasmin Kumi. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
Your Self Care shouldn’t suffer at the expense of Career Excellence – Nnennaya Udochu
Female engineers have been branded to be nerds and unattractive. It is a common belief that female engineers have no sense of style, not feminine enough and probably too strong for the average man. Contrary to this widely held bias, Nnennaya Udochu is a firm believer that female engineers can be trendy, decent, and elegant. Nnennaya’s life and style is full proof that women are going against this bias. As an analog engineer, she doesn’t fit into what you’d typically call your hard hat-wearing engineer. She has held the office of a Professor Faculty in the Mathematics department at the University of Portland, Oregon., and she balances career with self-care. Nnennaya doubles as a fashion blogger and also motivates ladies who fear that taking a career in engineering or any career in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) would impede and perhaps limit their chances of a relationship. In this article, she shares her experience in the profession gives her insights on the misconceptions placed on women in STEM. What prompted you to want to become an Engineer? I enjoyed solving a lot of Math problems and enjoyed a particular topic in my physics class, Electromagnetics. It was from that course in Secondary School I decided I wanted to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering. What setbacks did you experience pursuing this dream? Taking some engineering courses that would make me think, “why me” or “God help me” because I found them very challenging. For example, Thermodynamics and Statics. Aside from those challenges, the fear of self-doubt. Sometimes, just believing in yourself regardless of what people think goes a long way. I remember being in a study group where we were discussing our prospective first jobs and I said Microsoft or any Fortune 500 company. The whole group burst out laughing but today here I am staying in the course of what I want for myself. Did you have a hard time proving your credibility to your male lectures/superiors? Yes, I did most of the time. It took a lot of hard work and proving myself but I would always let the quality of my work delivery speak volume. Once you’re very knowledgeable about your expertise and firm about making decisions, it would be difficult for anyone to question your abilities in the workforce. Females in #STEM tend to recline to the background whenever leadership or academic roles are called for. Was this your experience? No this isn’t my experience. I am very tenacious in the pursuit of leadership or academic roles in my career; certainly not shying away from it. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Portland, Oregon and I’m continuously getting mentored by senior leaders in my industry. As an Analog Engineer, what does your typical workday look like? My workdays are very busy and a lot of critical thinking is involved. Every day I am faced with new challenges on addressing power issues and honestly, everything I learned in Physics II (especially applied principles of electromagnetics) are applied from day to day. Basically, I am mentally tasked each day. You are also an Instagram blogger. Tell us about your journey. The journey so far has been great! I continue to curate content on my platform to inspire people across the world through my travel shots, beauty, hair and showcasing different fashion looks ranging from street style to guest inspired looks at a wedding. I’ve collaborated with brands such as Pitusa, Chi Chi London, Res Ipsa, Palmers, Victoria Emerson just to mention a few and my work has been featured on various Instagram and media platforms. The most exciting experience I’ve had from my journey so far was being privileged to have featured on a fashion segment on Fox News (Fox12 Oregon) discussing the latest Fall fashion trends in 2018. In your opinion why do you think women in #STEM do not take self-care as a top priority? I feel it’s because they don’t want to appear unserious for their jobs and have their co-workers not take them seriously in a meeting or on a project. The perception of a woman figure in STEM is always painted wearing dirty clothing, or plain tops and jeans and this have clouded some women’s judgment on how they would like to present themselves. What advice do you have for women starting out in #STEM? Stay persistent and confident in the pursuit of your career goals. Don’t let the presumptions society has about women in STEM be a reason you get discouraged in achieving your career goals. Who you are or aspire to be shouldn’t be limited by someone’s experience. What’s the look on people’s face when you’re all dressed up like a diva and you tell them what you do?. They are always astonished and perplexed. Some make decent remarks like, “Beauty and Brains” while others find the need to argue. Once a co-worker said I was in Finance and I said, “No”. Only for him to turn back around still amazed and say, “I always thought you were in Finance and you were a spoilt brat because of the way you dress”. Between anger and range, I managed to get my emotions in check and simply responded, “For someone educated that is quite shallow of you to say”. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
Boss Lady Series: How to Build a health conscious Routine with Yasmin Kumi
Do you have a routine or a way to approach your day? Setting the tone for your day has a massive impact on how much you accomplish. This month I will be showcasing the routines of several leading ladies who work on the continent. Learn how they balance working hard with staying on top of their physical and mental health. [bctt tweet=”Routines are a trial and error process and take time to build – @ynjkumi ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] By sharing our experiences, learning from others and deciding what works for us as individuals, we all can have a good life. I had a chance to sit down with Yasmin Kumi, the founder of the pan-African consulting firm, Africa Foresight Group. Yasmin travels between 3 to 4 times a week and wakes up at 3 am to set her priorities for the day. She is a problem solver and has learned how to approach her wellness by trying new things and focusing on what works for her. I put together a list of things I thought others could keep in mind from her experience. 1. Keep your personal goals and routines fluid No two days in Yasmin’s life are the same. Given all the work she does the most important thing for her to do is not put additional pressure and stress on herself by feeling bad about not having attained certain personal goals. She has introduced ‘if’ rules for different situations that allow her to create some consistency in her head. Try using this phrase to build your own ‘if’ rules: – “If some conditions hold, then this is what I have to do…” 2. Playlists can help you get into or handle a Mood Yasmin is a very audiovisual person, so she reacts a lot to music. When she feels tired, she knows what music to play to get back up to speed. When she needs to relax or focus on something, she has a playlist for that. She also has a playlist to start her bedtime routine that usually ends with a prayer. You can use music to motivate you or remind you to do tasks you normally avoid. 3. Understand Your Personality to Maximize Your Output Yasmin describes herself as a borderline extravert and though she loves her team, she sometimes feels like she can get more done if she spends some time working from home before she gets into the office. Though not for everyone, Yasmin feels most productive when she wakes up early, at 3 am, to work undisturbed until about 6 am. Find what works for you and helps make you feel productive and successful. 4. You are What You Eat Yasmin is hardly ever home. When she is traveling, she normally spends part of her evening networking or socializing with clients and her team. She always feels so much healthier and efficient when she is at home, this is primarily because she has control over what she eats. Yasmin believes that with good food, you think better. She loves to make dinner for herself and while cooking she reflects and feels rejuvenated after a long day. When eating, reflect and think about how the food you eat makes you feel. 5. Do You! When some people look at Yasmin’s lifestyle, they assume that it is unsustainable. She encourages people to not get too influenced about what others think. You have to find out for yourself, physically and mentally what is healthy and what you are comfortable with. Focus on how you feel and what makes you comfortable when building your routine. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.