Mogul Moments Series:
Help! It’s not just for the wealthy, it’s for the “WORKING”.
Working as an Executive on Loan, Chief of Staff for the Michigan State Senate during this past political lame duck session was one for the record books. 18 hour days, long nights…..days that some didn’t leave the capitol at all. My role ebbed and flowed from managing legislation and bill amendments, handling office matters, hiring staff for the next term to catering cantaloupe and refilling candy dishes at 8:30 pm. Nights ended with me driving an hour and a half home on the highway in a dazed stupor from being exhausted.
In my exhaustion, I thought there has to be a better way. There has to be a way as Auntie Maxine Walters would say to “reclaim my time”.
I thought about tools and strategies already in place that colleagues were using that could to make my life easier, that I hadn’t taken advantage of. Because in all of this, I still had a home and family to think of. Delegation is not just for the office. It’s for home and in your personal life too. I am never going back to an errand running nut case again. Here are 5 things that have BEEN available that myself or others have integrated into our lives and have felt the weight lifted and birds singing.. (well not actual birds, but still)
1. Housekeeping services-Having someone come by weekly to clean your bathrooms, kitchen, dust, vacuum, mop and disinfect your house is LIFECHANGING. Listen, walking in the door and smelling bleach is a gift from God. Having someone who will have your back in helping you manage your household chores is NOT just for the wealthy…it’s for the working!
2. Laundry Care-Who KNEW!! There are services where you can drop your laundry off in the morning and pick it up after work and it is clean, folded and separated in bags. Yall, they even match all the socks!
3. Amazon-Say what you want, but one trip back to Nordstrom’s rack last Saturday reminded me as to why I don’t go shopping as much anymore. The time I wasted driving out there browsing through the store, looking for items, getting distracted, searching for the color and size, then standing in checkout and driving home..could have been done in a fraction of the time online by shopping hundreds of stores all at once. The same is true for Amazon Pantry. No more warehouse store runs lifting and carting jumbo pantry items and piling stuff in my trunk. Order it, get it off the porch and put it up. Simple.
4. Speaking of which, my new personal favorite: SHIPT. It’s an online shopping app where you can go through your supermarket’s website and order what you want. Someone shops for you, make substitutions if you want them to and then brings it to your front door at a time you specify. Trust me, I drive over an hour to get home. I order before I leave the office and by the time I get home, my grocery shopping is done as well. #thisisliving
It’s the same premise for Grub Hub (which brings you restaurant food home delivered) or even Walmart where you can order your groceries and pull up to a spot in their parking lot and they will bring them out to you.
5. 1–800-Flowers. I can’t tell you how many holiday, engagement, family, funeral, party, showers or celebratory events I missed during this season. You cannot be everywhere. Don’t try to be. BUT sending a gift from the registry or sending flowers to say “hey I hate I missed it, and this season will be over soon, let’s catch up then” goes a long way in keeping relationships tight and it keeps the desire and willingness to be with your family and friends clear.
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Camille D. Jamerson is a global speaker, author & entrepreneur. She is the Senior Consultant and CEO of CDJ & Associates a boutique management consulting firm specializing in Brand, Strategy, and Communication/PR Management. She also runs The Camille Company, A lifestyle brand for GenX Moguls. As a former AA, EA, Chief of Staff and Head of Global Offices she lends her years of experience and expertise as the founder and admin of the LinkedIn Chief of Staff-The New C-Suite Leader group.
She is currently an Executive on Loan for the Michigan State Senate. Her amazing assistant, Reema handles her wacky calendar and about 76–94% of the rest of her life as well. Reema can be reached at info@cdjandassociates.com to book CDJ for consulting or as a speaker for your next event, conference or workshop!
