Make Today Matter Mini Makeover Catalog

Mini # 129
Guest Mini Leader Sara Pattow, CSR
Vice President of Operations, SEEK staffing

Many people spend countless hours on writing the perfect resume and filling out applications for potential jobs. However, few people perfect their interviewing skills.  Why should you?  An interview is talking about you, right?  Who knows you better?  If you have ever thought you were perfect for a job, nailed the interview and later learned you didn’t get the job and are scratching your head as to why, you are in the right place.

When I started in staffing in 1993, we were just coming out of a recession.  It was very minor compared to our current recession.  Jobs were easy to come by and employees were scarce.  One of the very first job orders that I took from a client company had a requirement of “being able to fog a mirror” or more clearly – if he/she is breathing and has a pulse, the client will take them.  Today things are much more difficult.  Companies are being choosy and if you actually get an interview, it is critical that you be prepared.

In this Mini you will learn:

• How to prepare for a successful interview
• Research to do before your interview
• How to prepare interview questions
• Interviewing tips
• Four keys to making a good first impression
• After the interview.. follow-up how-to

Mini 128

This Mini continues our work through the Staying Motivated Ebook. Our focus turns to incorporating the knowledge gained in Parts 1 and 2 and how it influences both motivation and focus.

For a complete description of this Mini, please see Mini 125 http://brooknoelstudio.com/mtmmembernews/2010/07/26/staying-motivated-ebook-study-pt-1-of-3/
Note: It is important to take Part 1 and Part 2 before proceeding to Part 3

Mini 125

Using the ebook Staying Motivated, this Mini Series shares the ebook as well as a study guide to help you work through the contents. Divided into three Minis you will learn how to harness your personal power, motivation and energy to maximize each day.

Have you ever enjoyed one of those days where everything seemed to “sync” up and just fall into place? Despite what your to-do list entailed, you moved through it with ease and satisfaction. Many people believe these days “in the zone” are a matter of “luck” and rare occurrences to be savored.

These days aren’t a matter of “luck” or just a “good day,” there is actually a sequence of events that create this “zone.” It is not lack of willpower or self-discipline that creates “off days.” We cannot “muster” willpower and motivation from thin air.

Contrary to popular belief, we aren’t born with “willpower,” –it isn’t something you have or don’t have. Science shows that willpower, discipline, focus and flow are created through a unique series of steps. Once the formulas are understood, anyone can apply them to any aspect of life.

After reading thousands of pages, this workbook distills what Brook Noel has learned (and seen work) into easy-to-understand techniques that can be applied to realize maximum focus, flow and self-discipline. These qualities allow you to move past obstacles, reframe your experience, and experience daily success.

Mini #122

In 2009 I held a Saturday Morning Workshop where we focused on breaking down our goals into milestones and achievable steps over a 16 week period. This Mini builds on that workshop by offering a year-round “goal club.” For each of the four quarters of the year (July-Sept; Oct-Dec, Jan-March; April-June) we will choose a goal to work on. (Or you can choose a big goal to work on over multiple goal periods). Using the Mini materials you can break your goal down and share your progress in the Mini forum. Additionally, the first Thursday of each month we will have an online work-sessions where we can share our progress, our goals, our obstacles and help each other to achieve and be accountable.

Mini #120

Often our lives feel like a push-pull as we struggle to find a centered-place from which to make healthy decisions. We know that being balanced is a great goal–and a great concept… but how do we figure out what balance looks like for us? And how do we identify the boundaries we need to maintain that balance when we find it? In this Mini we will explore those questions and more with tips to help you find and maintain balance.

Mini #119

Each day we are inundated with decisions. How we respond to those decisions is one of the single-most important factors in shaping our lives. Some decisions are little-others can be quite challenging. The more we hone our decision making skills, the better equipped we are to maximize each day and move forward in life. In this Mini we explore the  key factors of decision making as well as tools, handouts, and decision making techniques to help us hone our decision-making skills.

#116 Audio Mini (Featured Mini)
Opens 5/5/2010

Finding the balance between planning and action can be a challenge for many women. In this Mini you’ll learn about how to properly and proactively plan, and then make sure you have created a plan that allows you to move into action and get it done. We will also cover the biggest mistakes people make when planning that can impede action and momentum. Includes worksheets.

Mini #115 - April Featured Mini

One of the ways to maximize your time in the Make Today Matter program, and your time in general, is through a routine of Priority Planning. While it takes a little time, this planning is key to helping us stay on track throughout the month. Done thoroughly, this planning allows us to stay focused in  spite of adversity and to focus on what truly matters.  Priority Planning also reduces stress and helps us manage our time better. The five steps of Priority Planning can be accessed by all MTM Members in Phase II by following the link in the blue “quick links” menu. This Mini is an additional workshop that provides an audio version of each of the five steps, and also provides a location to share and encourage one another with our plans!

Mini #113

Please make sure you have taken Attitude Makeover Pt 1 (Mini # 111)  before taking Pt 2 (There are references to Part 1 in Part Two)

Days 6-10 of our 10 Day Attitude Program

Feeling blue or “out-of-sorts?” Negativity, stressful environments, worry, anxiety, fatigue–all can take a toll on our attitude leaving us feeling drained, irritable, anxious, or moody.

Fortunately, we do not have to settle for a less than stellar attitude. We can take quick and concise steps to reframe our perspective and make over our attitude. This Mini Series (Part 2 will be released April, 2010) is designed with a simple goal: To get out of the “muck” quickly.

The course begins with a before evaluation to assess your current coping skills and 5 Lessons (which is Mini #111), then, in this Mini you will receive lessons 6-10. These are the same lessons shared in our Attitude Makeover course.

Over the course of these 10 lessons you will learn:

… how to audit your thinking for negative thought patterns
… the 5 habits of negative thinkers (and how to avoid them)
… how negative thinking spirals (and how to stop it)
… how to use affirmations for a quick pick-me-up
… how action conquers despair
… how to use the 5-Minute Motivator
… how to design Mini-Missions for the mind
… how to recognize negative-triggers (and stop them)

Mini Makeover #105

If you are ready to do an in-depth analysis of your strengths and weaknesses to help you “go beyond the Snapshot” then this is the Mini for you! Brook developed the Life Profiler Mini to help people pinpoint what specific steps they can take to improve life areas of concern. The Profiler includes over 200 questions and can be downloaded in Microsoft Excel format. After answering the questions, you will be able to see how well you score in 17 different life areas as well as learn what MTM solutions and strategies can help you improve! This is a great in-depth review to do once or twice per year.

Mini #104

In this audio Mini, Brook shares 10 tips to help you with goal setting. You’ll learn about the important steps of goal planning, why goals often “get away from us”, and how to set yourself up for success!  Makes a great companion in conjunction with our other goal setting Minis.

Mini #102 - Audio Mini 30-45 minutes

One common thread can be found in the hundreds of women Brook has coached– the desire for effective, sustainable, routines to help life go smoothly. In this Audio Mini, Brook reviews the routines covered in the MTM Toolbox and covers tips for refining, honing and maximizing their use to create the life you desire. Topics include: Building balanced routines, the Nightly Reflection, Good Morning, and Priority Planning.

Mini #103 Time Management - Part 1 of 2

One of Brook’s most popular speaking topics is Time Management. Over the years she has present her 10 Steps to Success Time Management to hundreds of people for use in their professional and personal life. Now she has brought her Time Management tips to audio in a two-series Mini for MTM Members. In this Audio Mini she shares the seconds set of her tips, 6-10. See Mini #99 for the first installment.  These time management tips will help you maximize your energy and efforts and have you thinking about time as a valuable resource and asset–not something you can never get enoug of! Approx 20-30 minutes.

See also Mini #99

Mini #99 Time Management - Part 1 of 2

One of Brook’s most popular speaking topics is Time Management. Over the years she has present her 10 Steps to Success Time Management to hundreds of people for use in their professional and personal life. Now she has brought her Time Management tips to audio in a two-series Mini for MTM Members. In this Audio Mini she will share the first five of her tips, and in the next audio Mini watch for the second installment. These time management tips will help you maximize your energy and efforts and have you thinking about time as a valuable resource and asset–not something you can never get enoug of! Approx 20-30 minutes.

Mini #100
Guest Mini Leader: Sara Pattow
(See Also Mini #84 Resume Writing)

Over 6,000,000 Americans have found themselves looking for work unexpectedly over the past year. Keeping motivated during times of unemployment is difficult. When we are faced with looking for a new job because of a forced separation – layoff, termination, company closing or elimination of your position, it can lead to depression, anxiety,  and a lack of self-worth or esteem. The stress of finances, security and family expectations force individuals to deal with a great deal of emotions while also trying to focus on the future and next steps.

During a job loss, we often lose a sense of self purpose during this time and it is critical to make sure that you find a new purpose to move you forward. The good news is that you have decided to take proactive steps by taking this mini. In this mini, we will explore 10 tips to jumpstart your job search and make it more effective.

Mini #94
This is an audio mini you can download onto your computer or mp3 player or listen to online.

It has been said that, “Life is what happens while you are busy making plans.” Often when we create a plan or chart a course, shortly after our first few steps “life interrupts.” Sometimes these interuptions or unexpected changes are easy to adapt to. Sometimes they are overwhelming, life-changing, and seem like an insurmountable hurdle.  Losing a job, an unexpected change in finances, the end of a relationship, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a pet, an unforseen health challenge, a legal issue, a move– there are just a few examples of big life changes that can shake our foundation. Then there are many smaller-scale challenges that happen more often: a two-week illness that leaves you tired, a disagreement, new demands on your time that interfere with your plan, something breaks that you did not budget to replace–I am sure you can add a few of your own.

The truth is these challenges are part of life. As long as we are living we will have unforseen and unwelcome changes come our way. In order to thrive and get the most out of life, we need to build our resilience and skillset for handling unexpected twists and turns.  In this audio Mini I share a handful of examples on interuptions from my own life, strategies for maintaing healthy thinking during times of change, tips for keeping events in perspective, and exercises you can use to put things back together when they seem to be falling apart.

Mini #89
Available 9/1/09
For homeschooling and parents interested in supplementing elementary teaching 

This Mini features a 6 page guide
4 worksheets for planning a study
8 pages to use with unit studies and other learning
Resources for unit studies
An 8 Step Process for designing your own Thematic Unit Study

Field trips, fun and learning all await you by designing and implementing unit studies based on your child’s interests and lessons you would like to teach. This Mini will give you an overview of what a Unit Study is and eight simple steps that will take your Unit Studies from ideas to planned projects. You’ll also find web resources where you an download free Unit Studies and worksheets you can use to support your Unit Study and other schooling including homework cards, book reports, nature journal and more.

Mini #88 - September Featured Mini
Available 9/3/09
Includes Audio
and Month of Magic Worksheets

Special online event with Brook Noel: Join Brook Noel from 7:00PM-8:30PM on September 23rd for a special chat event.

Often when we think of making change we think BIG. Sometimes SO BIG that we paralyze ourselves from taking action. This Mini is designed to show you how simple taking positive steps can be–and how a well thought-out plan can help you promote and maintain balance, contentment, joy and organization.

In this Mini you will create a special set of “10 Minute Cues” using a template that encourages you to give a little focus to several important life areas. These cues will then become a grab bag for creating a month of magic. Each day you will choose a 10-Minute Magic Prompt at random and paste to a calendar. You will be amazed at how much magic you can create in a single month with a little concerted effort!

Mini #84

** AUGUST FEATURED MINI **
Includes an online chat on August 19 (Wednesday) 8:00-9:30PM CST
Sara will also be available to answer your questions in the Mini Forums.

Each day Sara Pattow, CSR reviews resumes that candidates send in for jobs. In 30 seconds or less she can decide whether the candidate is one she will interview. Yes–30 seconds–that is why a well-written resume is essential in today’s competitive job market.

As an MTM Guest Expert, Sara is sharing a step-by-step process to help you write and refine your resume. With her guidance you will learn how to create a resume that will get you noticed and increase your chances of getting a job by over 70%!

You could spend $100, $200 or even $500 on a resume writing service. But here is the issue with doing that – it is not in your own “voice” and then what happens the next time you are looking for a job?  Do you hire a resume writer again? Or do you learn to tweak and build the skills necessary to market yourself? In this Mini you’ll learn how to hone your skills to market yourself well.

#81

With all the little pieces and parts involved in arts and crafts, often we spend much of our creative time trying to find a specific item, or sorting what we have. This disarray also poses a challenge to our creativity, since the time involved in retreiving supplies may use up all the time we have.

In this Mini I  share ideas for effectivly organizing and storing arts and crafts supplies. We will also review how to create a catalog-inventory for punches, fabrics, stamps, and other large collection.

* Adapted from my ebook Step-by-Step Arts, Crafts, Stamp and Scrapbook Organizing