Connected Apart’s Blog

ConnectedApart. Launching Tomorrow.
12 July 2018. Get tuned. Get connected.

Last chance before the big day to bookmark ConnectedApart.com and to join the ConnectedApart Community on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter. You can also sign up for ConnectedApart’s free idea-letter, delivered once-weekly, directly to your inbox.

ConnectedApart. Launching Tomorrow. 12 July 2018. Get tuned. Get connected.

Website: connectedapart.com (all will be unveiled tomorrow)
Contact: contact@connectedapart.com

Launching in TWO Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

ConnectedApart, the world’s first platform dedicated to helping people stay connected with the children they love when they’re apart, will launch on Thursday, 12 July, 2018: in just two days and counting!

Every year, whether due to work, living, study or other circumstances, hundreds of millions of people spend time apart from the children they love. If you’re one of these people, ConnectedApart’s free products and services are for you.

If you’re a business or other organization, ConnectedApart supports you in getting the best from your workforce, with solutions to help your employees stay connected with the children they love while they’re on business travel or longer-term deployments.

Get ready to stay connected with the children you love when you’re apart by bookmarking ConnectedApart.com and by joining the ConnectedApart Community on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter. You can also sign up for ConnectedApart’s free idea-letter, delivered once-weekly, directly to your inbox.

ConnectedApart. Launching in TWO Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

Website: connectedapart.com (limited functionality until launch date, 12 July 2018. The full website, and all free products and services, will be unveiled then)
Contact: contact@connectedapart.com

ConnectedApart. Launching in 3 Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

More and more businesses and other organizations are implementing employee wellness and wellbeing initiatives. Why? Because they enhance workforce productivity, strengthen the organization’s bottom line and maximise stakeholder value, while also attracting and retaining the best possible talent (for more, read the ‘Related Articles’ below, or visit ConnectedApart’s Business Center). Happy, healthy employees are more effective and deliver greater results. Its not rocket science.

While official travel might sound like a glamorous bonus to some, for frequent travellers and deployed personnel, it’s often not. Instead, official travel can fast become a considerable source of personal anguish and job dissatisfaction. In turn, on-the-job performance suffers and results decline. While, as one study highlights (read more), there are a number of contributing factors, for a vast majority of these hard working, dedicated professionals, one of the largest stressors is trying to keep in touch with family, in particular the children they love. So much so that before the business objective, the mission or the trip, staying connected with the children they love becomes the primary consideration of travelling or deployed personnel. 

Its not hard to understand, then, that helping travelling or deployed personnel stay connected with the children they love is good for business. But don’t take ConnectedApart’s word for it: the research is out – it really does work! As one study recently noted, “children help to emotionally sustain employees while on business trips” (read more). In layman’s terms, staying connected to the children they love makes travelling or deployed personnel happier and, as noted above with respect to health and wellness programmes above, happy, healthy employees are more effective and deliver greater results.

So what do businesses and other organizations need to do specifically? On the basis of its unique APART Model, ConnectedApart can help. To discuss options, contact ConnectedApart’s founder, Jared Rigg, via contact@connectedapart.com.

ConnectedApart. Launching in 3 Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

Website: connectedapart.com (bookmark it now: live on 12 July 2018)
Contact: contact@connectedapart.com

Related Articles: 

• Ball, P. (2015). How lifestyle benefits workplace productivity. Care@Work.  
• Campbell, J. (2011). Corporations advised to consider health effects of business travel. Business Travel News. 
• Forbes Coaches Council. (2017). 14 employee well-being initiatives that will boost engagement and productivity. Forbes. 
• Hale, J. Staying connected while travelling for work. The Parenting Place.
• Rampton, J. (2016). How to work-life balance can keep your employees happy and your business healthy. Inc.
• People Matters. Impact of work travel on employee productivity. People Matters.
• Thorpe, K., Grealy, M. (2013). Value or employee wellness programs. Huffington Post.

Featured image by Florian Schneider on Unsplash

ConnectedApart. Launching in 4 Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

Get ready to stay connected by following ConnectedApart on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter, and by bookmarking connectedapart.com.

ConnectedApart. Launching in 4 Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

Website: connectedapart.com (bookmark it now: live on 12 July 2018)
Contact: contact@connectedapart.com

ConnectedApart. Launching in 5 Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

Are you an Uncle or Aunty who only gets to spend time with your nieces and/or nephews on public holidays? Even if you live just around the corner, its a reality that often comes with the territory. Well, now you can make special occasions come more often with ConnectedApart’s free products and services, including practical, fun ideas like the one below:

• Take some time (ten minutes a month, if that’s all you got) to play porta (as in ‘portable’)-Aunt/Uncle: Simply agree (with the children you love and their caregiver/s) on a time to call and make a video call to their internet enabled device. Encourage the children you love to carry ‘you’ around, to explore whatever it is that’s important to them on that particular day. They might take you outside to smell the roses, into their room to play, to the couch to read a favorite book, or to their desk for help with their homework. Let them call the shots, let it be spontaneous, surrender to their creativity, and immerse yourself in their world. It can be an incredibly empowering experience for them, where they feel ‘in charge’ of the relationship, and a fun experience for all (never before have they had a portable you!).

For more free ideas on staying connected with the nieces and nephews you love when you’re apart, bookmark ConnectedApart and join the ConnectedApart community on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter. You can also sign up for ConnectedApart’s free idea-letter, delivered once-weekly, directly to your inbox. And of course, ConnectedApart is a two-way street: the ConnectedApart community would love to hear from you. Tell us what’s worked, and what hasn’t, and do your part to help us stay connected with the kids we love when we’re apart.

ConnectedApart. Launching in 5 Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

Website: connectedapart.com (bookmark it now: live on 12 July 2018)
Contact: contact@connectedapart.com

ConnectedApart. Launching in 6 Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

Are you a grandparent living far away from the grandchildren you love? Wish you could spend more time with them – and deepen those precious connections? Then today’s the day!

Its time to challenge Letterman’s achievements and start your very own ‘Grandmom/dad TV Show’. All you need is an internet enabled device (for example, a home computer or, even better, an iPad – visit Amazon to purchase this device) and a hankering for some fun and laughter. Just follow the six simple steps listed below, and you’ll be at the top of the ‘grandchildren-you-love-charts’ in no time!

1. Crank up your internet enabled device. An iPad is ideal, given its portability (and ease to clean – see hint four below);
2. Schedule a time to connect, perhaps every Saturday morning (this might elevate you – in record time – to the top of the ‘caregiver charts’ as well, given the extra time that your call will provide the caregiver/s to read the paper – or even (its almost an unimaginable luxury) sleep in!);
3. Set the length of your ‘TV Show’ (for example 15 to 30 minutes) and set expectations of the children you love – even Letterman’s show has to end – at least for the week;
4. Pick some fun activities from ConnectedApart – or simply let your imagination be your guide – and act out the part;
5. • For example, for younger children, you could jam-pack the show with a book, a puppet show (role playing your own experience apart – or a crazy story of fun and frivolity), some dancing and even some yoga (check out cosmickids.com or cosmickids on YouTube for inspiration).
   • For the older children, you could start with a ‘show’ about where you are, read a chapter of a shared novel and finish with a cooking lesson – hence the reason iPads are better than home computers for ‘Grandparent TV’! They’re easier to move around and – even if you do have super human strength and were able to lug your computer into the kitchen – they’re much easier to clean pancake mixture off…
   • For both young and old, you could hold a surprise guest interview, for example your partner, another member of the extended family, or even yourself! Ask your guest some questions about their life and their interests, and let the kids you love ask their own questions. It’s a fun way for the kids you love to get to know you, and the broader family.
6. Sign off with a big “See you next week/time! Same time. Same place!”.
7. Kick back, relax, remember the smiles and the laughter of the grandchildren you love, and enjoy your well-deserved stardom.

For more free ideas on staying connected with the grandchildren you love when you’re living far away, bookmark ConnectedApart and join the ConnectedApart community on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter. You can also sign up for ConnectedApart’s free idea-letter, delivered once-weekly, directly to your inbox. And of course, ConnectedApart is a two-way street: the ConnectedApart community would love to hear about what’s worked for you, in staying connected with the grandchildren you love when apart.

ConnectedApart. Launching in 6 Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

Website: connectedapart.com (bookmark it now: live on 12 July 2018)
Contact: contact@connectedapart.com

ConnectedApart. Launching in 7 Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

Are you a parent on a long-term mission or deployment with the armed forces, the United Nations, a regional or other organisation? Then you know better than most: being apart is seldom easy. But with the right amount of commitment, action and focus, you can make it an enriching, rewarding and positive experience for all. Stay connected and come home every night – virtually – with ConnectedApart’s free products and services, including practical, fun ideas like the one below:

Establish a ‘home hotline’
Invest in one dedicated, portable ‘hotline’, over which you and the children you love can interact while you’re apart. An iPad is ideal, with the largest screen possible (so the children you love can see more of you, literally!). Visit Amazon to purchase this item. Prepare your hotline in the following way:

• Strip the device of all unnecessary apps;
• Include your preferred choice of app/s for day-to-day communications (e.g. for text, phone and video calls) and place them in an easy to see spot on the device;
• Include a clock with the time zone of the place your travelling to;
• Set restrictions (parental controls), including with regard to your selected internet browser;
• Add a few bookmarks about the place to which your travelling;
• Add a home screen – and screen saver – with both your picture and pictures of you and the children you love;
• Add a folder of pictures of you;
• Add a folder of videos of you. Include a number of special video messages for the children you love, for example: day-to-day ups and downs; special occasions; and to mark major milestones during your time apart. Include videos of you reading books and/or singing their favourite songs, including any lullabies you might be in the habit of crooning;
• Plan regular interactions, including when you will call (see more ideas on calendaring at ConnectedApart.com on launch day, 12 July 2018); and
• Discuss online safety with the children you love (check out ConnectedApart’s dedicated page on ‘Online Safety for Children’ on launch day, 12 July 2018).

For more free ideas to stay connected with the children you love when you’re on a long-term mission or deployment, bookmark ConnectedApart.com and join the ConnectedApart Community on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and/or on Twitter. You can also sign up for ConnectedApart’s free idea-letter, delivered once-weekly, directly to your inbox.

But whatever you do, if you’re a parent on a long-term mission or deployment, just stay anchored, remember your preparation and focus on remaining available – ‘virtually’ and emotionally – while also having as much fun as possible with the children you love.

ConnectedApart. Launching in 7 Days. 12 July 2018. Stay tuned. Stay connected.

Website: connectedapart.com (bookmark it now: live on 12 July 2018)
Contact: contact@connectedapart.com

Featured image by Juliane Liebermann on Unsplash