A new year is like a blank book. The pen is in your hands. It is your chance to write a beautiful story for yourself.

May God bless you in this year with peace, joy and an abundance of happiness!

NASHVILLE

CHAPTER

January 8, 2020 Volume III, Issue 1

AIM-IRS

Special points of

interest:

• AIM Monthly Meeting

January

Inside this issue:

Southeast

Conference

2

New Year’s

Resolutions

3-4

3 Tips to Avoid

Burnout at Work

5-6

Chapter Info 7

Register today for the 2020 Southeast Region Conference & Training in Atlanta, Georgia.

DATES: MARCH 20-21, 2020

Early bird registration fee is only $75 and a payment plan is

available!

Hotel Information: Double Tree Northlake

Rate $115.00 per night* Reservations: 1-800-222-8733 (refer to AIM-IRS group)

Breakfast included*

For additional information, contact: Paula Kannike (paula.t.kannike@irs.gov)

Joelle White (joelle.n.white@irs.gov) Tammye Butler (tammye.j.butler@irs.gov)

2020 Southeast Conference

Page 2

Thirty-five percent of us who make New Year's resolutions break them by the end of January. And only 23

percent of everyone who makes a resolution will see it through to completion [source: Franklin Covey].

Are you part of the 77 percent who make resolutions only to find you've given up before you ever really

got started? Let's break down how that happens.

One of the most common reasons we break our New Year's resolutions is that we get a little overzealous

when we make them and we over-commit. And as a result, 40 percent of us blame our busy schedules for

our lack of follow-through [source: Franklin Covey]. It's easier to keep just one resolution rather than

several.

Another part of the problem is that we often make the wrong resolution (or more than one wrong

resolution). The key to successful goal-making is not to be hasty when you do it. Make resolutions you've

thought through and are willing to dedicate your time and energy to. Don't make a resolution on the fly

after too many toasts at a New Year's party. If you're not 100 percent committed to your goal, the odds of

staying motivated are not in your favor.

Who are we kidding? It can be difficult to stay motivated even when you've chosen one well-reasoned goal.

Many of us lack motivation and accountability, despite our best intentions. Remove an easy way out by

sharing your plans with friends and family -- the more who know your goal, the less likely you'll talk

yourself out of sticking with your new habits (and despite what you might have heard it can take longer

than just 21 days for a lot of us to change a habit -- one study found it took anywhere between 18 and 245

days) [source: Burkeman]. Sharing your goals with those close to you not only adds accountability -- which

many of us need to motivate ourselves -- but it also gives you a support system.

Next, let's talk about how to make a New Year's resolution that you just might be able to make stick.

Plan to Make Your New Year's Resolution a Success

In the end, whether or not we keep our New Year's resolutions comes down to whether or not we give

ourselves a resolution we can stick to. Resolutions that are small in scope with specific and realistic goals

help, especially for those of us who make goals like "get in shape" (the number one resolution for 2013)

without then planning how we'll go about achieving the goal [source: Franklin Covey].

Not only are we not specific or realistic with ourselves, we don't give ourselves deadlines, and we don't

track our progress. Yes, promising yourself this is the year you'll lose weight is a great goal -- and a popular

one [source: Time]. But how will you do it? More than 30 percent of us who make this New Year's

resolution break it [source: FC Organizational Products]. If you want to stack the odds that you will lose

weight, define what your specific weight loss goals are and give yourself a deadline within which to meet

those goals. Make the goal reasonable enough that you're not intimidated by it, and the deadline realistic:

Resolve to lose 10 pounds by Memorial Day and keep yourself honest with daily progress reports.

Why Are New Year's Resolutions So Easy to Break?

Page 3 Volume III, Issue 1

If you want to get in shape, make it your resolution to, for instance, always take the stairs (it's a good

start). Keep a journal of your progress -- the good and the bad (including those days when you took the

elevator because you were running late) -- to help keep yourself focused and on task.

Progress reports are a good way to keep yourself motivated and moving in the right direction toward your

goal; without them -- and sometimes despite them -- we can become discouraged. And when we're

discouraged, we tend to give up on the goal. But don't! Researchers have found that a few off-days from

time to time doesn't have much, if any, effect on your overall success [source: Burkeman]. Instead of giving

up on your goal when you have a setback, take things one day at a time.

Researchers are also examining a phenomenon called decision fatigue that plays a part in how likely we are

to keep resolutions [source: Tierney]. The more decisions, even small ones, that you have to make in a day

(including deciding to go for a walk or run, selecting healthy foods, and putting away cash for a rainy day),

the more depleted your willpower and self-control will be as the day wears on. So, think about how you

can incorporate small steps to your goal in your daily life, so they'll be automatic and require little or no

decision effort. Making tough decisions related to your resolution early in the day (for example, get your

workout in early or pay bills and handle finances before you leave for work) could help ensure a successful

outcome.

Author's note: Why are New Year's resolutions so easy to break?

I fall into the category of people who don't make New Year's resolutions. I know you might be wondering

what's wrong with me. Why or why not, who's to say, but I can't remember a time when I considered

New Year's resolutions to be for me. But just because I don't make it a habit of pledging to change my

habits at the beginning of each year, it doesn't mean I'm not interested in self-improvement and in regard

to that, isn't it refreshing to learn that it's not realistic to expect you can break a habit in less than a month?

By: Maria Trimarchi

https://people.howstuffworks.com

Why Are New Year's Resolutions So Easy to Break?

Page 4 Volume III, Issue 1

With the holidays behind us and the new year underway, it’s time to get back to the grind. However, with

the chaos that comes during the holiday season, your time outside of the office may not have been the

most restful and you might find yourself more exhausted coming back to work than when you left for

some well-earned time off.

Although taking a vacation is often recommended for those who are starting to feel burnt out, this might

not actually be the perfect solution. The truth is, burnout can have a number of causes. And while taking

time off is important, if the underlying causes aren’t addressed, you can find yourself just as wiped-out

when you return to work as you were before your vacation. Here are three tips to help you prevent

burnout in your professional career.

1. Reflect on the root of your feelings

If you haven’t always felt burnt out by your job, a good place to start is to ask yourself what has changed. Is

the frustration from a specific process or system at work, or is it a gradual, cumulative buildup of stress?

Depending on the causes, many of these could be alleviated through a conversation with a coworker or

manager. Even if the cause of stress is just general burnout, it could still be beneficial to try vocalizing these

feelings to your boss or someone in the office you trust.

2. Take some time for yourself

Now I know what you’re thinking. Doesn’t this tip contradict the first two paragraphs I just read? Not so!

In the battle against burnout, you have to be in it for the long haul, which means fighting back against small,

everyday stresses. Taking a little time for yourself each day can be even more important than taking an

extended vacation.

If you find yourself feeling like your work is becoming a long slog, find small ways to mix things up. This

could be accomplished in a number of different ways. Try taking a five-minute walk for every hour spent

working or set up a regular time to get coffee outside of the office with a coworker.

Give yourself things to look forward to throughout the week. Maybe decide to treat yourself to your

favorite lunch spot every Thursday or wear one of your favorite outfits on Wednesday. By giving yourself

smaller milestones, you’ll find yourself looking forward to and focused on the positives that bring you joy.

3. Work on wellness

If you’ve ever had a bad illness, you’ll probably agree that it’s hard to feel happy if you don’t feel well. That

being said, wellness is far more complex than simply being under the weather or not. A key factor that can

both affect our wellness and contribute to our feelings of burnout is stress.

Stress doesn’t discriminate between your time on and off the clock. If you have stress in your personal

sphere, your professional sphere will also be affected. By the same token, cutting down on stress in one

sphere will also help you feel more relaxed in others.

3 Tips to Avoid Burnout at Work

Page 5 Volume III, Issue 1

Getting better sleep and regular exercise are both classic methods for reducing stress, however, they can

often be difficult to achieve due to tight schedules and other commitments. While it’d be nice to flip a

switch and start getting an extra hour of sleep each night and an hour of exercise each day, aiming

unrealistically high can leave you feeling discouraged. Instead, challenge yourself to get to bed 15 minutes

earlier each night and exercise for 15 minutes each day, then work your way up from there.

Again, when working toward wellness and against burnout and stress, you have to be in it for the long haul.

Building new habits is hard, and it takes time and dedication. But the benefits are well worth the effort.

By: Zackary Rettig

Govloop.com

3 Tips to Avoid Burnout at Work

Page 6 Volume III, Issue 1

AIM-IRS

Nashville Chapter

P.O. Box 24544

Nashville, TN 37202

Website:

www.aimirs-nashville.org

Our Mission

The purpose of the Association for the Improvement of Minorities is to educate and

develop our members to their fullest career and personal potential, and instill in

them the highest degree of confidence in their abilities; in a manner that is free from

negative influence and discriminatory policies and practices. To achieve that purpose,

we will:

A. Educate and counsel our members as to opportunities for career and personal

advancement;

B. Foster Equal Employment Opportunity;

C. Provide a Self-Help Network to further the general welfare of our members;

D. Promote local and community wide services that assist individuals seeking career

and educational support;

E. Cooperate with all government agencies and other organizations in taking lawful

actions to ensure the removal of discriminatory policies and practices.

NASHVILLE

CHAPTER

Officers:

President: Kimberly Sanford

Vice President: Valencia Towns

2nd Vice President: Yvette Patrick

Immediate Past President:

Tony Stevenson

Treasury: Arndra Jackson

Secretary: Tammie Jackson

Nashville Chapter Officers & Board of Directors

Facebook Page: AIM-IRS Nashville

We’re on the web

Conference and Planning-Wilbrena Lyons

Thomas

Membership-Charlotte Nicholson

Budget & Finance-Vickie Green

Fundraising-Renee Spencer

Program & Development-Chris Norwood

Chapter By-Laws-Mary Stewart

Public Information-Valencia Towns

Legal/Legislative-Tonda Ramey

Fair Election-Janiene Jessie

Nominating-Angela Hardin

Evaluations & Scholarship-Denise Johnson

Issues & Research-Angela Hardin

Parliamentarian– Lendia Huey Rosser