From Bunny Slippers to Business Plans
My goals for the new year?
To focus less on blogging and more on publishing independent pieces in additional online and print publications.
To save up the money for a career coaching certification program.
To stop worrying about money.
To fit into my jeans again.
Lofty and admirable goals all, not to mention unimaginably daunting.
How can I set the right goals for 2009…the types of goals I can actually accomplish?
I know I just did up this whole post on maintaining professional decorum, but I’m now feeling distracted by the extreme comfort I’m feeling at my slippered feet.
I know. It’s nothing new. Work attire has been devolving for years now, in addition to office environments and professional communications.
In fact, I’m part of the problem. From the very moment I entered the corporate world 5 and 1/2 years ago, I was completely unable to keep up a sense of professional decorum. My business attire became business casual, before eventually becoming an odd mix of too much cleavage + too much frump. My work e-mails were breezy and flip. I couldn’t bring myself to wear dress pumps (I figured black sneakers were close enough…).
Still, those who have work to offer are still appreciators of traditional practices, and an adherence to these practices nowadays can make eager professionals stand out from the rumpled crowd.
After all, aren’t we supposed to be dressing for the job we want, and not just the one we already have? (she says, as her toes dig into the fleece lining of the boot slippers her brother bought her for Christmas…)
After the jump, how to retain your spunky sense of self (we’re freelancers for a reason, after all…) while still maintaining an air of professionalism:
I’ve always chafed at the conventions of the corporate world, which is why I eventually jumped ship. Why is it, then, that I cling so tightly to holiday traditions?
Perhaps it’s because — much like my career — these traditions belong to me and, by extension, my family.
Okay, you’ve caught me. Freelancedom has been quiet lately, aside from a couple of product placement posts. Aside from the fact that I’m obsessed with Christmas, I feel as if everything has come due at the same time. Suddenly, I’ve had articles to complete, blogger applications to read through, end-of-year posts to plan, copy editing tests to complete, test drive posts to do up…I’ve been a stressed-out mess!
Conversely, I haven’t succumbed to holiday season stress at all. Indulging in Christmasy things is like a respite for me, and not one bit of it has been done begrudgingly (though I did lose a huge chunk of my life just in stringing up the lights on two Christmas trees).
Perhaps I should have applied my holiday prep tactics to my business practices. After the jump, 5 things I learned about business management while Christmas shopping:
I had the pleasure of receiving a (temporary) sample of a high-ticket item to review over at Modern Materialist. As I feel that the NeatDesk is one primo toy for the at-home entrepreneur, I’ve pasted the bulk of my test drive post after the jump.
Read on for all the fun I had with this high-tech information management system/high-speed scanner.
[$525, myTypewriter]
Since the beginning of the month, me and the rest of my Modern Materialistas have been doing up holiday gift guides for our readers. My favorites have been the ones I’ve done for word nerds: Stocking Stuffers for Word Nerds, Gifts Under $25 for Word Nerds, and Last-Minute Gifts for Word Nerds.
I encourage you to head on over and read the full extent of word-nerdy goodness but, just to give you a preview, I’ve placed my favorite items after the jump:
The second meme of the day comes courtesy of Sal from Everyday Thoughts from Life.
THE RULES:
1. LINK TO THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU
2. POST THE RULES ON YOUR BLOG
3. WRITE SIX RANDOM THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF
4. TAG SIX PEOPLE AT THE END OF YOUR POST AND LINK TO THEM
5. LET EACH PERSON KNOW THEY ARE TAGGED AND LEAVE A COMMENT ON THEIR BLOG
6. LET THE TAGGER KNOW WHEN YOUR ENTRY IS UP
7. DON’T BREAK THE CHAIN (not actually a rule)
Wowzers. I was totally tagged for two memes in one day. I feel so popular.
It’s perfect, too, because I’m not actually here today! I totally typed this up late last night, all cracked out on a full day of work (three days’ worth, stockpiled because of my mini-vacation) and daydreaming about the potato chips my husband would eventually bring home for me. It’s way easier to put together a meme or two than to put together a coherent and well-thought-out post!
The first one is courtesy of JR, and is designed to either humiliate you or make you seem smarter based upon the contents of your bookshelf. The rules:
1. Grab one of the books closest to you, go to page 56, and type the fifth line (as well as the following few lines).
2. Pick five bookworms to subject this meme to.
My posting has been a bit all over the place this past week. I apologize. I was swept up in wrapping presents, baking xmas cookies, and stockpiling posts in preparation for my long weekend away.
You can see some of the fruits of my labors above. They’re tassies, a recipe I learned from my mom when I was young, a delicious bit of heaven made up mostly of brown sugar, butter, and vanilla (yum!).
As I uphold the traditions my mother passed down to me, I marvel at how much of her is in me. Though there was a good amount of resistance in me, I’ve learned a lot from my mother.
After the jump, 7 things I learned from my mom about career success, despite myself:
