by Solange Lopes | Dec 24, 2015 | Career |
Only 8 days to the end of this year, and you’re looking at your vacation calendar, wondering if you should request those meager 2 days you have left, or if you should just forget about it all and push through those last year-end reports.
Would taking your remaining vacation time during the holidays make you look bad, or should you do yourself a favor and actually use your days off?
My $0.05: I’ve learnt that your time off is just that, your time off. Despite all the work pressure, the unfinished year-end projects and the oppressive deadlines, not taking some time to enjoy the holidays is a disservice to yourself and your team/company.
The best way to go about it is to discuss with your manager your plans for taking time off. If need be, you could put in a few hours from home, of carry over some time until the next year. However, whatever the case is, taking at least some time off for the holidays should be a non-negotiable.
While you may be at liberty to take some time off around the holidays, some companies actually require their employees to do so. In this case, you will only get paid if you are an exempt employee. Some organizations even require their employees to work on holidays, in which case you may ask to use a different day as holiday. In any case, your best bet is always to approach your manager or Human Resources with any question you may have…
Besides, who wants to start the New Year frazzled, exhausted and frankly mad at he very concept of work?
What do you think? Did you take all your vacation time this year? Are taking some time away from work for the holidays?
Chime in the comments.
With Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Dec 24, 2015 | Career |
For today’s corporate catwalk style, I’m loving this color blocked sweater from The Limited. The contrast of orange and blue colors, as well as the contemporary patterns on this modern classic make it a great asset to your wardrobe.
This top can be paired with any bottom, from a pair of basic slacks to a polished pencil skirt. It can even be recycled with your favorite jeans for an elegant casual Friday look, or a refined week-end style.
Bonus: It’s on sale for $41.96 at the Limited!
With Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Dec 24, 2015 | Career
If you’ve ever tried working as productively as possible around the holidays, you know how much of a challenge it is. From googling the Christmas menu to wondering which dress will hide those extra 10 pounds from the holidays before, not to mention trying to close those year-end projects that always come with some stinky complications here and there, your mind is continually in overdrive.
There you are, making dish lists on Post-It notes, sending emails to the wrong people, and changing your password for the 12th time in a day.
Well, of course there’s an app for all this mind craziness. Actually, there are 7 apps that can help you turn your unproductive, unprofitable, and unsuccessful day into a productive haven.
- 1Password: Imagine never having to remember another password again? Or even better not having to fight with your (short-term)memory to decipher the chicken scratches you’ve printed on some sorry, wrinkled Post-It note? This password app manager gives you access to all your accounts with one single password. And the bonus: it works on computers as well as mobile devices.
- HIDEMAN: Working from the corner cafe? You may want to watch for network security, just in case those confidential forecast numbers would be revealed to the entire barista crew. This app helps you create a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that encrypts your data for added security.
- Quip: For all the times when you create a document in one app, share it with someone else, and then text them to tell them. This app allows you to do all three on the same interface. You can create spreadsheets, documents and lists, share them with others and chat about it all in the same app. Genius huh?
- Pocket: Ever found a great article you had to drop the year-end report to read? If you’re a big reader like myself, you know how it can throw your entire productivity off. This app lets you save articles and content you enjoy for later, while you focus on the task at hand and actually do some work. Yes you over there…
- Evernote: I often say this is my backup brain. Got a great idea you don’t want to forget, or a sentence that would be perfect for that report you dread submitting to your boss? Save it all on Evernote, along with the last minute gift on sale for your hubby…
- Snowball: Phone notifications keep disturbing you as you put the last touches on the year-end audit? This app lets you manage notifications on your phone, and decide which ones are important, and…which ones you could seriously do without. Buh-bye Facebook notifications…
- Clear Focus: If the sound of the admin’s voice (or her perfume, or the vibrations of the air vent above, or pretty much anything) distract you, this app is for you. It helps you manage your time by setting uninterrupted chunks of times where you strictly work, and others where you get up and take a break. It follows the Pomodoro time management technique, and helps you track how you spend your time at work.
What other productivity app would you add to the list? Please share with us in the comments.
With Love,
Solange.
by Solange Lopes | Dec 23, 2015 | Career |
Have you ever found yourself planning the evening’s meal, the kids’ dance costumes, and your own bi-monthly self-shaving session all at once, all the while hanging on to your phone as you hurriedly fly through the security gate at work? And then wondering if anyone has yet invented the perfect machine to slice and dice your brain into multi-efficient parts that can both turn in the year-end audit plan as well as Christmas dinner on time….
For many professional women, being successful at work while still doing what’s necessary on the home front is an unending battle. We want to do it all, be it all, and fix it all… And still put our lipstick on right (read, not on your teeth, but on your lips), and wear matching stilettos (and possibly stain-free clothes, but let’s be realistic here…)
One of my aha moments as a professional woman with two hyper-active toddlers, one hyper-immune to mess husband, and one-and-a-half of a hyper-functioning brain, happened on an eventful Monday morning (of course, it had to be a Monday). I found both a bottle of bleach spray in my purse, and an email I had sent to my client asking him to “just give me a sex (I meant, a sec) to get back to him with an answer”…. Both the sex /second and the bleach got me over the edge, as I packed up at exactly 8:05am, went home and started making calls to hire a cleaning service…
The reality is, most women still carry a larger share of the responsibilities at home, while trying to “lean in”, smash the glass ceiling, raise decent human beings, and take a daily shower.
And while outsourcing has become a growing trend worldwide, it doesn’t seem to have much affected the lives of professional women. We still are running from one professional front to the other domestic one, pretending we’re fine and we’ll eventually make it to the gym some day…It may be time for a change…
Here are 7 tasks that the modern, professional woman can, and should outsource to be more successful at work, happier at home and more sane everywhere else (unless of course, there’s tequila nearby):
- Cleaning: I have made peace with the broom and the bleach bottle after hiring a cleaning service, and amicably putting an end to my tumultuous relationship with sticky floors and icky bathtubs. While many of us feel guilty admitting we don’t actually enjoy scrubbing gum off the kitchen floors, the rest of us (read:me, myself and I), have no shame to our non-cleaning game. It’s either I sacrifice my week-ends to have a spotless house, or I calculate my time’s worth (divide salary by number of work hours) and pay part of it to a service like TaskRabbit, while I focus on what makes me really happy. End result: I can shave my legs more often, cuddle with the hubby, and not lecture my kids on the dangers of spilling milk everywhere…for the 100th time. Bingo!
- Grocery shopping: Spending hours on week-ends or even worse, after work, buying groceries (and extra chocolate to make up for the ensuing frustration), or delegating the whole thing and reading a great book? Take a wild guess. Besides, how much time do we really have to consciously shop for “healthy food”? If your answer (like mine) is not much, then why not look into having your groceries delivered with services like Stop& Shop’s Peapod in most of their locations. You an even have the hubby’s beer delivered on -site too, with services like Boston’s Drizly. And voila!
- Daily errands: Dropping off dry cleaning, picking up furniture, and losing your mind in the process? Services like Zaarly and TaskRabbit help with some of these pain-in-the-behind daily errands that make you want to revert back to wearing the same jeans everyday or camping for life…But we won’t go there…
- Virtual house manager/bookkeeper: No time to pay taxes, schedule appointments, or deal with household projects? How about hiring a household manager or bookkeeper, who can perform most of these tasks virtually? This may very well be the solution to the non-existing date night in your couple, or the one way to finally make it to spinning class (or to bed for a nap)…
- Childcare: This one is a non-negotiable. You already use some level of childcare to be able to go to work. What about outsourcing childcare on an as-needed basis as well? Services like Care.com, for instance, are great for finding sitters on call.
- Logistics: It took me three weeks to make it to the post-office to mail a friend a gift I had in my car for months. Dinner reservation calls, doctors’ appointments, hair appointments, trips to the post-office, those are all logistical to-do’s we can never seem to get around. How about outsourcing the whole thing with services like FancyHands, MyTasker, TimeSvr, and TaskBullet for instance.
- Research: Remember that time you had to do a market research for a work report due the next day, as you cursed the entire Internet at 2am trying to find more information? There are services out there like Elance, Freelancer, and Fiverr, that connect you with professionals who can do the job for around $5, while you sleep. Now who’s cursing the Internet?
Which tasks do you outsource as a professional woman?
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Dec 20, 2015 | Career |
What better than a red dress to speak holidays and festivities onto your entire wardrobe? While it can spell confidence and ultimate glamour of her your entire party look, it’s also a style that can elevate your corporate style like no other, especially around the holidays.
My favorite red dress pick this week is this pleated flare dress from Ann Taylor. The simplicity of the jewel neck cut of this dress pairs amazingly well with the impeccable pleats. And the flared shapes is ladylike, yet flirty enough to add a touch of sophisticated fun that will take you from the meeting room to the party.
Other alternatives I really like include this simply elegant seamed A-line dress from Nordstrom, this piped sheath dress from The Limited, and this contemporary high neck midi dress from Zara.
What are your favorite red dresses to wear at work during the holidays?
With Love,
The Corporate Sis.
