by Solange Lopes | Jan 9, 2015 | Career
Photo credit: http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk
I woke up this morning feelin’ all good, with a pep in my step, and this despite the fact that I didn’t hear the alarm, the kids were stuck to their beds, and my hair was not cooperating…But oh hey, it’s Friday, and Fridays have that special kind of feeling…
Yet if we spend upwards of 8 to 10 hours a day, five (or more) days at work, restricting this feeling to one day a week (albeit THE best day of the week), does not exactly make for a happy career. So unless you’re one of those who live and breathe your job, there are ways to make most days, even everyday, feel like Friday:
1. Integrate your passion in what you do! Few people get to work at their passions. For the rest of us who are still getting there, integrating what we love doing into what we do everyday can do the trick! Love writing? Excel at writing the best reports, memos and emails out there! Have a passion for team building and organization? Volunteer for such activities in your department, and don’t forget to take credit for it!
2. Get stuff done! Want to feel good? Get something, anything accomplished. Keep a running to-do list, and manage to cross things off as much as you can! Even simpler tasks will give you a sense of accomplishment as you complete them successfully! And keep a tally of what you’ve done on those days when you need to remind yourself just how awesome you are…
3. Time for a reward! You don’t need to wait for your boss, co-workers or the snack machine, to incentivize you. Set goals and reward yourself for meeting them! As a shoe addict, I’ve been treating myself for major (and minor) accomplishments since I figured there is no limit to how many pairs of shoes a woman can own (please don’t object!). So treat yourself, keep working on your dreams, and give yourself a break, it’s not that bad…
Happy Friday 🙂
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 8, 2015 | Career
Midi Skirt – $118 – Photo: nordstrom.com
Well, we’re not exactly having a skirt weather here in the Northeast, but I fell in absolute fashion lust with this this bouquet pleat midi skirt from Nordstrom! Loving the full (and forgiving) ladylike silhouette, not to mention the romantic look of this A-line skirt. It’s $118 at Nordstrom.
Other beautiful full skirts I’ve seen around the web include this ASOS premium full skirt, as well as this embellished (and pricier) alternative from Saks.
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 8, 2015 | Career
Fortune Magazine published an article earlier this year entitled “What successful women want in 2015“, in which women from Fortune’s Insider Network shared goals for this new year. As things like diversity or promoting other women were sorely missing from the list, what occurred to me (and others, judging by the response tweets), is that we haven’t succeeded yet at even defining what success means for professional women (or even scraped the surface for that matter).
Success for me is fulfilling my purpose while helping others. For my mother, it meant raising successful children on her own. For my grandmother, it meant staying strong in the face of adversity, even if adversity slept in the same bed as you. Each generation of women, and each woman, defines success differently.
Success on the job, at home, or both? As a professional, or stay-at-home mom? While men’s answers to how they define success may be much simpler (no offense), the additional variables for women make it harder to narrow down our options.
Our search for meaning, need to be valued, pressure from work and home, not to mention the dear price many women pay to make it up the corporate ladder, all make for a difficult (if not unsolvable) success equation.
Ultimately, it’s up to us, all of us, not just the few women (and men) at the top, to define what success means to us. Didn’t we watch our parents work hard only to fall victims to the recession? Are we willing to do the same, or instead choosing our own definition of success?
How do you define success?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 7, 2015 | Career |
Photo credit: ebony.com
Being vegetarian at work can be a challenge. From team lunches to group outings, finding something, anything suitable to eat, not to mention reminding everyone turkey is meat, eating (and eating well) at the office, as a vegetarian, can be a meaty task (no pun intended here).
My $0.05: I’ve worked with many vegetarians, and I can recall a few instances when they were literally out of food options. I remember a welcome lunch for a new team member at a Brazilian rotisserie, and of course, she was a vegetarian and…hungry! For all the vegetarians at work, plan, plan, plan ahead of time! Check menus, remind meeting organizers of your diet, and if all else fails, always have a snack on hand!
What is your experience with being / having a vegetarian on the team at work?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 7, 2015 | Career
Textured Jacquard top – $84 – Photo credit: reiss.com
I received an email alert of great sales at Reiss today, and sure enough, there are lots of great discounts on the site! My pick today is this Anja navy/cream textured jacquard top, on sale for $84! Loving the classical nautical palette of navy and white, as well as the perfect stitch detailing on this top that can be paired with just about…anything, from your favorite trousers to your oldest jeans on the week-end!
Any fashion suggestions of pieces you’ve seen and loved? Please leave me a comment, or shoot me an email at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 7, 2015 | Career |
Photo credit: guidedoc.com
I discussed earlier dating for the successful professional woman. Yet for those of us who’ve been off the dating scene for some time, we tend to be more worried about the balance between work and marriage.
At a time when work is taking more and more space in our lives, tracing clear boundaries between career and marriage is increasingly challenging. Between increasing work demands, a still frail economy, unsatisfying careers, just to mention a few, our most intimate relationships are harshly put to the test.
Toxic work environments, lack of career success, grueling schedules, just to cite a few, all contribute to the demise of many marriages. How do we then, as responsible, ambitious, professionals, keep work from getting in the way of our relationships?
1. Recognize there’s a problem! If you haven’t had a real conversation with your partner for way too long because they’re always working, or if work is making either of you so miserable you can’t stand each other, recognize the issue! Acknowledge there’s a problem, and if you want to save the relationship, it’s time to face it…
2. Talk, talk, and talk some more! Don’t keep your feelings bottled up. Neither of you has to give up on their dreams or hopes to survive. The point of a relationship is to help each other! Discuss your issues at or with your current work, and be honest about what you feel!
3. Pick your battles! Work is challenging. Issues will come up at you every which way, and some days will make you want to eat chocolate for the rest of your life. Yet, in order to balance the rest of your life and your career, pick your battles! Distinguish between what is worth complaining about to your partner and what is just the stuff of everyday. While you may need to address serious work-related issues, you don’t want to over-burden your relationship.
4.Make a plan, and follow through! If either of your careers is threatening your relationship, make a plan. Is it time to quit and survive on one salary? Or is another job a necessity? Can you afford to jump ship and start your own business? Make a plan, and stick to it, together!
How do you deal with work getting in the way of your relationship?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 6, 2015 | Career |
Photo credit: http://interracialmarriageandfamily.com
Loss happens. It’s part of life, just as crisis, births, big and small events. And while our worlds stop for a bit as we pick ourselves back up after the loss of a loved one, it seems work continues. In office environments where politics are the new normal and personal advancement tends to matter more than cooperation these days, how should one react to a co-worker in grief? Do we drop our guard and freely empathize with them? Or do we keep everything “professionally correct”? Do we cut them some slack, or act as if business is going on “as usual”?
My $0.05: Frankly, all this “political correctedness” stuff at work has made us forget we are human after all. Show compassion and empathy, offer a sympathy card signed by everyone, go out of your way to show you care, that’s just what people do. Also acknowledge this person may not be in their best state of mind, so if you can offer to alleviate their workload, do so. After all, a caring workplace is a better workplace!
How do you react towards a grieving co-worker?
The Corporate Sis.
