by | Nov 27, 2013 | Career
Mentally gearing up for Black Friday? Stocking up on 5-hour energy bottles to make sure you make it through one of the most crowded shopping days of the year? Wondering how in the world you’ll be able to digest the loads of stuffing and turkey you’re planning to ingest on Thanksgiving in time to hit the stores at the crack of dawn?
As busy corporate sisters, and as busy people in general, we know time is of the essence. We also know that, just like with anything else, shopping smart and efficiently beats running after impossible deals in the wee hours of the morning…
So, could it be that we actually can strategize this whole holiday shopping business, and actually beat the Black Friday myth at its own game?
According to an article on MSN Living, and as a result of research conducted by Erica Bell and Katie Finnegan, co-founders of a shopping site tracking your favorite pieces and alerting you to upcoming sales:
- Track discounts as early as the week before Thanksgiving: Yes, for many of us, there is no need to wait for Black Friday to take advantage of the discounts. Although these may not be the deepest discounts, you may still be able to snatch some pretty good deals, on average 35 to 37% off women’s and men’s apparel. Besides, keep in mind that the most common and average sizes are the first ones to fly off the shelf, and that some items may not even go on sale on Black Friday, it may just be better to pick and choose, and not let some of these early discounts pass you by….
- If you want the largest discounts, shop after Black Friday and Cyber-Monday, especially the week following Cyber Monday, where you can snatch 40 to 60% off on home goods, electronics, accessories and shoes, to cite just a few…
- Last but not least, for last-minute smart shopping, and if you don’t mind getting your gift(s) a bit late, wait until after Christmas Day to get your shopping on…December 26 seems to be the best day to treat yourself to the deepest discounts of the season, so mark you calendars…
What is your strategy for smart shopping this holiday season?
The Corporate Sister.
Related Articles:
http://living.msn.com/shopping/gearing-up-for-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-deals-the-shopping-strategies-you-need-to-know
by | Nov 26, 2013 | Career
The corporate world is home to many peculiar and awkward adventures. And frankly at times, one just feels transplanted into one of the Akward Black Girl’s hilarious episodes…
So in honor of all these awkward corporate moments that don’t get told much, I decided to start “The Corporate Sister’s Awkward Files” series, to tell the awkward stories of a world that’s not half as serious as it looks…
Like in the bathroom stall, you know, just as a busy, sleepy corporate sister takes a break from meetings and projects to quietly respond to the call of Nature…and there comes Chatty Kathy, busting the next door stall open, heavily plopping her chatty self on the toilet seat, right before blurting out; “Girl, is that you, I recognize your shoes! Nice shoes by the way, did you get them at DSW? They ’bout to have a great sale on Black Friday, you know! And how’s your daughter, she had a cold right? Feeling better?”
Meanwhile, you’re just sitting there, your pantyhose hanging down your legs, mid-way through your natural business, wondering if you should hold your pee while you chat up or just keep tinkling and chatting away…
Awkward!
Have you experienced awkward moments in the corporate world?
The Corporate Sister.
by | Nov 26, 2013 | Career |
As a corporate sister gearing up for the holiday celebrations, I wanted to address a topic that may unfortunately not be cause for much celebration, and that is conflict in the workplace…Yup, it is Tuesday, and for most of us, it means peeling yourselves off the warm, comfy bedsheets, and heading back to work…And for many, it also means going back to a sometimes hostile professional environment, where there is brewing conflict and discontent…Yet, and despite all the pressure that many feel on a daily basis at work, it is still your job, your paycheck, and your opportunity to practice your God-given skills. And at the end of the day, you, I and everyone else in between, need to address these, if not to resolve them, but at least to reach some kind of a “workable” consensus for all parties involved. As a dear friend of mine puts it well, “you either squash it or get squashed by it”.
So how does one address issues at work, when other parties are involved, be it with peers, colleagues, or bosses? How does one manage such difficult situations where the line can get so blurry between professional and personal relationships? After all, and although none of us really wants to think about it, especially not on Monday morning, we spend a significant portion of our lives, if not most of our lives, at work…In between our four cubicle or office walls, in front of our computer screens, across the table from the people we have to learn to work (and sometimes almost live) with…
1. Recognize that there is an issue: Turning a blind eye to the problem will not help in the short, medium or long-term. That co-worker who keeps making snide remarks at you? The colleague who’s way too quick to dismiss your professional suggestions, or omits to include you in team communications? The boss who clearly abuses his power? There is an issue, and as much you’d rather bury you cute head in the sand rather than appear as the “complainer” or, worse yet, the “non-team player”, if it continues or worsens, it will need to be nipped in the bud pronto before it festers into something much less pleasant, and much more dangerous…
2. Address it head-on: Whether it’s by subtly pointing out to your co-worker or boss that you’d rather be treated in a different way, or by officially bringing the matter to your direct superior or to Human Resources if and when necessary, you will need to address it. One of the things I’ve learned in the workplace is that technical and professional. So just as one would address a significant deficiency in an auditor’s report, one should also address a significant professional relationship gap, to prevent it from festering into an unbearable, and unproductive, situation. And really, who needs the extra stress?
3. Be Professional, and….patient: This is where you’re going to need every extra inch of patience that you can muster, after dealing with the kids, realizing how late you are, and just trying to make it through the day in general. In all your dealings with the other party(ies) with whom you are experiencing a conflicting experience, use as much professionalism as you can muster. In addition to bringing back to memory (and use) all your “please” and “thank you’s”, be your best professional self, i.e. meet the deadline (heck, beat the deadline), polish your work, be respectful, and in no case, should you think about using calling Jackie Chan for a quickie karate lesson…
Are you dealing with conflict at work?
The Corporate Sister.
by | Nov 26, 2013 | Career
Recently, I read an article in which Oprah was stating that as a powerful Black woman who very often sits at some of the most prestigious companies’ boards, she realizes that many think that she should not be sitting there. Now is it because of sexism, racism or frankly, an unhealthy mix of both? Hmmm…
It’s the same dilemma that many Black professional women, perfectly competent, top-notch educated women, face daily in the workplace. Being a Black woman in a professional world where power still belongs in its majority to wealthy males not only makes African and African-American women a double minority, but also translates into just about the same statistics as the most endangered species in the world. In her bestseller “Lean In“, COO Facebook and women’s advocate Sheryl Sandberg recognizes that as much as the statistics for all professional women are still alarmingly low, the statistics for Black professional women are even more alarming. And that certainly does not come as a surprise…
So how do racially diverse, Black professional women, make it in a professional world where, frankly, there are not many of them, and where many times, there is a sense that they shouldn’t be there in the first place? Should this phenomenon be put on account of sexism, racism, or both? And how does one face an upward battle on both fronts, without giving up altogether? Without facing the reproaching excuse of “playing the gender or the race card”? From speaking with many African, African-American and racially diverse women colleagues in the workplace, the echo of the conversation is very often the same resounding arguments, those that have not changed much from decades ago, those that are not exactly discussed in the media or out in public because it may not be politically correct.. It’s about the wave in one’s step as one enters the interview room fully conscious that the odds may be already stacked against one’s appearance. It’s the knot in one’s throat as one is deemed less competent from the onset because of one’s appearance. It’s the fear that one’s sacrifices to climb the career ladder, despite being late to pick up the kids, despite putting in extra hours or being as professional as can be, the road to career advancement may still be steeper than for others…
Well, the answer may just be that there is no answer. The answer may just be, as Sheryl Sandberg puts it, to “sit at the table” and “lean in”, even if more often than not we may have to keep our hands up longer than necessary to be heard…Or to acknowledge with honesty and strength, even as one of the most successful and powerful woman in the world, like Oprah, that we are still not accepted at the “boardroom” table…But the one constant is that we should sit anyways, recognizing that sexism and racism may very well never disappear, but insisting by our very presence that neither defines us…
The Corporate Sister.
by | Nov 25, 2013 | Career, Make More Money
As corporate sisters, we work hard for our money! After all, as much as we love our careers, we also need to pay the bills! So how interesting that the very place where we’re supposed to make our money, is also the one where we end up spending quite a nice chunk of it…
Coffee breaks, quick lunch hour shopping trips, online shopping escapades, vending machines…many are the daily distractions that transfer our hard-earned cash from our paychecks to the corner store, neighboring retailer or the internet for that matter…
Pack Your Lunch…at least half the week! It may not be much fun, and you may really have no time to prep your food ahead of time. Yet when you start noticing how much shoe money you’re actually saving, you may just like this whole brown-bagging thing…
Give Yourself an Allowance! Yup, you read right, let’s reminisce about our younger selves and the good ol’ allowance system. However much you decide you need (or want) to spend everyday, every week, or every month, put it aside, allow yourself to blow it, and just stick to the plan…
Last but not least, learn to say NO! Many are the temptations to spend money at work, from the caffeine-addict co-worker who almost lives at Starbucks, to your girl on the 12th floor who needs an H&M fix every other day, you can run on financial empty by the middle of the month pretty fast…And sometimes, the most effective (and did I say, hardest) way of curbing all this crazy spending may just be to say NO…including to your fabulous, Starbucks-addicted, shoe-obsessed fabulous self…
Are you minding your cash at work?
by | Nov 25, 2013 | Career
It’s Monday, yet another one, what with its load of to-do’s on both the professional and personal front…
As ambitious as I may be, the corporate sister in me has never been a fan of Mondays. I much prefer Fridays, especially after 5pm, but then again, who doesn’t? And since, like most of us, I don’t have much time to psychologically prep myself for the military-like drill of Mondays, I had to find a quick and dirty way to get my mind and body going during my first 15 minutes at the office. And again, since it’s only Monday and I’m somewhat still on week-end mode, I can only afford to do this in 5 minute increments:
5 minutes to get my brain out of sleep mode! That’s the very first step. Whether it’s by checking in with the co-workers how their week-ends went, or by quickly browsing the news on the internet, or just by slowly sipping on my cup of coffee before the morning frenzy starts, carve out some time to slowly check in…
5 minutes to clean my email inbox: nothing better than to start your professional day with a clean slate. All those emails from last week piled up in your inbox create unnecessary clutter, so get to cleaning up. Even if just to file and archive the stuff that’s no longer relevant, the simple act of cleaning up will help you start your day fresh…
5 minutes to draft your to-do list for the day! Now this exercise does require more than 5 minutes, however I’ve noticed that quickly drafting pending tasks for 5 minutes without paying too much attention to the details will help revv up your mental engine faster than it takes to say “corporate”…And no worries, you will be adding stuff to that to-do list as the day goes on…
Do you have 15 minutes to start you workday well?
by | Nov 24, 2013 | Career, Find Your Purpose |
The holidays are right around the corner, and for most of us corporate sisters, it means family time, food and lots of fun times…yet it also means taking care of everyone else’s needs before our own, barely keeping ourselves mentally and spiritually afloat, running around in a frenzy, and neglecting to refuel by taking care of ourselves. Meanwhile, our to-do lists (note the plural) keep growing longer and more complex by the day. The result? A more depleted, less happy, and less productive sister…
Many are the advice features, articles and guides on how to most efficiently make use of our time, from how to shop more efficiently, to how best to minimize our make-up routine. Yet, in the midst of this information overload on how to do this, what and when to plan for that, and which app can save our multi-directional, uber-busy lives, we very often neglect the essential, the first person to take care of in order to care for everyone else, our numero uno priority: ourselves…We sacrifice rest and quiet time in order to fit in as many errands as possible, answer to as many emails as feasible, and keep dear hubby, the kids, the boss and the co-workers fixed on a constant basis. We are not happy until everyone is, and since most everyone else is quite never happy as well, we’re bound to constantly run on empty…
As counter-intuitive as it may sound, the holidays and its load of to-do’s, frenzied pace and on-repeat Christmas carols, may just be the best time to remind ourselves that as we think of what to gift everyone else with, we should also give ourselves the gift of Time and Priority. So, let’s add ourselves to the top of our priority lists, and manage to find ways to carve time to regenerate our minds and bodies. Whether it’s an hour massage, 10 minutes on the toilet reading a book (yes, the throne has become my favorite reading place, as gross as it may sound), or a half-hour run in the park, it’s crucial to put ourselves back on the list, or one of them lists for that matter…
And if that means buying the dessert and make it look homemade, or get your nieces gift cards instead of racking your brain about their new shoe sizes, whatever it takes, ’tis the season to take care of YOU! And no, there’s no app for that, at least not yet…
Happy Sunday!
The Corporate Sister.
