by Solange Lopes | Jan 23, 2018 | Career
I’ve always been fascinated by productive people, and how they manage to use the same 24 hours we all have to accomplish what most won’t even dream of doing in a lifetime. What I’ve come to understand is that these people are not more special than any of us. They have simply learnt to leverage processes, habits and tools that make them more productive than the expected average. Surprisingly, some of these tools may be simple products that we can all use to increase our productivity.
Having the right tools around us and at our disposal can make the difference between optimal productivity and average results. Here are 7 simple, must-have products that will help you be more productive:
Words to Live by Calendar – Photo credit: amazon.com
One of my essential must-have products to keep productive is a calendar, especially one that I can keep my eyes on. I keep one in my home office, as well as in other rooms of the house to keep track of my commitments.
Product Pick: Words to Live By Wall Calendar
VIZ-PRO Magnetic Dry Erase Board- Photo Credit: amazon.com
There’s nothing like seeing your plans and goals written in bold letters in front of you at all times. This is why I love white dry erase boards, where I keep my weekly, monthly and quarterly goals detailed. They are also especially useful for impromptu meetings.
Product Pick: VIZ-PRO Magnetic Dry Erase Board
Post It Recycled Sticky Notes – Photo credit: amazon.com
Post-It notes are what I call my “backup brain”. I always have a set on hand to jot down a quick thought, organize my ideas or simply write down information on the fly. I even use Post-It notes to organize the different chapters and sections of my books and articles!
Product Pick: Post-It Recycled Super Sticky Notes
Sloane Stationery Geek Chic Notebook – Photo credit: amazon.com
As a creative and professional, I know ideas can come up at any time. Having a notebook I can fit in my bag on-the-go also allows me to have a place to jot down ideas, information or just quick notes anywhere.
Product Pick: Sloane Stationery Geek Chic Notebook
Boxis Paper Shredder – Photo credit: amazon.com
A cluttered desk or environment translates into a cluttered mind. This is why having an efficient shredder on hand to get rid of redundant or unneeded paperwork is key. For professionals or business people dealing with confidential information, having a shredder on hand can help avoid any liability issues by eliminating unnecessary private information.
Product Pick: Boxis Paper Shredder
Kate Spade New York Document Holder – Photo credit: amazon.com
We all need a makeshift life inbox where we store paperwork we may not have had time to address yet. I always have a document holder on my desk for all the odds and ends I sort out at the end of the week.
Product Pick: Kate Spade New York Document Holder
Micca Digital Photo Frame – Photo credit: amazon.com
Optimal productivity is best activated in a state of happiness. This is why it’s important to remind yourself of the people and things you love, and surround yourself with them. I love having pictures of my family and loved ones on my desk as I work, as they remind me of my purpose and what really matters to me.
Product Pick: Micca Digital Photo Frame
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Personal Hygiene products
Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer – Photo credit: amazon.com
Being productive also means presenting your best self at all times. This is why it’s important to have access to personal hygiene products that allow you to feel and look good while working. These include basics such as hand sanitizers, nail files, hand lotions, or even dental floss.
Product Pick: Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer
Tory Burch Tote Bag – Photo credit: amazon.com
Being productive is also having what you need on hand. This includes having a sturdy, elegant bag to store everything you need to work productively. I love a chic yet efficient bag I can take from desk to dinner.
Product Pick: Tory Burch Tote Bag
Art Print Small Poster _ Photo credit: amazon.com
Motivation and inspiration are the foundations of productivity. I love being surrounded by inspirational quotes I can look up to at all times, especially on days I’m feeling low and un-motivated.
Product Pick: Make It Happen Art Print Poster
For more office and productivity supplies for working women, CLICK HERE to check out The Corporate Sister’s Amazon Influencer List!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 22, 2018 | Career
Workwear: Ruffle-Cuff Sheath Dress – Photo credit: macys.com
Our Workwear feature presents various pieces of work-appropriate attire at different price ranges and sizes.
This Lauren from Ralph Lauren patterned sheath dress from Macy’s is the epitome of professional boho chic. The ruffled cuffs are an original addition to this otherwise classic sheath dress that’s also perfect from desk to dinner. It’s available in sizes 0 through 12 at Macy’s.
I also like this similar Calvin Klein two-tone bell sleeve sweater dress, also from Macy’s.
Check out prior workwear recommendations here, here, and here too!
What pieces of workwear would you like us to feature? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
This post contains affiliate links and The Corporate Sister may earn commissions for purchases through links in this post. Thank you!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 22, 2018 | Career
Being productive, especially as working women, is always a challenge. No matter how motivated you may be, accomplishing your goals and objectives as efficiently and productively as possible is rarely an easy feat. You may have discipline and great habits already in place. However, without the motivation to take you from planning to execution, there is no hack or tool that can help you muster the productivity you need.
In order to keep yourself motivated, you need to be inspired. This is one of the reasons why I love motivational quotes, as I can take them with me anywhere on the slowest day or week to keep me going. When these quotes are coming from women whose work I particularly admire, they’re even more impactful. These women have mastered the art of being productive through their careers, businesses and art, and have opened the doors for the rest of us to strike our own marks.
Here are 10 motivational quotes on productivity from kickass women like you to get you pumped as you tackle your goals and objectives:
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“And at work I have a rule that you’re not allowed to come into my office unless you’re coming into my office with a solution to a problem, and not (only) with a problem.” – Shonda Rhimes
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“I’ve accepted my procrastination as part of who I am. As such, I do designate days where I allow time for procrastination.” – Issa Rae
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“I build in 15-minute breaks so that I can take some quiet time and close on one meeting before I go to the next. I’m a big believer in taking time to pause and reflect, particularly when you’re working on some of the big challenges in the world.” – Melinda Gates
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“After I had Malia, I began to prioritize exercise because I realized that my happiness is tied to how I feel about myself. I want my girls to see a mother who takes care of herself, even if that means I have to get up at 4:30 so I can do a workout. …” – Michelle Obama
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“I really try to ask myself the question of nine. Will this matter in nine minutes, nine hours, nine days, nine weeks, nine months or nine years? If it will truly matter for all of those, pay attention to it.” – Whitney Wolfe , CEO of BumBle
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“Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.” – Zadie Smith
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“I don’t listen to anything while I work — I prefer silence in order to be most productive, but I do occasionally steal away for a few minutes to meditate and get refocused”. – Katia Beauchamp, CEO of Birchbox
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“One, I have to realize that I’m not in control of everything, but I am in control of some things, and I am in control of my reactions. I am in control to my responses to pressure.” – Janelle Monae
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“Perfection is the death of all good things, perfection is the death of pleasure, it’s the death of productivity, it’s the death of efficiency, it’s the death of joy.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
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“Be curious, don’t retire, and keep very active. Never stop working at something”. – Martha Stewart
What other productivity quotes for kickass working women would you add to this list?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 19, 2018 | Career
Welcome to our weekly career, entrepreneurship, lifestyle and fashion news roundup! Think of it as your online watercooler/work gossip station/coffee break spot for now…Want to add anything to our list? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
Cheers!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 17, 2018 | Career
As women of color, we may face unique challenges at work. This is also the reason why we need support, especially in the workplace. Some of these challenges include not having access to the same opportunities as our peers, being shut out of important decision rooms, and not being afforded the mentorship and sponsorship needed to succeed.
According to this Catalyst study, while women of color are predicted to be the majority of all women in the United States by 2060, they only make up 5% of executive and senior-level positions. Despite a rising college graduation rate, only 3.8% of women of color hold board seats in Fortune 500 companies. Of these, Black women hold only 2.2% of these seats, while Hispanic and Asian women both hold 0.8% of these.
Here are 10 ways we can all, both men and women, support women of color in the workplace:
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Change organizational cultures
This also means that whenever we can, we should strive to keep our organizations, teams and boards of directors diverse. It also means that we must delineate specific goals for inclusion and diversity, to the point of setting milestones by which we can measure the success of our efforts.
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Prepare and train management
One of the biggest challenges that many women of color face may be related to faulty management. Without a diverse management, it can be challenging to address such systemic issues as unconscious bias.
Adequately preparing and training management through diversity and inclusion training goes a long way in helping promote women in general, and women in color in particular. Society may have conditioned us to see women as angry, passive or overly emotional, which is amplified for women in color who deal with biases on multiple cultural and gender levels.
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Mentor a woman of color
Mentoring women of color provides them with the opportunity to thrive and succeed with the proper guidance. This can be done by matching them, especially at the junior level, with competent and willing mentors on the basis of the skills they need. When it comes to mentorship for women of color, the right pairing is crucial as race can and still does constitute a significant obstacle in the workplace. However, the right mentor-mentee connection can help these women flourish better and faster, as a result of feeling more connected and better supported within their company.
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Sponsor a woman of color
Sponsorship is different from mentorship. While a mentor focuses on guiding and inspiring someone’s career, a sponsor will help someone get ahead in your career by actually sticking her/his neck out for you. In this sense, sponsorship is more transactional than mentorship in nature.
Women of color need sponsorship in order to have access to the rooms we’re either under-represented in or not represented at all. For this very reason, sponsoring a woman of color can make the difference between career success or stagnation.
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Provide resources to a woman of color
Providing professional, business and even personal resources to women of color, in and outside of the workplace, can go a long way towards helping them succeed. These can consist of trainings, groups to join, or even a support system that many minorities at work may not have access to.
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Invite a woman of color to the meeting
During the 2017 Lady Project Summit, Her Agenda’s founder and award-winning journalist Rhonesha Byng mentioned something that struck me. In her address to the crowd of women in attendance, she recommended that whenever we notice a lack of diversity and representation in any room, that we consider bringing a woman of color along. Her advice has stayed with me ever since.
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Encourage a woman of color
Women of color are faced with a slew of largely unnoticed micro-aggressions and minor insults on a daily basis, in and outside of the workplace. It’s the same micro-aggressions and insults that may lead these women to lose confidence in themselves, and may affect their career success at many levels.
Encouraging a woman of color doesn’t only mean helping her face these threats, but also strengthen her in her work and life. Being mindful of the hurtful words, phrases and assumptions directed at her may go a long way in fostering more success in her career.
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Create networks
The right networks have the power to create and give professional and business opportunities that are otherwise not available outside of the network. It’s important to help organize these networks that can help women of color be exposed to senior-level management, as well as get access to opportunities and rooms usually closed to them.
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Talk about the challenges faced by women of color
Many shy away from talking about and sharing the reality of what it means to be a woman of color at work. It’s indeed a comfortable and difficult topic to address. Yet, it’s only by sharing it and being willing to tell our stories, that we can shine the light on the existing issues and potential solutions.
It’s also important that management and more senior levels be willing and open to receiving feedback about these issues. The more we can learn about ways to fight this concrete ceiling, the more we can successfully address it. Last but not least, having the courage to report abusive and harmful behavior can help us all move past this hurdle.
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Open high-visibility jobs and careers to women of color
Not all positions are created equal. Neither do all jobs provide the same exposure and visibility needed to propel one’s career forward. Many women in general, and women of color in particular, are still cast in the supporting roles of their careers. These women remain way too long in low-visibility, low-impact, that fail to provide them with the appropriate leadership and growth opportunities. It’s more crucial than ever to empower women to access mission-critical, high-visibility jobs that can propel them to success.
What other ways to support women of color at work would you add to this list?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 16, 2018 | Find A Job You Love
Workear: Mila Pumps – Photo credit: anntaylor.com
Our Workwear feature presents various pieces of work-appropriate attire at different price ranges and sizes.
Nothing like a pair of classic pumps with a fashion-forward edge to take your work wardrobe from blah to wow. This pair of Mila suede pumps from Ann Taylor is perfect for the office and beyond, and can literally be paired with just about anything. The rich suede material, combined with the elegant pointy toe will make it a favorite for work. The padded inside will also make it your go-to most days. It’s also available in red, and in sizes 6 through 11 at Ann Taylor.
I also like these Reese leopard print haircalf pumps, as well as these Eryn suede pumps, also from Ann Taylor.
What pieces of workwear would you like us to feature? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
This post contains affiliate links and The Corporate Sister may earn commissions for purchases through links in this post. Thank you!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 15, 2018 | Career
Workwear: Tie-neck dress – Photo credit: www.bloomingdales.com
Our Workwear feature presents various pieces of work-appropriate attire at different price ranges and sizes.
When floral print goes with all seasons….This Rebecca Taylor Rue tie-neck silk dress from Bloomingdale’s virtually matches everything and is the perfect addition to your work wardrobe. The neck tie adds a polished touch to this professional dress that can be sported from desk to dinner and beyond. It’s available in sizes 0 through 10 at Bloomingdale’s.
In a similar printed style, I also like this Leota Ilana confetti dress, as well as this floral ruffle neck silk dress.
Check out prior workwear recommendations here, here, and here too!
What pieces of workwear would you like us to feature? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
This post contains affiliate links and The Corporate Sister may earn commissions for purchases through links in this post. Thank you!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
