Business

Thank You Unclutterer!

I found this post this morning and it hit me all of sudden just how much of my non-work time I spend online and doing work-related things. Working from home has its definite benefits, but being tied to my computer is definitely one of the drawbacks. It’s just too easy to leave my family hanging out in the living room to “just check something really quick” and then look up to realize it’s been 45 minutes - I end up still being burned out when Monday comes around and my husband does NOT appreciate this habit.

One of the issues I’m having right now is not having day care for the summer - this means I have to try to work when my husband is home to watch the kids, but still, weekends are weekends and should be used for family time and rejuvenation.

This post from Unclutterer gives a great solution - going battery-only on weekends. As in, not plugging the computer in and only spending the amount of time left on your laptop battery working - anything after that will just have to wait til Monday.

The author said it perfectly:

So, for the duration of the month, I’m going to have battery-powered laptop weekends. Work matters a great deal to me, but so does taking advantage of my free time. I hope that this process helps me to better prioritize my time away from work and relax and rejuvenate to make my official work time more productive. Clutter comes in all forms, and, right now, it’s in the form of working through my weekends.

Read the full Unclutterer post to find out about the actual experiment………….

English teachers and business etiquette masters throughout the world will hate me for saying this, but here it is:

When you’re working with people through mostly written and online communications, emoticons ARE acceptable and are often needed. Informality is necessary to convey the appropriate tone in many situations and to prevent misunderstandings and hurt feelings. As someone who works with mostly people that I’ve never met face-to-face and rarely speak to on the phone, the underlying sentiment in written communication is so extremely important.

Consider my reaction to the two following notes (fictional scenario, I might add):

Kate,

I missed you online last night. I thought we were supposed to meet on IM at 8:00 to discuss the project. Perhaps you fell asleep on the couch? We must discuss.

OR

Hey Kate!

So, where were you last night? I hit you up on IM at 8:00 like we talked about, maybe I got the time wrong? Or maybe you fell asleep on the couch again ;-) Anyway, let’s discuss the project ASAP so we can get this thing moving.

The second scenario has basically all the same words in it, but due to the informality in the tone and the use of a winking emoticon, conveys a lighter tone and a more open nature. Of course, this scenario is fictional, but let’s pretend that the reason I wasn’t online at 8:00 is because there was a really bad storm and my internet connection was lost - and I didn’t have a phone number for the person I was supposed to connect with. The tone of the first message is rather hostile and makes me instantly defensive. The tone of the second message tells me that the person writing it has enough respect for me to at least leave things open for discussion and that all that really matters is that the project gets completed.

Of course, if you’re writing a cover letter or formal document, things would be approached in a different manner, but the issue of tone is seriously something to consider when dealing with employees, clients, and colleagues in online communication. I’ve had notes missing smiley faces that nearly had me in tears, only finding out later that the person writing it meant nothing by the tone and was just in a hurry. Lesson for me to not read too much into things, surely, but also a sign that the person writing it could have been a bit more careful to convey the true emotion of the message.

The workplace is changing, folks. If an emoticon will prevent an hour long discussion to clear up a misunderstanding, what’s it going to hurt?

By the way, a simple lol wouldn’t kill anyone either………….

I giggle whenever I think of me and the word “babe” in the same sentence, truly I do.

Anyway.

After having a pretty horrible experience this week learning the very hard way that I’m just not absolutely awesome at every single thing I do, I started thinking of the last opportunity that I thought would be great………..but wasn’t.

When I was in college I worked in the accounting department at a local brewery and really loved working there. I was a big fish in a small pond and I played a mean accounts payable game, I really did. I appreciated the plentiful free product (not just beer!) that we received (as did my now-husband, whom I met during that time period) and was proud to work for the company. My devotion to the company led me to make a key error, though. I assumed that because I loved the brewery and its part in our community I would be good at promoting it “on the street”.

Not so, my dear friends, not so. I was asked, in a pinch, to become a Kul Light (one of our beers) girl. You know, the girls in the tight shirts that go to bars and become the chest face of the product? Yup, I agreed to do THAT.

Let’s just say that I was NOT good at this little side job - it involved seedy bars, which I don’t enjoy; late nights, which I can’t handle; and last but not least, objectifying myself to sell something. Ummm, SO not me. Why did I take the job? Well, I figured that it wouldn’t be that hard and I could make a little extra money - all I’d have to do is wear a tight blue shirt and hand out beers. Turns out the shirt was TOO tight and I don’t actually like beer that much. If I could have been a spokesperson for one of our OTHER bottling products I would have done a killer job - Smirnoff Ice and Mike’s Hard Lemonade……….yum.

The lesson I learned was this: To truly sell something well, you have to have passion for the product. To truly do a job well, you have to feel comfortable and in your element. You have to have confidence that you really are the best person for the job.

I learned these lessons all over again this week - luckily I didn’t have to wear a tight blue shirt while doing so.

Here’s to knowing myself well enough to know what jobs are right for me.

And here’s to the other Kul Light girls for doing a great job - I couldn’t hold a candle to their beer babe talents.

Cheers.

I came across my new favorite blog today (yes, I know I have a new favorite every week, there’s just SO MUCH good stuff out there!) - Dave Writes. In his post 20 Hour Work Week he makes a great case for flexibility in work hours and getting true work done in less than 40 hours. Here the line that made me fall in love:

“I think the dirty secret of most companies is that they know most workers are only working 10-15% of the time anyway.”

Now I’m off to read the post that inspired HIS post (and probably buy The 4-Hour Workweek) and then to read the rest of Dave Writes - he’s talking my language…………