We’ve been rearranging our home, and I’ve been looking for small temporary office spaces. This desk above might do the trick.
It seems very precarious though. I’m thinking I wouldn’t want to put anything hot on the desk. Or heavy. On the other hand, I could easily move it around the house, and it could be stored in the closet.
Yes, the office birthday party has been re-envisioned in a green paradigm, and it’s not for those who without free time. You have to bake a cake (organic ingredients, of course), wash the dishes (avoiding throwaway paper plates), and make a banner to be used birthday after birthday. Fun for the whole workplace. Kidding.
So here’s an idea for those of us who set our own prices (or hire people who do): you can’t be fast, good, and cheap all at the same time. You can do two, but not all three. So I can do something fast and cheap (but not good). I can do something good and cheap (but not fast). And I can do something fast and good (but it won’t be cheap).
A question:
Our trash gets picked up on Tuesdays. Due to recent life changing events, we did not put the trash or recycling out on the curb today. And we knew it. This morning, I moved the car so Jim could do it. He was tired. I considered doing it. I was tired. I didn’t do it. Meanwhile, the trash truck drove by our house a good ten times cruising for our trash. And now I hear the trash guy up our driveway moving our trash to the street himself to empty it. Now that’s being thorough. Or is it a bit obsessive-compulsive? Your thoughts? (Other than we should just move the trash to the street ourselves and stop thinking about it).
1. Results I’m relieved Obama won the world’s worst (most difficult?) job. Good luck. Seriously.
2. Proposition 8 Yes, I know the Mormon church pumped in millions of dollars in order to keep “traditional marriage”, but my general sense is that opponents of Proposition 8, including myself, were sorta blindsided and dumb. Yes, I’m dumb. Really. We knew that opinion had shifted in California since 2000 to somewhat of a live and let live attitude when it came to marriage, and thought the election would support that. At some point, I tried to get a No on Proposition 8 sign for our fence….and the only places I could pick one up were in West Hollywood, Hollywood, and Silverlake. For those of you who don’t live in LA, those are the most gay-friendly areas of town. Not the areas you need to actively campaign in. Come to Santa Clarita, friends. Put your offices in the burbs and meet the neighbors.
3. Palin Does Sarah Palin think that Africa is a country? I don’t really care. I do think it’s interesting that when it’s time to criticize a woman, we often only see three options: she’s fat, she’s ugly, or she’s stupid. And Sarah Palin certainly isn’t fat or ugly (insults we heard often about Clinton), so we’re left with calling her stupid. Nice.
4. Summers Yes, Larry Summers is not the change I was expecting. If Larry Summers is chosen as the Treasury Secretary by president-elect Obama, I’m prepared to have a frickin’ cow. You’ll recall that several years ago, as president of Harvard, Summers made some ridiculous comments suggesting that women were innately less talented than men in math and science and this explained why there were less women in math and science than men. It’s not discrimination; it’s ability. That’s just as dumb as thinking Africa is a country (and I’m not saying she thought this).
Many of the “ten most irritating phrases” began as office lingo before they entered the wider lexicon. I abuse a few of these, but my all time favorite most loathesome phrase is also on the list, “It’s not rocket science.” Perhaps because I know rocket scientists, and sometimes, it is rocket science. My second most loathesome phrase, “No brainer” (or no brain-ah) did not make the list.
The top ten most irritating phrases:
1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It’s a nightmare
8 - Shouldn’t of
9 - 24/7
10 - It’s not rocket science
Do you have any favorites?
Psychology Today summarizes research on how women and their clothes are perceived in the workplace (Wouldn’t I love to see an article on research on men and their clothes every once in a while?). A few choice tidbits:
A Higher Standard
We are less judgmental of women who wear provocative clothing if they’re doing low-status jobs, finds Peter Glick of Lawrence University. However, when people are shown a photo of a woman in sexy clothes and told she is a business manager, they say she seems less intelligent and less competent than suit-wearing execs.
Painted Lady
Women who wear excessive makeup are seen as trying too hard, says Sherry Maysonave, a career coach and author of Casual Power. But studies show people of both sexes rate women who forgo makeup as less committed to their jobs.
You Look Fabulous!
Few workers are likely to set a badly dressed colleague straight. In fact, competitive female coworkers often relish a rival’s wardrobe faux pas, says Debra Benton, author of How to Think Like a CEO.
Oh, this reminds me of a conversation I had with GhostGirl about a certain employee and her clothes. Yes, I think no one wants to tell someone that they are dressing like…um….a sex worker. But what a bind this is for women. Wear makeup, but not too much makeup. Be sexy, but not too sexy (unless you have a low status job). It’s enough to break the brain in two.
hosts dogs as visitors. Need I say more? Dog. God, I’m pretty sure it’s the same thing. At least I’m grateful for the presence of both at work.
What is this dog-hosting workplace? The Winchester Hospital, rated #1 by the Boston Globe as a workplace. A quick summary:
And by most measures, Winchester is a remarkable place to work. Nearly 100 percent of surveyed employees say they’re proud to work for the hospital, and 100 percent believe the organization is going in the right direction. Over time, the hospital has defined itself as an enterprise that cares as deeply for its staff and 700 affiliated physicians as for its patients - a strategy that may pay off during the economic downturn.
Can you believe those survey results? You can read the details in the article, but two key features of the workplace stand out to me:
1. Employees are rewarded in ways they want to be rewarded. That is to say that rewards are not dumb plaques or keychains (unless you want a dumb plaque or key chain). Rewards are employee-specific.
2. They take employee surveys seriously and make serious changes based on employee feedback.
And, of course, there are dogs that come to visit employees and patients. I think that takes the cake.
So I recently discovered in looking at my most recent paycheck that I had five and a half more days in my timebank than I thought I had. This being a “use-it or lose-it is totally okay by us” state (unlike good ol’ sunny CA) I suddenly find myself with a self-appointed three day weekend. Hooray!
Meanwhile, for the second week running, my topics are fully mandated by the course of human history, so I present to you my post-Halloween and post-Election Day recap, all in one handy post (would that be a Post-post?)
I read a fair amount of “recession guides” and ways to manage money when times are tight. And I think I’ve found the worst one: The Recession Guide from the LA Times. It’s full of ways to spend your money, albeit smaller amounts than they might normally recommend.
My absolute favorite tip is the “flask belt buckle” (scroll down a bit to see this lovely accessory). I know people carry flasks to bars, but I always thought it was sort of like saying, “Hey, I’m an alcoholic. I need to drink more than I can pay for.” But apparently flasks as belt buckles are also a fashion accessories.
You know how blog comments are often much more interesting than the original post?
The Cardboard Office on Treehugger presents a cardboard office interior, including desks, chairs, and walls. Interesting in and of itself. However, the comments are much more amusing, including:
1. Insults of the quality of product
2. A reminder that this isn’t a new idea
3. Practical concerns
4. Insults of the French
For some reason following directions is difficult for most of us. I include myself in “most of us.” Interested in aiming a pressure washer at yourself? Receiving a steam burn? And a large shock? Twice. Ow.
We know that mixing Facebook and work is a bad idea, right? Ahem. Particularly if you are naturally snarky? Yes? Because I know some of us do it anyway. Here’s one reason to keep your snark to yourself (or find a more effective way of bringing about change at work).
A cabin crew on Virgin Atlantic was fired after (rather confusing) comments on Facebook:
The airline said the employees’ behaviour was “totally inappropriate” and “brought the company into disrepute”.
It launched disciplinary action last week amid a row over a group created on Facebook, which has now been removed, about planes flying from Gatwick.
Claims that the airline’s jet engines were replaced four times in one year were made on the group’s discussion board.
As a passenger, I would like to know about replaced engines, but not necessarily learn it on Facebook. Then there’s this weird detail in which the passengers were called “chavs”. What’s a “chav”? And then there’s the cockroaches on flight. Yuck.
I’m seeking suggestions for calendars and planning systems for 2009.
For years I had a Franklin Planner (a gift from my dad), but eventually found it too bulky and became wary of the Stephen Covey associations. I’m not into the 7 Habits. Possibly because I’m not a highly effective person.
And then I tried the Hipster PDA for more than a year. And while I like the non-electronic nature of it, and the index cards, I found it a very hard system to maintain and even more difficult to reference past material. Also, if I had back pockets the Hipster PDA might be more appealing.
This year, I shifted to a handbound planner from Etsy. It’s compact, but it’s too small for all the notes I need to include.
Any ideas? I use my calendar/planner to keep track of appointments and meetings, but also client conversations and informal time sheets of how my day is spent (3 hours on Client X, 3 hours on Client y, 2 hours on Client Z). I also use the address book that is usually included. I’ve considered making something, but I’m not particularly crafty and don’t feel compelled to become so any time soon.
What do you use? Why does it work for you?