Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a pretty full plate. At my first job, I’ve become a lead teacher, been named Teacher of the Month, and taken on testing duties. My second job actually started. It’s fascinating, but takes up a lot of time. In my free time, I’ve been reworking my website for my business and intend to move the Niche blogs over as soon as they coopertate. (Anybody who’s imported blogs to WordPress where Multiply is in use? Advice is muchly welcomed at the moment!)

I’m slowly getting used to the second job, and not a moment too soon. National Novel Writing Month starts on Tuesday, and not only am I writing a 50,000-word novel for the fourth year in a row, I’m also cheerleading the participants in my area (for the third year in a row).

On the up side, the last month has told me that I do actually have it within me to be a good freelancer!

Posted by Rebecca as Organizing at 8:52 AM EST

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Fast Company shared a great article this week on types of innovators.

I haven’t figured out what type I am yet, but I’m really enjoying reading it! It’s a good reminder of how we all process things differently.

Posted by Rebecca as Creativity, inspiration, and motivation at 8:07 AM EDT

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I maintain many to-do lists. Some might call this overdoing it, but it really helps me. I have one to-do list for every area of my life- reading, crafting, writing, personal website, professional web site. Each area’s to-do list is grouped by what the project’s current status is.

Then, I have a main to-do list, which is the one I work from. It has a section for each of these to-do lists. Depending on the list and its priority in my life, it has anywhere from one to five items from that area’s to-do list under it. I also keep more general to-do thing like housework on this main to-do list. (I suffer from out of sight, out of mind.)

I do sometimes worry about my system, but it really has helped me accomplish so much! It turns out I’m not the only person who has found a way to manage their to-do list to get things accomplished and keep it all in perspective. This makes me feel much better.

Posted by Rebecca as Organizing at 8:03 AM EDT

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Third Age shared a great article on cultivating success recently. I wish more people would understand that success doesn’t just happen. Those who are successful had to work to become so (unless they’re unsavory people, but I don’t like to think about those).

With my life the way it’s been for so long now, I really think I’m stuck in Point Three of the proposed plan. I’m really letting fate guide me and just trying to be myself. Amazingly, it seems to be the most useful thing I could do for myself, but it does leave me unusually open to change.

Posted by Rebecca as Entrepreneurship at 7:34 AM EDT

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I always thought I’d be a great coach because I used to have a very strong gift for seeing people’s strengths. It’s out of shape now. Lack of use. I really ought to change that.

Looking at people and being able to see "hidden" talents is a lot of fun. When you look at someone and can see what they are capable of, it’s a bit exhilirating. When you help them work toward their own levels of excellence, it feels even better.

So many people need a little nudge to see what makes them stand out. What makes them great. Don’t be afraid to be the perosn who is willing to give that nudge.

Posted by Rebecca as Leadership and management at 8:25 AM EDT

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Boss’ Day is this weekend, and I am really thinking to treat one of my bosses. *grin*

While Boss’ Day might be an ideal time to remind your boss that you exist and may even respect them, for the self-employed, it’s also a good time to give yourself a treat.

Give yourself a day (an afternoon, at the very least) off. Go do something you enjoy. Don’t feel guilty about it! Remind yourself that you’ve earned this time.

Posted by Rebecca as Entrepreneurship at 9:19 AM EDT

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After a year and a half, I honestly thought I had covered this, but apparently not.

I’m a total fiend for a good handshake. The nice thing about running my own business is I am now in a position to decide who to do business with, and one of the things I judge people on is their handshake. I always have. I refuse to do business with people who have less than firm handshakes for many reasons. People with less than firm handshakes make me nervous. I wonder if they’re afraid of commitment or if they’re afraid that I (a short woman) am too delicate to receive a handshake equal in strength to the one I’m giving.

This morning, I was quite amused to read this Onion post on a CEO who got where he was strictly on his handshake. The problem with the Onion so often is their tongue-in-cheek story style, stories that are obviously not true but manage to comment on something really going on. What really bothered me, though, wasn’t the article. It was someone’s reaction to the article. The article isn’t pointless or nothingness. A good handshake is an endagered species.

For fun, I thought I’d include an article I wrote a few years back on the handshake:

In many areas of the world, the handshake is still regarded as a perfectly acceptable method of greeting. It is often the action that sets the tone for most business transactions.

In early days, the handshake was performed by each participant grasping the other participant’s forearm and giving a good, firm shake. This assured both parties that the other party was unarmed, and communicated each participant’s ability to defend himself in hand-to-hand combat.

In modern times, the handshake has been moved to take place hand to hand, but it is still about the implied message. Please allow me to run through the three most common handshakes and their conveyed messages:

- The Handshake- This is a good, firm handshake. Sometimes it is delivered as bone-crushing, but it is never weak. This shake lets your companion know that you are confident and that you respect them.
- The Limp Wrist- This is characterized as a light clasp of the hand. It may be used with women by bone-crushers who are afraid of breaking her hand. (Please break my hand! I’d rather nurse a wound than mistake you for a nancy boy!) The message here is that you have no idea why people shake hands, you do it out of tradition. I now know I can walk all over you, you pansy!
- The Cold Fish- You know it. You hate it. This one is characterized by almost no contact. An alarming number of people are using this one. The message is loud and clear: I’m too good for you. You have cooties. Please leave me and my obsessive-compulsive, hypochondriac nature alone. (I have actually refused to do business with perpetuators of this particular handshake…just something about them I cannot trust…)

All right, so now you know what to watch for, both as giver and receiver. Don’t be a cold fish! Show you’re a man! Grab that offered hand and shake it with confidence!

Posted by Rebecca as Networking at 8:09 AM EDT

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I have a number of posts on resume writing, but I want to add these questions from Monster’s Career Advice column. It’s a great, simple FAQ on writing a resume for today’s job market.

For more advice on resume writing, feel free to browse my collection of resume-building links.

Posted by Rebecca as Changing careers at 8:28 AM EDT

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I’ve posted in the past about analyzing your job skills and  preferred job characteristics when thinking about potentially changing your job or career.

I thought it might be nice to augment those posts with a post form Monster on contemplating these changes. Changing jobs is a proces sthat requires some deliberation. You have to consider what’s important to you in terms of values and workspace. Changing careers is a much more serious deliberation. It asks you to consider not only values and workspace, but also your skills and plans for growth.

For some people, a career change can be the healthiest decision, but it is one that never should be taken lightly.

Posted by Rebecca as Changing careers at 8:21 AM EDT

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