Time for another post of random and slightly self-congratulatory stuff.
I finished a rough draft of Mosaic last night. It needs a lot of work, but at least now I can see where the holes are. I’m quite proud of myself for writing 60,000 words in the last 2 months.
Here’s how I celebrated this milestone today: I wrote two Fast Company posts for next week (I’ll likely write the third tonight). Hence this random post, rather than an actual essay. I’m tired of writing.
I do mean to get around to reviewing A Thousand Gifts (another Zondervan Woman book) one of these days.
Writing my post on productivity books that could be beach reads has made me re-read parts of a dozen or so classics in the genre. So I’m hyped up on self-help right now. Can I accomplish anything I set my mind to? I don’t know! But re-reading these books has made me think my own books are pretty decent. Not that I’m biased or anything. I’m just self-actualized. Too bad it would be a bit self-serving to put my own books on the list.
I’m doing a MomCorps YOU webinar tomorrow (1p.m. eastern) on 168 Hours: Succeeding at Work and Life, 24/7.
Twitter fun yesterday: Arianna Huffington and Marlo Thomas (or whoever does their twitter accounts) both tweeted a link to one of my articles, on how to squeeze the most happiness possible out of your vacation days.
Posts I’m working on for next week: Liberal arts majors who are successful. A new survey finds that a huge chunk of liberal arts majors think there aren’t jobs out there — so I want to show how some youngish folks with liberal arts degrees started their careers on the right foot.
I’m also working on a post on “how to stop thinking about work when you’re not at work.” Mindfulness, really. Unless you’re coming up with ideas in the shower, which is all cool.
And finally, how to manage when you’re virtual, and they’re not. I wrote the post on all-virtual companies, which came out today (No office? No problem). This is a slightly different version — can the manager be remote when the team is on site? I would love to hear from people in this situation.
My post on What I Learned From Checking Email Only Twice A Day also ran. How often do you check email? I’m back up to more than twice a day…
I recently did a modified “screen free week” and only checked email once a day. I loved it. I had a bad habit of picking up my phone when I wasn’t really in a position to ANSWER emails. I needed the pattern interrupt.
Ann Voskamp: I think she’s an amazing woman and probably would love being around her, and I love her main message (gratitude) but her writing makes me want to throw up.
@Carrie – yes to the bad habit aspect of email. I really was using it as a way to cope with boredom, stress, and creative blocks. I can’t say I’ve stuck with the 2x/day, but I probably should.
And re Voskamp — kind of my thinking. Much too much.
Really look forward to your post about liberal arts majors! The value is absolutely there, but students need to believe it & examples / stories can be so encouraging. (A couple yrs ago, a colleague of mine & I –we’re Canadian univ’y profs — started the WorkStory project…the site features the stories of several arts&humanities grads & I know helped the site lived up to its tag line: Share your WorkStory. Inspire a future.
Love your work & can’t wait to hear what you have to say on this topic!
Wow! You do write a lot, it’s just amazing.
@Marietta – I’m not sure if it’s amazing or compulsive…