This That Whatever

This That Whatever – Lifestyle / Room – Outdoor

I have been converted to the outdoor holiday, after my Larapinta Trek, but only if it is Glamping. Below is a good example of what would be my tick of approval.

 

 

Found here 

If you had space in your backyard, here is an alternative to not-quite-glamping. Or perhaps another guest room?

 

Found here

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This That Whatever

This That Whatever – Lifestyle

I am only 5 months into using a digital mobile and controversially, it is not an iPhone. So everything is new to me. But I have noticed that there are a lot more people/blogs that are coming out with Apps not just for iPhones, but Android as well.

Alas, I don’t want to be dependent solely on my mobile, so I am noting them for reference below, just in case. But a detailed list of them are here.

Happier: (Avail on Android) Upload an image, write a comment to describe that moment that made you happy today and then you can choose to share or keep that moment private

Steller: (Avail on Android) A new social media app that lets you create beautiful stories and share them with friends and followers

The Official Metropolitan Museum of Art App: There are great photos, tours of physical spaces without the museum (and The Cloisters), and “Staff Picks,” which let you see the collections through the eyes of the people who know them best

Hyperlapse: An app from Instagram that lets you create your own time lapse videos with your phone

Party Party: You can take new photos (or import photos from your archive) and turn them into tiny animated clips you can share online

Afterlight: Lets you adjust all sorts of settings, add filters and crop and shape images into just about anything you like.

Stitcher: Basically an Internet radio that lets you listen to your favourite podcasts whenever you like.

Timefull: An organizational app where you can add daily goals like exercising more or small chores like walking the dog, but you can also update and manage your day-to-day schedule and add alerts for pressing events.

CitizenMe: An interesting app that scans ALL the apps on your phone to tell you about policies in them you should be aware of and shows you how to change your settings if you’re currently sharing something you were unaware of or don’t want to do anymore.

BuyPartisan: No matter what your political affiliation is (if any), this app will let you scan the bar code of ANY product (maybe US only) and can immediately tell you about that company, their donation behavior, how they pay their employees and what PACs they belong to is pretty amazing.

Whilst we are on apps, lets talk about Instagram. There are so many people to follow. Who do you follow and why? I mainly go for the creative ones. Here are a few lists to get you started:

14 Florists to follow on Instagram – found here

16 Photographers to follow in Instagram – found here

10 Creative Instagram accounts to follow – found here

10 Food Instagram accounts to follow – found here

The above pictures are on my Pinterest – Now Then Whenever board

This That Whatever

This That Whatever – Lifestyle/Art

I am going to be taking a bit of a break from the blog. The reason being, one, I have had a slight problem with my computer, and need to get that back up and running smoothly, as it has been quite a burdon of late. Secondly, I have joined a gym (the first time in my life), which I am committed to following thru with for the next 6 months.

I am sure I could continue on as is with everything, but I would like to take a break anyway, ideally to get some creative juices flowing and switch things up and around a bit, coming back with renewed enthusiasm.

In case you were wondering, I have been blogging every day for nearly 3 years without a break. Thankfully, I have my blog to remind me of those years, cause seriously it has gone so fast I can’t quite believe it.

So on that note, here are two lovely pictures to gaze at and admire during this break. I will see you back here in July.

Found here
 

Found here

This That Whatever

This That Whatever – Lifestyle

I have been thinking about this for a while, so it was interesting actually read an article on what jobs will be like in the future – Average is Over.  Found here.

Take, also, a look at this Editor’s Note from Garance Dore on what modernity has to offer and how it is continually evolving. More food for thought.

Found here

Then to prepare you for this all, read 10 Ways to Do What You Don’t Want To Do. Or read 10 Easy Ways to Organise Your Life.

On that note, here is a good example of what to plan for when changing your career or starting a business and as you need to do a bit of networking, these tips on How To Survive a Party Alone are helpful. But before that read Find Your Passion With These 8 Though-Provoking Questions.

Take a look at this 100 day challenge. What would you do in that time?

Found here

Then one final treat, if I could write like Ben I would be happy. He tells a warming story. Like this. I want to go to Tangiers now, especially after seeing Only Lovers Left Alive.

This That Whatever

This That Whatever – Lifestyle

Can you tell there is a change coming. Sometimes it takes little steps. In the meantime, this is what I am gravitating towards.

Physically –

Forgot it is winter, check out Tracy Anderson’s new dance cardio routine from her upcoming DVD Unleash Your Inner Pop Star. I hope she has some good 80s hits in there. More details here

Tips for what to think about when exercising. These are useful, no?

Discipline is an illusion.  If you think you don’t have discipline, you don’t need it. What you need is to commit to your goal or habit and fully motivate yourself. Some helpful ways are:

1. Pick one habit, and fully commit to it. Don’t try to be “disciplined” for a whole lot of things at once. I’ve tried this (many times) and it always fails. I’m re-evaluating my goals for this year for that reason alone. Try one habit at a time, and really focus on it.

2. Come up with a plan for that habit. See how many of the Top 20 Motivation Hacks you can apply to this habit. Write down your goal, and set a measurable and achievable goal, with a deadline. Write down mini-goals along the way, with rewards for each. Write down a plan for monitoring your urges to quit the habit, and for how you will overcome those urges (write it down beforehand!).

3. Maintain your focus on that habit for as long as possible. Try not to get distracted from it by other things. Post up pictures, motivational quotes, your plan, a list of rewards, your list of reasons, etc. Send yourself email reminders. Get others to remind you of your focus. Blog about it. Whatever it takes.

4. Set up your environment so that you maintain your motivation for your habit over time. Look at the example of Sgt. Lamar above. His life is set up so that he can’t fail. Set you life up like that too, with motivation all around you, in many forms. Set it up so that that motivation continues for as long as possible, not just for a couple weeks or a month. Maintain that environment of motivation.

5. Celebrate your success!!! Woo hoo!!!!

Beauty –

Check out this site – Violet Grey. The Violet Files, offers a glimpse into the transformative world of beauty  through the discerning point of view of storytellers in fashion and film. Don’t buy any more beauty products till you have had a good read here.

Some research on spf beauty products – Get your sunscreen on. Oh, and a little bit of fashion advice here.

Work –

Know What Kind of Careerist You Are

What brings satisfaction in work? It’s different for different people — even at the same workplace, even in the same role. If you’re trying to answer that question about yourself or your employees, here’s a helpful framework from Managing the New Careerists, by former BYU management professor C. Brooklyn Derr

Getting ahead. People who are motivated by upward mobility focus on promotions, raises, making partner, and increasing their authority. They’re competitive and willing to put in long hours and negotiate office politics to win those rewards. This is the default career model in the U.S., which means that it’s easy for those who want to get ahead to explain themselves to bosses, colleagues, and family. Also, almost everyone who is just starting out in a career has this priority. It’s usually around age 30, give or take a few years, that people begin to explore other orientations.

Getting secure.  Those who seek regularity and predictability in their work environment are motivated to fit in with others and uphold group norms. They avoid risk and are less concerned with advancement than with career control. If this description has you rolling your eyes, you’re not alone. It’s difficult for people to admit they want this kind of security, because it sounds like the life of a corporate drone, which no one wants to be. That’s especially true today, given the rise of the free agent in all industries. But people motivated by security are loyal and willing to put in extra effort when the situation requires it — not just when it will bring them glory.

Getting free. Derr describes people with this orientation as “hard to work with, impossible to work for, slippery as eels to supervise and manage, and infinitely resourceful in getting their own way.” People who value getting free want autonomy and self-direction. They have less tolerance for regulations, status reports, and other forms of bureaucracy than those in the “getting secure” camp. Like getting ahead, the desire to get free is widely understood and even admired, at least in the U.S. However, people who are motivated by freedom must pay their dues before they can have autonomy. Even if getting ahead isn’t your primary orientation early on, when you’re still building your reputation, some argue that it makes sense to act as if it is. Once you’re established, you can shift gears and strive for deeper rewards.

Getting high. These are people who care deeply about deploying their expertise, solving problems, creating new things, and feeling engaged. They are ambitious and sometimes idiosyncratic. Unlike professionals intent on getting ahead (who might take on boring but important assignments in order to win favor with clients or managers), those motivated mainly by getting high will gravitate toward work that provides greater stimulation, even if it’s low-profile or high-risk. They’ll also trade a certain amount of autonomy for an exciting or meaningful job — they might join the military, for instance—which a person with a “getting free” orientation probably wouldn’t do.

Getting balanced. Have you been nodding along, thinking that there’s a bit of truth and desirability in each orientation? That means you’re motivated by balance. People with this orientation want to enjoy objective career success, personal development, and close relationships, and they’ll strive to achieve all these goals over time. They are unwilling to sacrifice a personal life to career demands, but they’re also unlikely to coast in a job for which they are overqualified to free up their time at home. They want challenge, and fulfillment, both on and off the job.

Found here

Some other pieces to read about when thinking about your career … why you need to be interesting or hear from 5 women on smashing the ceiling.

Spiritual Needs –

I thought this was an interesting article – Emotional Erosion.

Aesthetics –

Always thinking about it, just see how many Home blogs I do! Here is another view and look at this example.

Action –

So does it take little steps for you? Have a read of this..

Do me a favor: right now, quickly, tell me what you did for your last 30 days at work? Last week? Yesterday?

When the to-do’s come fast and furious, it’s easy to rush and finish things so you can push them from your brain to focus on the next task. The downside here is that it’s easy to lose track of what you’ve done, and use that knowledge to make yourself better.

There was once a time, especially if you worked for a sizable company, when you could expect a healthy helping of company-sponsored training and regular feedback sessions with your boss – who was very likely to be located in the same office. A generation’s worth of downsizing, rightsizing, and outsourcing has laid that foundation to waste. Now we employees are on our own to assess our performance, decide what new skills we need to develop and track our progress toward goals.

Which is great news (really!). The good old days weren’t all that good. Company training was limited to what the company thought you needed to know(“Excellent! Another class on security and confidentiality!”). Your boss’s feedback focused on what would make him look good to his own boss. Your career plan tracked along prescribed company lines.

Your boss’s feedback focused on what would make him look good to his own boss.

You are now free (in fact, expected) to manage your own career, your own skills development, your own progress. To do this, use Little Data.

Talk about Big Data is everywhere these days. But for managing your development, Little Data is much more useful. Little Data is data about you. Using a Fitbit or Nike Fuel Band, for example, lets you measure your exercise performance, sleep patterns, even vital signs, and track these over time. People have reported significant benefits from this sort of tracking.

Your emotional life can be similarly quantified. Have you made progress this week, this month, or this year? How many days have you felt encouraged as opposed to frustrated? What mistakes have you made and do they fall into a pattern? Harvard Business School Professor and 99u speaker Teresa Amabile calls this “inner work life.” While it can’t be measured by a bracelet around your wrist (at least, not yet) it is easy to track.

Once you’ve tracked it, all the benefits of self-awareness, mindfulness and personal insight can be unleashed. And this insight forms the raw data needed in order to make your own judgments about your performance and development needs. Most importantly, when someone asks you about your accomplishments, say, at an annual performance review with a raise on the line, you’ll be able to easily answer.

Accomplish this in three steps:

    Log daily: Write down the most memorable event that happened today, and answer a few questions about it: was it an accomplishment, a setback, or a mistake? Did it make you feel happy, encouraged, frustrated, or angry? You can use a simple Excel spreadsheet or an app specifically for this purpose (full disclosure: I created this one). This exercise will take less than five minutes out of your day.

    Reflect quarterly: At the end of each quarter, pull out your spreadsheet, or consult your app. Spend an hour looking through it for patterns. Sort it by category and emotion. Count how many times you were delighted about the day’s events, and how many times you were disappointed. What things counted as progress? Which as setbacks? The data will tell you a lot about yourself and how you relate to your workplace.

    Plan yearly: Take some time at the end of the year and look over your quarterly reflections and the year’s worth of statistics. Then try the next step.

    Identify patterns of mistakes that seem to recur: Those are your development areas. Make a plan to work on one or two of these next year:

    Look at accomplishments and setbacks. You should have 2-3 accomplishments for each setback, on average. If you have fewer, you need to look at your work environment. Either you are not set up for success, or your manager is not creating the proper environment – or you need to redefine what an accomplishment is.

    Look at the counts of emotions. What is the balance of positive entries vs. negative? Is that ratio OK? Are your positive entries fairly well correlated with accomplishments?

    Look at your setbacks. Were they “good” setbacks mostly the result of stretching your comfort zone? Or “bad” setbacks that are the result of bureaucracy or lack of internal support?

    Roll this data into a plan for 2014. Document specific actions you are going to take to address the patterns you found.

Your yearly reflection will provide you the insight needed to make clear, data-driven decisions on your career. What skills do you need to build? How do you need to alter your work environment to increase your satisfaction? What types of accomplishments are most gratifying to you, and which setbacks suck out a little of your soul?

Log daily. Reflect quarterly. Plan yearly. This simple model can provide the data and structure you need to take control of your career and personal development. It takes very little time, and will pay dividends to you for the rest of your career. What are you waiting for?

This That Whatever

This That Whatever – Lifestyle

Here are some interesting articles that I found on the weekend.

In the US there is a dating a relationship site that helps plan offbeat dates for couples – Howaboutwe. Read about one experience here.

And if you didn’t know about what conscious uncoupling is, have a look at it in GIFs.

Then take a look at these charts of how different cultures negotiate.

One which is a bit closer to where I am now, is the seven tips to making more mindful purchases. I have only managed to make 5 purchases so far this year. 5 more than I was intending. Lets see how I go for the next quarter.

Did you know the creed of the Hotel Tumbleweed is – Give what you can and take what you need. You can read more about staying overnight at the Shakespeare and Company shop, here. Yes, sleep overnight in a bookshop.

Here is a link to some interesting reads. Also I like this one – Un-Program your Thinking.

And this makes me think we really are in a changing world. There is an app for storytelling. Found here.

I am enjoying listening to this Parisienne Playlist on Spotify. Found here. And also from Garance I like , I am not judging

Found here

This That Whatever/Now Then Whenever

This That Whatever – Lifestyle/ Now Then Whenever – Inspire/ Room-Study

I like to have some creative work in my job, and this photo would be an inspiring place to work. But, as yet, that is not possible.

Found here

So, in the meantime, I will continue to be organised for my job and work on my blog to inspire. So, I found these interesting when I read them.

How To Write a Better Goals List
How to Write a Better To-Do List

Then whilst I was trying to find ways to be motivated/more creative at work I read this. 5 keys to being an exceptional Executive Assistant (though I already know this, it is worth to note to keep me focused):

Be Organized

• Keep lists, especially a to-do list.
• Take notes in meetings and during phone calls. I always keep a pad of paper next to my phone and take it with me when he calls me into his office.
• Use a monthly calendar book to keep track of work that is only done once a month or once a year.
• To help out my boss, I take notes on things that we discuss that need done even if I am not the one completing the task. I cross out the duty when it is completed. This helps me follow up on the tasks to make sure he did them and is a huge help considering that he is very forgetful.

Prioritize/Time Management

• Know the dues dates and time limits on your projects. Make sure you have all the information you need at your fingertips before beginning the project.
• If your boss asks you to do something, do it right away. This is an unspoken rule in my office.
• I always review my to-do list every morning to prioritize my day and I spend the last 15 minutes of my day updating my to-do list for tomorrow.

Think Ahead

• You should always be one step ahead of your boss. After you get to know him, you will probably know what questions he’s going to ask you before he does, this way you can be prepared and look smart at the same time.
• Be on your toes, ready to jump and help out when needed.

Be Productive

• Learn to multi-task, this will help you save time.
• Have a plan for your workload and be flexible if an emergency happens.

Work Quickly and Efficiently

• Have a sense of urgency in everything you do, work swiftly.
• Once you know the ins and outs of your job responsibilities and tasks start picking up the pace and try to streamline some of the processes you use to get your job completed.

Then there were some points on getting to know your Executive: (Frankly it is exhausting just reading it, no?):

Gain Their Trust

• Be discreet and remember to be confidential when dealing with personal issues. It shows tackiness and low-class when an assistant gossips with the rest of the office about their executive’s private matters.
• Being dependable is another part of gaining their trust. Always be reliable.
• Know Their Quirks
• Get to know your executive, their likes and dislikes.
• Soak up as much information as possible.

Communication

• Don’t be afraid to ask your executive questions or to speak up and make suggestions.
• If you don’t understand something, ask right away. Executives hate nothing more than the person who doesn’t ask questions and tries to get the job done on what they “think” the executive wants. It’s better to ask too many questions than none at all. This also shows that you are thinking through the process.
• Tell him what is on your to-do list. If I have too much going on and my brain just cannot wrap around it all, he will usually help me prioritize my work.

Be Totally Committed

• Be accommodating, go out of your way to get things done.
• Be present in your job mentally. Don’t think that you can come to work and that this is “just a job”. Think of it as a smart career move.
• Learn about the industry and your company, this way you will know what you are talking about and can contribute some decent input.
• Be flexible, if your executive asks you to work late or to run an errand, don’t complain in front of him. Just do it and get it over with.

Be Calm, Cool and Collected

• Be the problem solver and remember to use positive thinking. When your executive is freaking out about something, he may not be levelheaded at the moment and it will be your responsibility to set things straight.
• Be sensible, stay calm, and talk in composed tones. Never get dramatic when discussing a situation with your executive. This shows that you just want to solve the problem and move on.

Then, did you also read this article. I thought these points were interesting…

• Develop your confidence by understanding your strengths and successes
• Acknowledge your weaknesses but don’t be ashamed by them
• Identify the barriers standing in the way of becoming a great leader and create a plan to overcome them
• “Develop a strong internal compass” by recognising who you really are and by being clear on your values
• Stop comparing yourself to others because that undermines your self-esteem
• “Question your own biases” by challenging any unfair generalisations of the female gender that you may have personally formed
• Take responsibility by admitting you can’t change what happens to you, but you can change how you respond to it
• Learn to have crucial and honest conversations
• Rather than becoming defensive or aggressive, choose instead to embrace vulnerability as part of the process of being authentic
• Be the kind of boss that inspires other women to work for you by being fair, consistent, collaborative, informed, caring, and “capable of tough love in order to help others reach their potential”

Then moving away from work, I like these words of wisdom.

Words of advice to bloggers. Another here and here. I like these tips and tricks.

Advice on Collaborating or investing in your business,

Ideas on how to regain creativity or resolve to be happy

4 questions you must ask yourself – found here

Some resolutions here and here

And for something little different – How to be your own brand, How I Organize My Magazine Clippings and Stress Free Weekly Dinner Planning

Or for something more physical what about a bit of a workout. I personally am on an addiction to my pedometer. I can’t leave home without it. I am on a quest to do 10,000 steps per day and with all the changes I have been thru last year it has been the one thing that has stuck.
Anyway, on a recent walk,I picked up the latest Elle Decoration and found this interesting article from the Editor-in-Chief, Michelle Ogundehin (previously blogged here and here). I feel like I have to go for another walk after reading it.

This That Whatever

This That Whatever – Art / Lifestyle

Still – a captivating name for a blog …and I totally love the idea, especially this image. Certainly if you took the minute to appreciate just the simple things, it can make a difference.

Found here

The next few images, have also been given a new appreciation.

Found here

Found here

  

Found here

Found here

Whatever / Wherever

Whatever – Gardening / Lifestyle, Wherever – Outdoor / Events

The above 4 labels together should be used more regularly. But I have found a great way to start it…. Whole Larder Love. They have started to do workshops and this one looks interesting…Gardening,Bread + Curing | 30 August – 1 September

You would have to rug up, and here are some suggestions:

Found here

This That Whatever

This That Whatever – Hobby / Lifestyle

I think I come up with some great ideas on what to do with things/time etc., but kind of lack the execution. Here are some where others have done it.

Found here

Found here

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Found here