Lately I feel like I am living for the weekend only. Work has got me “overworked”, from never-ending client commitments to internal initiatives all over the place, I feel like I am running in circles. Maybe it’s spring mode or maybe it’s the post-restructuring era but it definitely gets me consumed. I don’t mean to bring negativity to the table, but I do want to take a moment to acknowledge it as I think it’s very important that we are aware of the negative feelings in our lives and understand what is causing them and why they are here as well as understand how to counter them. I am not quite there yet but it’s definitely something I am working on.
On the bright side however, I am really making the most out of the weekends and enjoying them to the max. My last 3-4 weekends have been really beautiful, fun and amazing – from day trips to beautiful, small German cities, to shopping or cycling adventures in our own beloved Berlin and countless coffee and movie dates – they are really helping me recharge and keep my mood up. Oh, and the weather – this beautiful, summer-like weather that Berlin is giving us a – is truly a blessing!
How to ask for a raise. Because let’s face it, we should all probably ask for a raise, especially if maybe when entering the last job we never pushed to negotiated the salary. Career Contessa has us covered, with a script on how to ask for a raise. I think the (my) moral here is to be prepared (like always in life, I might add) and be aware of timings.
I don’t get confused. I loved to read about this and how UN Ambassador Nikki Haley pushed back against Trump official Larry Kudlow’s accusation that she had been confused when she announced new sanctions on Russia a couple of Sundays back. “With all due respect, I don’t get confused,”. Being competent and assertive are such empowering attributes, we should all strive for that in our professional (and why not, also personal) live.
Take care of yourself and your health. This is one of the most important things out there, and unfortunately we tend to get more aware of it especially as times goes by and as things start to get a bit more cranky. Here is some advice on how to balance work and personal life from somebody managing both a career and a chronic illness.
Being a phone person. For some reason, I am not such a big fan of phone conversations. Sure, when it comes to talking to close family and friends, it’s all good, but being on the phone with more distant acquaintances or relatives – and of course completely unknown people – awakens some kind of anxiety in me. Until recently, I really thought it was just me but it clearly seems to be a more widespread thing. I like to think that I have gotten better at it, especially as I am working with clients on a daily basis and one of the main way of communicating besides email of course, is web conference and phone calls. Nonetheless, if you feel the same about phone calls, here are a few tips on how to get better at it.
Tidy and organized. Keeping the house clean and perfectly organised at all times is hard, I know, but because it plays such an important role over your mood and piece of mind, you should definitely make an effort in keeping it that way at all times so here are a few tips to help you.
Podcasts that I listen to. I love listening to NPR’s How I Built This with Guy Raz which features interviews with people who have built the world’s most famous companies, from Wikipedia to Larabars. If you go for listening to it, you will hear stories about a lot of tenacity, hard work and passion – definitely a highly recommended one.
