Savvy Business Woman

RE: Calculators

Adding things up sometimes really sucks. Calculators are great, but only if you can have the sassy adding machine kind on your desk. Otherwise, Excel formulas really do the trick. Admitting you don’t know how to use a graphing calculator at work: never recommended. It doesn’t matter if no one uses them after AP Calculus: everyone seems to think they still know everything they did when they were 18. Now, long dividing during a meeting: that’s power-lifting for the brain muscle. 

(Source: mathclass)

Re: Ennui in the Workplace

Something terrible happened last week. I was convinced I had reached the end of the Internet. There was literally nothing left. I checked twitter, and there were no posts from the last 5 minutes that I was there. Facebook was much worse. I found myself soul-searching: do I need new friends? Why is there nothing in the news? Did Reuters close down for the day? And I concluded with: maybe I should do some work instead of searching around the internet for the latest and greatest animated .gif or article. 

Which brings me to the greater dilemma: what to do with ennui in the workplace. You know the feeling: you like your job just fine, but it’s not that challenging, you’re bored with all of your tasks despite the fact that they keep you busy. And, I swear to god, if that same co-worker tells me the same story about his work back in the mid-1990s and how great Word Perfect 6.1 was, I will poke my own eyes out of my head.

What to do what to do what to do… here’s what not to do:

• Inter-office romance. As bored as you get on a gloomy workday, do not under any circumstances entertain the idea of sleeping with, dating, eye-fucking, or sexting a co-worker. You will regret it and I can bet that none of us has the skills of Joan Holloway (click the pic for more inspiration) to get away with it.
• Call in sick. This is a slippery slope. One sick day turns into two, and then all of a sudden you recall that you actually have work to do, which means you will be stuck there late on a Friday afternoon with your work and your guilt trip. It is so tempting to catch up on your Netflix queue, but beware of this option.
• Internet shopping. If you can shop on the internet without purchasing - as in “Internet browse”, god bless you. But, again, you’ll find that you reach the end of the internet and every duvet cover from every home store looks the same. In addition, your credit cards will end up thanking you for their stimulus package.

The day-to-day grind can be exhausting both mentally and emotionally. The bottom line is that 90% of us are over-qualified for our jobs. We’ve gotten good at them in a short amount of time because we went to school with Mavis Beacon, Excel spreadsheets, and Powerpoint presentations on gemstones or the Salem witch trials. Our bosses are amazed at the ability to wield our way through Microsoft Office and the new version of Outlook. We can talk to people and work the dynamics of the workplace. In the mean time, I will continue to roll my eyes at myself and circle back for new articles from Slate, the New Yorker, and the New York Times. And I will not under any circumstances start smoking cigarettes with the gals from the typing pool.

(Source: joanholloway)

Memorandum on Personal Finances

I would be lying if I said that balancing my checkbook was my favorite activity. In fact, Sweet Dee’s face in this photo is how I feel about the whole thing. My work persona loves a spreadsheet and wants an Excel blank workbook tattooed on her lower back. My home life wants nothing to do with a website and dollar bills. The money should just take care of itself in my personal life, right? Actually, wrong. 

However, a personal budget is allegedly rewarding, satisfying, and the key to life in Suze Orman’s good graces. It’s a struggle, but it’s one of those places where it’s ok to channel your work persona to your personal life, in my opinion. And the independent woman has to think about these things, no matter how awkward it feels to tell yourself you shouldn’t eat lunch out every day.

Now if someone could kindly tell me what an acceptable amount of spending cash per month is, that would be great. 

RE: earbuds at your desk

There is no greater joy than plowing through some lame e-mails while listening to some new music at your desk. Some days all you want to do is get in the zone and just get shit done. Enter rock-and-roll. As a concerned citizen for noise pollution, however, earbuds are a must. 

Head down, set up the Pandora, the Spotify, or just plain old i-tunes, and get crackin. Oh, and I’ll admit it, an NPR story on the sly is quite shameless. Terry Gross, get thee in my ears. 

Be forewarned, you might have to drop it for a phone call or do the pull-away and get whiplash in your chair. With grace, it’s easier just to keep one ear in, and hook them onto your pencil cup before you walk away. 

(Source: excelatmusic)