Getting My Time Management On

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accomplish, accomplishments, amwriting, coffee, energy, fitness, Franklin Planner, goals, Kardashian, NaNoWriMo, novel, objectives, project, schedule, strategies, tactics, tasks, time management, winner, word count, writing

This week I’m gearing up for what I anticipate is going to be a month of chaos.

November 1 kicks off the annual NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing In a Month) program, designed to help writers and authors write a novel in a month. To produce at least 50,000 words. At 250 words a page, that fills approximately 200 pages. During the 30 days, I have a target goal of churning out 1,666 words a day, or at about six pages. Some days will be more, others less. (I anticipate a Thanksgiving food coma, so maybe a few less on November 28.)

Last year was the first time I competed in NaNoWriMo. Oh what joy I felt in plugging in the copy on the last day. When the word count generator told me I was successful in my task, I did a little dance. Yeah! WINNER! The book I created has since been edited and revised several times, and is now in the capable hands of a great agent.

The challenge of writing a book in a month is exhausting – mentally and physically. Priorities have to change, or at least alter. Families may be neglected. Calls may go unanswered for a few days. Protein bars replace planning meals. The DVR will fill with Sherlock Holmes, Icabod Crane and Richard Castle. And I will be oblivious to the latest Krazy Kardashian news.

During the same time as the novel writing, I also agreed to participate in a 21-day fit challenge with friends. So, I’ll add that commitment of planned workouts into the mix of writing a book, working and having a life.

Two days out from the start of the month and I am thinking, why did I do this? Can I do this?

The answer is, of course, I can! It’s all about time management. I remember my college days when I carried 18 credits, logged 25 hours a week at a law firm, worked out every day, volunteered with a literacy program, danced with a youth group and still had time for a boyfriend (although he may argue that last point). I did it all. I remember being exhausted most of the time, but it was possible. However, I’m fairly certain the spry energy of my 20-year-old self has gone the way of crimped hair and shoulder pads.

So, what will I do to ensure I hit my objectives? First, I’ve inserted all the entries in my Franklin Planner and will have to adhere to my schedule. I’ll set up a rhythm and keep it humming until all the tasks are complete. That’s how most projects run anyway – with goals, strategies and tactics in a timeframe. I know what I want to accomplish this month. I know how to do it and I know what I need to do to get it all done.

I just may need a little extra coffee to help keep me going.

 

NaNoWriMo information can be found at www.nanowrimo.org

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The Blabbing Game

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avoider, business communication, coffee shops, coffee station, communication, contributor, corner taverns, cubicles, gossip, gossip monger, high school, human resources, little leagues, musings, office, rumor, rumor mill, secrets, technical, trolling, water cooler

While it should have been left behind in high school, gossip is everywhere: community organizations, little league fields, trendy coffee shops and corner taverns. And the workplace is far from exempt.

Gossip used to be restricted to the water cooler or coffee station but, with explosion of electronic devices and social media, gossip is everywhere. Oftentimes it will darken or poison the workplace, especially as it takes on a disruptive behavior in the office.

I prefer to stay out of the gossip monger’s (GM) way. Most offices have at least one. Usually it doesn’t take long to identify the GM. He or she trolls the hallways and cubicle farms for a willing ear or new tidbits to accumulate. Somehow, the GM knows much more than most. My favorite gossiper used to slide into a cubicle, look around covertly and then whisper what she wanted to appear as the direst and most salacious of secrets.

My approach is to try to stay on the GM’s good side without indulging in the gossip trade except to spread good news. I continue to be cordial and helpful on the job, but will keep other non-essentials to a minimum.

At one company, my boss was the GM. That made for an interesting work day. He loved hearing information as much as he loved talking it. When I wasn’t a willing participant and had no gossip to offer, he said to me in a very disappointed tone, “You’re like a black hole. I can’t get anything from you.”

I said it was because I had nothing to share. That wasn’t necessarily true because there’s always something to say if you choose. However, I didn’t want to gossip. I did not trust him or his peeps. If the situation arose, he’d have no problem throwing me under the bus. I had seen him do it to others. I could not see a way I would gain – either professionally or personally – by indulging him with gossip.

I discovered the best way to avoid incidents was to steer clear of his gossip proclivity. Sure, it meant I was excluded from his inside jokes and conversations with other staffers, but at the end of the day I did not have to worry about being pulled into a sticky situation or having egg on my face. It seems some of those issues plaguing us as young people that we hope will go away when we ‘grow up,’ never do.

So, are you a gossip monger, gossip contributor or gossip avoider?

What’s the Word?

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Angry Birds, brainiac, Candy Crush, dictionary, English language, games, Global Language Monitor, guess, musings, Oxford English Dictionary, Red Stone, Scrabble, Scrabble Teacher, thesaurus, words, Words with Friends, Zoon

I’ll probably alienate a lot of people right off the bat, but I have to say I’ve never played Candy Crush, Angry Birds or Red Stone and most likely never will. I’m more a word game geek. Right now, I have several Words with Friends and Scrabble games on going.

By no means does that imply I’m a word expert or brainiac. There are many times I play a word only to have the Scrabble Teacher feature grimly appear with the “Uh-oh, here’s what you missed” thought bubble. He then shows me a word I’ve never heard of that generates 10, 20 or 85 more points than what I placed. I feel a teensy bit better knowing I didn’t actually miss that higher point score because I never had the word in me to begin with.

michael fusco design

Aside from the 101 two-letter words available (does everyone know xu or qi are acceptable words?), sometimes I’ll place letters and press play, hoping the game will accept what I think is gibberish. When the word sticks, I gladly take those points. Just this week, I was at a loss and placed ZOON across a triple word square to receive 106 points – my highest to date. I confessed my guess to my opponent. My nephew then let me in on one of his secrets: Guessing keeps me alive in this game.

The Second Edition of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary contains full entries for 171,476 words in current use, and 47,156 obsolete words. According to the Global Language Monitor (GLM), there are 1,019,729 words in the English language. GLM further states the average high-school educated English speaker knows about 45,000 words (as high as 60,000 when including proper names and foreign words). It’s safe to say I’ll never use all the words available in the English language.

Yesterday I looked up zoon. Unless I’m writing an article for Biology Today, I probably won’t need ZOON again anytime soon – until the next Scrabble game, that is.

Zoon: noun, 1. Any of the individuals of a compound organism. 2. Any individual, or the individuals collectively, produced from a single egg.

 

You Are Here

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Alexander Michaels, business, career, Charlotte, choices, college, downsize, energy, experience, interview, interviewing, job hunting, job search, marketing, recruiter, resume, sklls, Tortoise and the Hare

I recently had lunch with a new friend in a great spot in Charlotte*. We met a few weeks ago when she spotted me wearing the t-shirt of her childhood’s hometown major league baseball team. Soon we discovered a few commonalities: we’re from the same state, are close in age, have worked in similar roles and industries, and have both gone through some sort of big upheaval in the last few months.

My new friend—I’ll call her B—well, B’s company downsized her after a long tenure. After taking a few weeks to decompress and reassess, she is ready to jump back into the employment pool. We discussed the challenges of job hunting after having a few years experience under your belt – the career options, the changing business environment and forging connections.

We circled around the question of what exactly does one want to do after having a few decades of experience? Many coming out of college have the idea “I want to do XYZ” and go out and enthusiastically find that job. However, after doing XYZ for years, it’s natural to ponder whether you’re still passionate to remain in that field or industry. For B, the answer is yes. She loves what she’s been doing and wants to find a company that fits her skills and background.

We agreed it seemed easier to job hunt right out of college. That’s when (you think) you have great experience, tenacity and endless energy. I’m not saying as one ages the energy goes away; I think the energy is just better distributed. For example, young people can waste a lot of energy in the workplace. A mature person may accomplish more in the same amount of time because the task is performed more efficiently and with experience. I’ve heard this compared to the Tortoise and the Hare example – the tortoise wins the race with a slow, steady pace, knowing limits and working with them to succeed. The Tortoise has also learned alternative ways of solving problems.

Our discussion then moved on to some of the difficulties in finding the right position at the mid-stage of one’s career. We recognize honesty from the prospective company is important. Having experience provides an insight to and understanding of company politics and procedures that someone with less experience might not possess. Odds are if you’ve sat on the “other” side of the table, you can probably root out candy-coated explanations and read between the lines.

B is now going to make big waves in the career pool by marketing herself so hiring recruiters know she’s available. She’s ready to find a new opportunity that will continue to challenge her and develop her skills. After years in your chosen field, can you say you’d return to it?

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*The lunch spot was Alexander Michaels – a neighborhood tavern.

Poor, Little, Misunderstood Apostrophe

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apostrophe, business writing, communications, editing, grammar rules, plural, possessive, punctuation, technical writing

It has been awhile since I wrote on the topic of punctuation. As we’re full swing into the new school year, this is about the time I teach my students about the dreaded Apostrophe.

Apostrophes seem to give people plenty of problems. At least that’s what I discern from the amount of incorrect apostrophe usage making me cringe. The apostrophe problem seems to be most prevalent in signage and in menus (in addition to early-semester writing assignments). If you ever come across a menu that has a correction mark in it, it was probably me.

Why is it one of the smallest punctuation signs seems to give us so much grief?

When it comes to incorrect apostrophe use, there are essentially two main offenses occurring:
1. Apostrophes are incorrectly used and make plurals possessive; or
2. Apostrophes are not used and turn what should be a possessive into a plural.

For possession, remember two simple rules (and a few exceptions).

Rule #1—If the possessive noun is singular, add ’s.
Right: My sister’s occupation is exciting and perilous.
Wrong: My sisters occupation is exciting and perilous.

Rule #2—If the possessive noun is plural, add s’.
Right: The sisters’ gift to their parents was extravagant.
Wrong: The sisters gift to their parents was extravagant.

Exceptions:

1. If a singular noun ends in an s, just add an apostrophe.
   Paris’ streets are dark and crooked.
   Chris’ parents bought him a car for his birthday.

2. If a plural noun does not end in an s, add an ‘s.
   The women’s concerns were addressed by the committee.
   The geese’s flight pattern is over the marsh.

3. Pronouns do not take apostrophes to be possessive.
   Wrong: I think the book is her’s.
   Right:  I think the book is hers.

The biggest offender = it’s. Remember that it’s always means it is. (It’s is never considered a possessive.)

Maybe I could get a job with the police.
Possession is nine tenths of the law so therefore
I am nine tenths of the law. Sort of.
– Sad Apostrophe

In another post I’ll cover when and how to use apostrophes in contractions. But until then, you can read examples of pathetic apostrophes here: http://www.apostrophecatastrophes.com/