Shipping and solipsism

The older I get, the more comfortable I force myself to be with change. It has been a long time since I read something that was like, "Hey, create something for others, not for yourself." Seth Godin's The Practice is doing that for me right now. 

For a long time, I wondered, is art still art if no one has seen or experienced it? This book is making me reflect on that question. I have long wanted to force myself to write. When my father died, I went to journaling and compulsive note taking. I want to practice for myself, learn for myself. This book is making me realize it might be time to shift that focus. My healing will continue through journaling and note taking, but the writing, the creation, that's gotta' be for the people. 

So here I am.  

Tracking 1:1 meetings with Trello

It's performance appraisal time at my place of work! I'm always looking for different ways to track work and stay on task. While I think I've got my own little jam going, I thought this 1-on-1 Meeting Agenda Trello Board was pretty neat and an interesting way to track work with teammates and people that report to you.

The "Why" Statement

Why do I do what I do? 

• Is it to collect a paycheck? No, but that is a benefit of what I do.
• Is it because I'm a total UM fan girl? No, but that helps.
• Is it due to the experience that I had? That others had? Now we're getting somewhere.

The reason that I do what I do for a living is to change peoples lives for the better through education. Whether I'm wearing my fundraiser hat or my librarian hat, my goal is to empower and transform people through education.

This might seem broad, but it's actually the very core of why I do what I do. I have been changed and transformed by the experiences and knowledge gained at UM-Dearborn. Many have. It is critical to me that others are able to unlock their own potential. In my heart and soul, I believe that UM-Dearborn and the library are where that can happen.

I came back to this today because I returned to work after a LONG vacation and I just needed to get myself pumped up. My break was wonderful and even though I love my work, there's always a pinch of dread having to again wake up again at an early hour and get back to the grind. I am in a class right now and one of the instructors suggested to go back to your why statement for this and other reasons, such as:

• Addressing something at work frustrates you
• The need to prioritize your to-do list
• Having a low-energy day

What is your why statement? I recommend trying to write it out. My first draft was full of drivel and tangents, but after refining and being true to myself and my goals, that's at the core of what kind of work I choose to do in this short life.

Work according to Studs

"Work is about a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying."

~ Studs Terkel

Why I give - Day 7 - It's my job.

I am a fundraiser for a living. Sometimes I'm a part-time librarian, but for my main bread and butter, I raise money for the University of Michigan-Dearborn, my alma mater. Being a part of the Michigan development family has be a joy and an honor and I've learned so much. Perhaps the most important thing I've learned is that I'm in the right place, doing good for an institution that I love very much. Sure, it gets busy and crazy sometimes, but I rest my head each night knowing that the work I do helps teachers teach and students learn. I help create great citizens of this world and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Tomorrow is Giving Blueday, Michigan's take on Giving Tuesday. A little over a week ago, someone asked me how to explain why one should give on this day. I stumbled and bumbled around, but in the end, I explained it was a way to celebrate the beginning of the giving season. However, my struggle to answer the original question made me want to reflect on why I have embraced this life so much.

Consider giving to the University of Michigan-Dearborn tomorrow!

Productivity Preachin': Boomerang for Gmail

I don't mind paying for something that I value. Boomerang for Gmail has been one of my absolutely all-time favorite productivity tools. To them I say - TAKE MY MONEY.

Someone mentioned Boomerang to me casually a few months ago. I looked into it. Used it a couple times. Then, I met my free scheduled email limit. Gasp! I knew I had to have it. The strange thing is, I never realized how handy it is to be able to schedule your emails or have your UN-replied to emails returned to you, or boomeranged, if you will. It is such a great tool and I cannot praise its magnificence enough.

Two thumbs way wayy wayyy up.

Check it out: http://www.boomeranggmail.com/

Book Review: Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book a lot, even though there were some rough patches. By page 40, I actually put the book down and started implementing some of the common sense tactics that David Allen describes. He does mention that he repeats a lot and while that's true, I felt that helped. The Getting Things Done (GTD) system is really, really great. Once I started practicing the method, I noticed better results, less stress and more control over my work.

One thing I will share is that while I gave this four stars, I think a lot of people might find it boring. Even I was a little bored at some parts and I LOVE reading about productivity. It's a really great system and if you can keep with it, I do suggest finishing it, because there are a couple really strong chapters at the end.


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Some notes:

• Choose one project that is new or stuck or could simply use some improvement. Think of your purpose. Think of what a successful outcome would look like ... Brainstorm potential steps. Organize your ideas. Decide on next actions. Are you any clearer about where you want to go and how to get there? p. 63
• "I always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific." ~Lily Tomlin p. 71
• The more novel the situation, the more control required. p. 188
• Checklists at all levels: job duties, annual goals, weekly reviews, training, people to stay in touch with, year end (FY and CY). p. 189 
• Get clear, current or creative. p. 195
• Things that have your attention need your intention engaged. p. 268
• You can create the right placeholder for any type of potentially meaningful data. p. 294

An accurate description...

...of how I feel about my work in philanthropy. So happy to have come across Derrick Feldman's blog post: Here’s Your Chance – A Message to All New Graduates in Philanthropy and this passage:

"The titles you get will never explain the transformative power you will have on other people. Titles won’t explain the challenges, failures, successes, and beliefs you have for the sake of another – and someone you may never ever meet."

Hello, again. Let's upgrade.

Life is wild. It really is. I will spare you the details of the craziest ~4 years of my life. Instead, I want to share what I have been inspired to do because of all those trials:

• Writing to live. I have returned to writing in a lot of different ways. I have a personal journal, a work journal and a learning journal. I write appeals and those are really, really taking me back to my journalism roots - be factual, be compelling, be genuine. I am in the process of writing a FY17 plan, helping me back to my management roots, which is an exhilarating feeling. Writing, all of my writing in the last months, has been cleansing. The act of writing calms me down. It helps me learn. It helps me work through problems. Writing is life.
• Reading: books, blogs, articles -- all the reading. Well, I'm like a million books behind schedule already, but I'm trying my hardest and the reading I'm doing is helping me with my writing, as it should. Plus, I'm reading a lot more news and professional writing to support my work, which is great.
• Learning hard AF, daily. Something I realized while viewing old Facebook posts was that I used to post more quotes and more thoughtful statements. I do that when I'm learning a lot and my brain is running on all cylinders. While I'm not particularly interested in going back to sharing more on Facebook, I do want to get back into the groove of SHARING KNOWLEDGE. With everyone: my coworkers, students, friends and, frankly, complete strangers. I'm kind of addicted to sharing information and that's my librarian background talking. Good thing I got this here blog, eh? Plus, as I mentioned, I'm keeping a learning journal, where if I don't decide to share online, I have a little book with big learning nuggets. 
• Regularly hearing the song of my creativity muse. This I have found to be true: when I read and write more, creativity comes easily and naturally. When I was in K-8, high school and college, I wrote excessively. I had things to say and a platform to say them on, through homework assignments, newspapers, etc. Now, I still have things to say and have found that there are still platforms, new ones, for those messages. My work, my life, my reading and my writing all combine for me to be more creative, spread good messages, and find better ways to tell stories. What a time to be alive.
• Listening. Well, if there's ever been a crappier Gemini, only child, attention deficit disorder-ridden, passive listener than myself, I have yet to meet or know of them. Active listening is a huge area of growth for me. I don't do anyone any favors by not listening. I must be better. I have improved, but not nearly enough for my liking. The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?
• "Change my life." This is what I replace "diet and exercise" with. I'm not on a diet. I'm changing my life to include nutritious, planned, homemade meals. I'm not exercising more, I'm trying to change my life where I get up and move every single day. If I don't eat well or exercise every day of my life, than I'm not being good to myself. Diet and exercise plans are temporary. I want to live a long, active, truly healthy life, with a few fun and glorious departures from responsibility, like champagne cocktails, ladies' brunches, Opening Day (and the rest of the season), and beer festivals. 
• Getting in good sleep and waking early. All I have to say about this is that this is the pinnacle of being a 30-something. I find the Sandman is knocking on my door promptly at 10pm each night and, well, I am happy to oblige. The next morning, my early curfew is rewarded with energy and the will to conquer the day.

Hope you can into some of these grooves in your life. It's not easy. You have to make the time and commitment. When you're brain and body are active, you are your best.

The Donor-centric Case Statement

I had the distinct pleasure of hearing Simone P. Joyaux and Tom Ahern speak today. It is amazing how much one can learn in a single day. It definitely made me want to sign up for an AFP Greater Detroit membership, that's for sure!

Check out Amy Eisenstein's interview with Tom called Make the Donor the Hero of Your Case Statement with Tom Ahern.



I could listen to this dude all day.

Year of Gratitude - Day 159 - Control + F

On this Monday, I want to shout out to Control + F, or the find function. When I think about what has made me a more efficient researcher, worker, whatever, I definitely look to this old friend.

Read more: Why Using Control+F May Be the Most Important Computing Skill in The Atlantic

Year of Gratitude - Day 117 - Mentors & Anti-Mentors

No longer am I considered an "entry-level" employee, but I was graced with many wonderful mentors back when I was. I still have great mentors that I keep relationships with and am very grateful for those people. 

Some people have been my "anti-mentors" - excellent examples of what I DON'T want to be like when I grow up. I think that having the anti-mentors is just as important as having the positive mentors. 

Both of these kinds of people will bring to a higher understanding of who you are and are not. It is important not to disregard the people who appear to be unworthy of your attention. Everyone has something to teach us.

Year of Gratitude - Day 80 - Quiz Bowl

Today, I, along with many colleagues and volunteers, ran a 24-high school quiz bowl competition. It was crazy, fun and a very cool experience. Because I have to run the quiz bowl at my work, I'm thinking I might try to moderate at another competition.

I was particularly grateful for all of my volunteers. Some were clearly under the weather and fighting off colds and sinus infections. Others had migraines and cramps. And still others missed out on lunch, because, well, the teenagers got to the veggie options first. Nonetheless, everyone really came through like a bunch of champs today. I am still so very grateful!

Super day today. In the end, Grosse Pointe North high school won first place.

Year of Gratitude - Day 6 - New Job

Last fall, I started as the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Generally, I don't blog about my places of work, but sometimes I love my work so much, that I just can't help myself. To work in Institutional Advancement for the University of Michigan family is pretty much the greatest thing I have ever experienced professionally. It is so rewarding to be surrounded by professionals of this caliber. And the icing on the cake is that I get to serve the Dearborn campus, where I got my undergraduate degree.

Book Review: Bossypants

Bossypants by Tina Fey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tina Fey's Bossypants is one of my favorite memoirs to date. It started slow and I didn't particularly enjoy the first few chapters, but once she started talking about her career, I couldn't put the book down. This book amazed me by how absolutely funny it was while covering pretty serious issues. How do you do that, Tina Fey? There are a lot of jokes, but I truly enjoy her perspective as a working woman and mom. She is quick to make fun of herself and it comes off quite genuine. She's also a good storyteller.

Fey definitely is my kind of feminist, pointing out some pretty plain hypocrisies that I never really noticed until she pointed them out. The best example of this was when she was crucified for playing Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live. What can I say - I thought Fey was brilliant as Palin and the resemblance was simply uncanny. And before Fey, plenty of male SNL cast members made fun of plenty of politicians. Some were much, much more harsher than Fey's Palin impression and jokes. Yet, that campaign got pretty ugly and Fey described herself as becoming a lightening bolt. She caught some nasty stuff and she simply pointed out that it the same kind of comedy bit was was reacted to very differently when a male did it than when a female did it (think Chevy Chase playing a clumsy Gerald Ford, Will Ferrell playing a perfectly wonderful George W. Bush or Darryl Hammond nailing the smooth-talking Bill Clinton).

This book really spoke to my inner feminist in a way that I can relate to, though luckily I haven't experienced nearly the kind of crazy stuff she shared about showbiz. What I could relate to was the fact that many people have a very hard time why a woman makes work a top priority. People can't understand why woman wouldn't want to be a mommy, preferably a mommy of two or more. I realize there has to be a balance, but as Fey points out, when you love your job, you want to do it all the time. I consider myself very fortunate to working in the professions that I love. Fey made me feel okay about not wanting kids and focusing on my career. Yet I still loved hearing about the joy parenthood brought her. Fey is definitely a cool mom and not one of those obnoxities that demand all parents follow the same playbook or their kids will grow up inferior.

Pretty great book. I started reading it on September 11, a day I always reflect on and feel gloomy during. This was good to get my spirit up and it was great to finish with her message. Goodreads is a good tool and it's helped me get back into taking some notes. Even so, sometimes there's no time for notes. Sometimes you just gotta' read read read. Here's what I managed:

page 24 "Droopy brown eyes designed to confuse predators into thinking I'm just on the verge of sleep and they should come back tomorrow and eat me."

page 144 "We don't fucking care if you like it."

page 207 "(By the way, when Oprah Winfrey is suggesting you may have overextended yourself, you need to examine your f*cking life.)"

page 234 "I am not mean and Mrs. Palin is not fragile. To imply otherwise is a disservice to us both."

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30 Days of Gratitude: Day 8 - My Coworkers

The position I took back in June is one that covers many areas - data entry, reporting, stewardship and overall database management. When fall rolls around, my workload is off the chain with events, year-end appeals and an influx of requests. While it makes the days zip by, it can get pretty heavy sometimes. And all of that is why I am so grateful for my coworkers. The people I work with are caring, hilarious, thoughtful and kindhearted. A number of times they have come through in stressful situations and helped me through them. I have been very fortunate to have been part of great, great teams. For that I'm grateful.

That made me want to go hunt around the great blog from the already mentioned Harvard Business Review. I found a great article called We All Need Friends at Work and in that article I found these nuggets: 

"Employees report that when they have friends at work, their job is more fun, enjoyable, worthwhile, and satisfying. Gallup found that close work friendships boost employee satisfaction by 50% and people with a best friend at work are seven times more likely to engage fully in their work."

And just as an additional little side slice of info, I found this Bureau of Statistics American Time Use Survey. It shows that 23% of people do some or all of their work at home. For the time being, I'm part of that statistic, but will eventually be able to leave work at work. 

Youth's mistakes: online venting about the workplace

Memoir writing makes one reflect on youth. My latest thoughts have been on what I call my "adult youth," the twenties, and specifically my journey through the workplace at this age. In 2012, I will leave my twenties behind. While it was an interesting age, it is one that I am eager to transition out of. I'm not certain if this happens to everyone that gets older, but now all the mistakes of youth become more clear and vivid. Just as I scoffed at adults when they told me inevitable truths, now I am scoffed at when I try to give young people a heads up. It is particularly disheartening when I offer advice about behavior in and about the workplace, because young people nowadays think that none of it matters. But it does. It totally does matter and anyone that tells you otherwise is a clown.

The inspiration for this post was an episode of Louie, the comedian Louie C. K.'s show. This was the episode that Louie's sister dropped off her niece and ducked out to Philly. The show began with a bit about 20-year-olds and how they have nothing to offer and yet they think they should be entitled to more than they've earned. It was so funny and so true. It really made me understand the perspective on the millennial generation in terms of work. My generation has been infested with rampant laziness, misplaced entitlement, and, frankly, a lack of simple tact and respect for their elder colleagues.

This is not to say that this generation is void of greatness. There are multiple groups I've come across that give me belief in young people - my memoir group and young librarians primarily. These are keen observers and sharp thinkers. They do not fall into the millennial mold and after a single conversation with any one of them you realize that you are speaking to someone amazing. However, those are but tiny segments of a larger group with all sorts of problems.

The problem I'm focusing on here is understanding why young people spout off online about their employment or lack thereof when it's an employers market. Employers get to pick from the best nowadays and they're not going to pick the arrogant little shit with a big mouth, tiny resume and online profile riddled with employer-bashing and "woe is me" junk. No employer wants to see that you are lazy, entitled and have a bad attitude. Speaking as an employer myself, I'm thankful for those that shoot their mouth off and make the bad apples easy to spot and weed from the candidate pool. So, if you are a young person, do yourself a favor and keep your sniveling in the privacy of your own home. If you post that nonsense all over the internet, you are just digging yourself a deeper hole in a situation that was already bad for you to start. What do I mean?

According to a November 2010 Foreign Policy article, there are 81 million people worldwide under the age of 24 without work. In the United States alone, the article says, 19.1% of people under 24 are unemployed - the highest percentage since the US started tracking this information. In Europe, that number is higher, except in Germany, cause they're awesome. The young are last to get hired and first to get fired because they do not have the experience and skills that make them indispensable to an employer. Even now companies have openings, but the youth coming out of college do not have what it takes to get the job done.

Based on these grim facts, you would think that young people were more diligent at hiding their weaker characteristics. They are not. They love to broadcast their shortcomings loudly, without shame and to anyone that will listen. And that won't help them get hired.

The sad reality is that my advice nor the advice of any other adult will be heeded. Young people will continue their whiney rhetoric and continue destroying their chance of being taken seriously by employers. When you are young, you think you are invincible. Unfortunately, that attitude will only lead down the road of irrelevance. Life's tough. Grow up and stop publicizing that you are a bad hire.

Related story:  “I Thought We Were Friends!” Can Nonprofits Terminate Employees for 
Their Social Media Posts? Nonprofit Quarterly, December 22, 2011.

Sunday Knowledge

We must struggle while we are young. We will not be able to finish the journey if we leave our hardest work for our most fragile years. We will have plenty time to rest when we are dead.