Tag Archives: DWC Dish

The search for balance

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1117007_pebble_balance I have to admit that I’m a bit of a workaholic. Running a business that (thankfully!) seems to be thriving in this economy ends up taking a serious toll on every other aspect of my life, from dishes to working out to getting to sleep early enough so I don’t want to kill people the next day.

But somehow, this year is going to be different. Here’s what I’m choosing to do:
  • Make more time for fiction. While some of my friends (who are also busy with work) claim that they “don’t have time for fiction,” frankly, I bill myself as a visual storyteller. How can I do that authentically if I’m not spending time reading good stories? Therefore, I’m making time for fiction. After all, it’s technically research.
  • Never miss a workout. This is an easy one for me to talk myself out of, but even if I have to get up at 5:30 every morning, I have to get my workout in. It helps me focus for the day, and I’m actually more productive as a result.
  • Keep lots of healthy food handy. One of my biggest problems working from the home studio is feeling like I don’t have time to make lunch; I find that if I make a big pot of soup on the weekend, I can heat some up for lunch and eat well without interrupting the flow of my day.
  • Make a list for the week. One of the best things I’ve implemented recently is a 5-days-a-week To-Do list, inspired by Knock Knock’s awesome “5 Days a Week” mousepad. Being able to fill out my tasks for the week on Sunday night, and block them out by day, has been an immense help in getting everything done.

So far, so good – I’ve felt more productive than I have in months, and I’m still making time for the things I love. What do you do to balance everything?

Movie Review: NEW IN TOWN

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Kao
Admittedly, I’ve never really understood the image of executive women that’s typically presented in the media. Being a business owner, and one who’s achieved what I consider to be success, it’s always confused me that the image of a “successful” woman in magazines is inevitably someone wearing completely impractical heels and a bag that costs as much as I pay for groceries in a year – who wakes up at 5am every morning, goes to bed at midnight, and somewhere in there manages to fit in a family. Call me crazy, but I walk everywhere. I’m a flats and hiking boots kinda girl.

When I started watching New in Town (the new Renée Zellweger film from Lionsgate), I initially bristled at Zellweger’s character, a Miami-based food company executive who gets thrust into running one of the company’s plants in Minnesota and facilitating a changeover in product lines. Initially, Zellweger’s character is portrayed as someone who’s too caught up in her work to notice the world around her. She wears impractical clothing. She insults the locals (and, as it turns out, all the people who would be in the best position to help her). I found her shallow and annoying.
But, as the movie goes on, Zellweger’s character begins to adapt to her new situation, and the movie offers a few really important lessons to professional women.
1. Don’t underestimate the folks that work beneath you. Zellweger’s character initially behaves, well, badly, towards her assistant when she invites Connick to dinner so Zellweger can meet him. Although Zellweger thought that the assistant was inviting Connick to set her up with him, she actually invited him because he’s the union boss, and she wanted to give her the chance to meet him casually before they had to meet professionally, and discuss potential layoffs.
2. Be adaptable. Although it takes her a while, Zellweger realizes that making her new situation work isn’t just about suits and stilettos and being tough as nails. She had to find ways to work with a completely different set of people with an entirely different set of needs, and she managed it very well.
3. When disaster threatens to strike, look for the opportunity. Without getting too much into movie spoilers, one of my favorite moments in the movie is when Zellweger is faced with orders from above that could dismantle everything she’d worked for. Instead of accepting defeat, she finds an opportunity within the community that creates a win-win for everyone.
All this, and the chemistry between Zellweger and Connick is, quite frankly, really nice to watch.

Generosity is the new Green

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Via trendwatching.com, I learned about this interesting new trend:

GENERATION G | “Captures the growing importance of ‘generosity’ as a leading societal and business mindset. As consumers are disgusted with greed and its current dire consequences for the economy—and while that same upheaval has them longing more than ever for institutions that care—the need for more generosity beautifully coincides with the ongoing (and pre-recession) emergence of an online-fueled culture of individuals who share, give, engage, create and collaborate in large numbers.
In fact, for many, sharing a passion and receiving recognition have replaced ‘taking’ as the new status symbol. Businesses should follow this societal/behavioral shift, however much it may oppose their decades-old devotion to me, myself and I.”


What excites me most about this trend is that it shows first-hand the power of the individual. While the old refrain of “corporate greed” shows little sign of quieting down, this trend points to the fact that the consumer has actually changed. Rather than resigning ourselves to the idea that corporate greed is a part of life that you can’t do anything about, we’re standing up and making it known that we expect more.
So what do we do about this new trend? How do we work a bit of generosity into our business lives?

The power of being connected (even casually)

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As part of my new year’s resolution, I decided to switch to a gym that was closer to my home (thus increasing the likelihood that I’d actually GO to the gym). After finding a gym and ending my membership to Healthworks in Cambridge, however, I was informed that I would still be billed for another month by them, and my membership wouldn’t expire until February 28th.

Apparently, there’s a 60-day notice period for canceling your membership. And I’m about to pay $253 to my new club to start my membership there – which I can’t put off any longer. What’s a gal to do?

Luckily, the membership coordinator at Healthworks gave me a transfer form, so that if someone else wanted to take over my membership, they could sign up with the form and waive the activation fee – and I wouldn’t get charged for the extra month. So, I started sending out messages to my various networks and online communities (including a couple specific to the Somerville/Cambridge, MA area – where I used to live) explaining the situation and asking if anyone wanted to take over the membership – and wouldn’t you know, I found someone to take it over within 3 hours.

This is the beauty of being connected to online networks – even casually. The more networks you’re connected to, no matter how loosely, the more options you have when you need a hand – whether it’s getting someone to take over your gym membership, finding a qualified babysitter, or getting a new job.

What’s your best connection story?

Here’s an idea for the holidays: zero-waste holiday cards

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Reproduct Holiday Boxed Sets

Among the stack of holiday cards I usually receive here at the zen kitchen, I found a great one from my friend Mo: a Reproduct Zero-Waste card. It’s a beautiful card, printed on tree-free recycled paper, and it comes in a reusable gatefold reply envelope that you can use to send the card back to the company for recycling in Shaw Carpets.

The boxed sets are a bit pricy if you’re doing a ton of holiday cards, but they have custom options available, including photo cards for as little as 90¢ each. Not too shabby!

By the way, holiday cards are a great way to keep in touch with prospects. My holiday cards are one of only two direct-mail campaigns I send each year, and they’ve been a great way to keep in front of people I want to work with, as well as remind clients how much I love working with them.