#jesspicks - Issue #6
This week has been revealing. I went to the ENT (ear, nose, throat) doctor to get to the bottom of my recent illnesses. It was an experience for sure. You go to a specialist and all of a sudden, there's a camera up your nose. :) But he confirmed what we already suspected - I have severe nasal allergies. The thing we didn't know is that my nasal passageways are very crowded (whatttt). So any inflammation or congestion makes it very hard for me to breathe. And it travels down into my throat which explains my most recent prolonged sore throat episode. Prescription moving forward includes nasal spray and saline rinse for the next few weeks and then we shall re-evaluate.
I'm continuing to work on setting boundaries for myself and minimizing my commitments to things that don't really serve where I am right now. I'm also doing lots of soul-searching to figure out what's important and how my day job and techbizgurl helps me get there. So there's been a lot of reading on finding purpose and discovering ways to make the days more efficient.
I took some time for me this week and attended a LinkedIn workshop for women. It was eye-opening. There's a lot I'm not doing to take advantage of the platform. Probably the same for you. (Hint: Your headline is super duper important for people looking you up and for Google.) I'm planning to write up the tips in a blog post, so we can all up our professional branding game. Stay tuned for that.
On to the picks for the week!
What Do You Truly Want To Do? [The Heretic] — theheretic.org
Are you truly working on something you believe in? Is this really what you want to do for the next 5-10 years? What do you value? What makes you tick? These are questions to help you uncover what you truly want to do.
NoireCare, A Site That Supports And Encourages Women Of Color To Care For Themselves [Clutch Magazine] — www.clutchmagonline.com
You know I love anything promoting self-care right? Especially lately. This site focuses on women of color and their paths to self-care. I saw something on yoga for relaxing and even taking selfies to improve self-confidence. Check it out!
8 Best IFTTT Recipes for Solopreneurs [One Woman Shop] — onewomanshop.com
Do you use IFTTT (If This, Then That)? It's a great tool to automate tasks that you manually do in your business. Like having your WordPress blogs automagically post to your LinkedIn profile for example. Faves on this list are #1 and #2.
Starting My Work Day at 5 am is (Maybe) the Best Decision I’ve Made This Year [Open Buffer] — open.buffer.com
This person had to start their work day at 5am for one project but was able to keep it going and by doing so, created a 4-hour break in the middle of their workday. Definitely gives new meaning to freedom and control as you plan out your day. Maybe there are some ideas you can apply to your own schedule. Like having meetings only in the afternoons, for example, and saving the mornings for heads-down productivity time.
Get Better On PC & Mac: Follow These 10 Simple, Useful Tricks for Higher Productivity [Lifehack] — www.lifehack.org
Great tips in here for being more productive on a Mac or PC. I'm pretty much an all Mac gurl at this point. Along with an iPhone and iPad. Faves on this list are: #2, #6 and #8.