Take the Day Off

I frequently end up working 7 days a week. Not because i’m inefficient but because i’m really passionate and engaged with my projects. I also have a bad habit of taking a lot of things on at once. (who doesn’t?)

Awhile ago, I tried making one day a week a work-free zone. After trying it out for a few weeks, I noticed that it simply didn’t work for me. Mostly because something always came up at the last minute. It’s hard to designate one day to pure relaxation when you have so many interesting and engaging projects to get to.

I decided to take yesterday off from work completely and it was awesome. When I woke up yesterday realizing that the only thing I had to do was write a blog post was amazing. Having this big block of unscheduled time actually gave me a pretty big sense of relief. No one to see. No obligations or responsibilities that needed my immediate attention.

I took a long walk down the street I live and realized that it had been ages since i’d done that. I invited friends over for dinner and spent the rest of the evening reading the new Dan Brown book.

This morning, I feel relaxed, recharged and ready to get back to it.

So I recommend that today, close your laptop, turn off your phone, cancel any plans you don’t really want to go to and enjoy the day. Take a walk outside in the fresh air and revel in the relaxation that a day off will give you.

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Turn Your Tablet Into a Workstation with the CloudOn App

I frequently use mobile devices to get work done while i’m in between my office and home desktop computers. As my laptop is a couple of years old, I don’t usually carry it around as it’s pretty chunky. So instead, I use my ipad paired with a Zagg Keyboard to get work done on the go. Up until now, it’s been a hassle trying to sync my work PC files while I’m away from the office.

Enter CloudOn, the app that can turn your tablet into a fully functional workstation. CloudOn syncs to your dropbox, google drive and box accounts and allows you to have microsoft office available on your tablet. Unless you’re using Microsoft Surface, you’ve probably found that trying to have access to your PC files on your tablet has been a hassle if you’re using a mobile device.

Once you open up CloudOn and sync your cloud based storage, you can access all your files and modify documents, spreadsheets and other files right in the app.

CloudOn also supports PDF files which can be great for presentations and meetings.

I’ve played around with CloudOn for a few days now and so far i’m loving the easy to use interface and the ability to have all my files available and synced all the time. CloudOn is a free app for iOS and Android so you can download it and get going right away.

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Are you an Entrepreneur or an Intrapreneur?

When people think of the word “Entrepreneur”, they automatically envision a successful business owner who has traded the shackles of corporate life for the freedom of self employment. While many people strive for this, some see the benefits of being an entrepreneur within their own companies. This is called being an “Intrapreneur”.

Here is the definition from dictionary.com:

an employee of a large corporation who is given freedom and financial support to create new products, services, systems, etc., and does not have to follow the corporation’s usual routines or protocols.

See, entrepreneurship isn’t just about starting your own business. It can also be about being an agent of change and innovation within your own company. Many people overlook this as a viable career option and instead look at the corporate world as a punishment for not taking enough risks.

When I first graduated from business school, I knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I had decided that corporate life wasn’t for me and that I wanted to be the master of my own destiny. As any entrepreneur can attest, things don’t necessarily turn out the way you think they will. The road of the entrepreneur is fraught with many obstacles, failures and setbacks. So as my first venture didn’t work out, I decided to take a corporate job. I quickly found a position in account management at a media company. I decided to take a sales job because I figured that learning how to sell would be an important skill if I ever wanted to run my own business. Even though I was working for a company, I knew that eventually I would start my own business and the job was just a training ground for learning the skills I needed to succeed. The entire time I worked at this company, I knew that I was dying to start my own business but at that time in my life, it was important to pay the bills until I could develop a viable (and profitable) idea. So, I decided to change my attitude and focus on being an intrapreneur. After a year, I had succeeded in creating a number of changes within the company as well as developing a style of selling that worked for me.

My point is, that although you may be in the corporate world right now, you can still be an entrepreneur. Just be an intrapreneur within your own company. Bring your ideas and entrepreneurial attitude to the table and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

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How To Develop Your Personal Brand – Part 2

In last week’s article “How to Develop Your Personal Brand – Part 1” I outlined ideas on how to build your personal brand using social media and professional appearance.

Today, I’m going to talk more about how your work and projects can strengthen your personal brand. A few days ago, I had a great conversation with an entrepreneur who runs a job posting website for marketers. One of my biggest takeaways from our conversation was the trend of specialization. Specifically, employers and clients are now looking for people who are experts in a specific area in their field and have results to show for it. For example, if you are interested in SEO, then you should focus on digging deep in this area and creating a reputation for yourself. If you are a photographer, you should define your niche and own that space. In marketing, we use the term “Unique Selling Proposition” or USP to define the differentiating factor of a product or service. The idea of a USP can also be applied to your what. The question you have to ask yourself is “What do you want to be known for?”.

Another way to develop your personal brand is to become a thought leader. Find ways to create content that will define your expertise and reputation. If you are a marketer who is passionate about sustainability, consider creating content about how marketing and sustainability go hand in hand. Once you have content, you can seek out a trade publication, website or start your own media outlet. By sharing your ideas, you increase the awareness of yourself and your personal brand. The key thing to remember is that you don’t need to be an expert right away. Share the information you know and continue as your knowledge grows.

Finally, look to examples of other people who have excelled at creating their own personal brand. I think of people like Ryan Holiday, Seth Godin, Pete Cashmore and Arianna Huffingon who have all influenced the digital world by developing their personal brand. Study what they’ve done to create their brands and emulate those tactics in your own personal branding strategy.

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30 Day Challenge Update and a New Book

I just entered the second week of my 30 day challenge to post new content every day and so far it’s been great!

Today, I’m going to recommend a book I just finished. The book is called Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip and Dan Heath. I’m a big fan of the books that the Heath brothers have written including “Made to Stick” and “Switch”.

In Decisive, the Heath Brothers delve into the psychology and process behind decision making. Although Decisive puts emphasis on business decision making, there is also a number of great ideas on personal decision making.

One of my biggest takeaways from the book is a decision making process called “WRAP”. Wrap is an acronym that stands for the following four ideas:

– Widen your Options
– Reality-Test your Assumptions
– Attain Distance Before Deciding
– Prepare to be Wrong

You’ll have to read the book to get a better understanding of the process but i’ll leave you with a link to the book website where you can read the first chapter for free!

Pick up a copy of Decisive and learn how to make better decisions.

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