by Solange Lopes | Oct 16, 2018 | Career
Have you ever noticed how even with the best of intentions and incredible amounts of willpower, you may still not be reaching your goals? Have you over-exerted yourself over and over again, only to end up so far from your objectives that you lost all motivation? Do you often wonder what else you have to do to push through your blocks, eliminate your distractions and finally get things done? I asked myself these same questions too many times to count. I know I’m not the only one…until I realized that it was not so much what I was doing, as opposed to how I was thinking. While I was so absorbed in “doing”, I forgot that my thinking played an even bigger role in the direction of my life and career, and that ultimately, it’s really “mind over matter”…
You may be the most motivated person around. Yet, if you keep having thoughts of self-doubt, powerlessness and ineffectiveness, you may just be wasting your time, energy and efforts. Even when you achieve your most important goals and objectives, you may end up running out of stamina and be unable to keep your efforts consistent. You may fall prey to distractions (as you catch yourself scrolling through Instagram), procrastinate, or simply talk yourself out of your best opportunities, all because of your mindset and the way you think.
As women especially, we tend to be socialized around negative thought patterns about who we are and what we do, at work and in life. From being forced to shatter the glass ceiling to fighting for equal rights in other areas of work and life, it can be easy (and tempting) to give in to negative mindsets and block any progress.
As I struggled with my own negative mindset patterns, here are a few things I learned about having a “mind over matter” mindset:
Dress up your mind
If you know me, you know I love dressing up. I’m also West African, which means I follow a long tradition of African elegance. It also means being over the top every now and then, but I digress…My point is, very often, we worry about dressing up the outside without thinking about the impact our minds have on our lives. What if we dressed up our minds with the same care and attention we use to dress ourselves up? What if, instead of dwelling in negativity, procrastination and ineffectiveness, we chose instead to put on our best mindset to tackle our goals on a daily basis?
I’ve learnt that in order to master one’s mindset, you need to work at dressing it up in the best way you can. You need to actually put positive thoughts on, practice regular mindset routines, oh….and get off Instagram too!
Be aware of your thoughts
It’s one thing to dress your mind up, repeat one hundred affirmations before 8am, and be ready to take on the world mentally! It’s another to actually be aware of your own thoughts and the negative patterns that may be preventing you from being your best self.
I’ve learnt to pay attention to my own thought patterns by recognizing them first. What are the self-defeating thoughts and patterns you need to be aware of?
Watch your surroundings
The environment you’re in plays a large role in the way you think. It took me a long time to understand that we absorb energies around us, especially as introverts and empaths. As women especially, we’re often in positions where we care for those around us, from our families to our co-workers. This is great if you happen to be in positive, supportive and fulfilling environments.
However, if you happen to be in negative, toxic and even damaging environments, it can single-handedly thwart your growth and progress. As a matter of fact, such surroundings can even make you sick. As you look around you, are your surroundings keeping you from being your best self?
Understanding the importance that my mindset plays in my life changed it for the better. It can be very easy to let your thoughts run wild and lose control over many, if not most, areas of your life. Yet, with the same care that we put in getting dressed up for applying our makeup on, we can change the course of our entire life and work.
Now your turn: How has your mindset changed your life for the better or for the worse?
The Corporate Sis
by Solange Lopes | Oct 4, 2018 | Career, Working Mom & Woman Tips
I often talk about being moderated, driven, and pursuing your goals as a working woman. However, there also times when being overly driven and motivated can create significant overwhelm in your life. I know I’ve found myself in overwhelming situations more often than I wanted to as a result of wanting to cram as much in my schedule as possible. As a working mom, I wanted it all to fit in. The family, the career, the side hustle, even the worship and praise. It had to all fit in. Until I started getting so tired, irritable, and out of sorts, that I couldn’t recognize myself. It doesn’t help that in the age of female empowerment and social media, we are constantly egged on to continually hustle and do whatever it takes to succeed.
Overwhelm happens. As a matter of fact, it happens to many, if not most women. However, it doesn’t have to. We don’t have to live as victims into a continuous sense of never being on top of our schedule or our lives in general even when our to do list mountable feel like there never going to be enough hours in the day, they are ways to beat overwhelm:
Acknowledge the situation
When busyness becomes a badge of honor, it can be easy to deny the fact that we’re overwhelmed. Instead, we start thinking that being constantly tired and at a of loss is a normal state of being. It begins with acknowledging the problem before we can actually solve it. Are you not feeling yourself? Do you feel constantly exhausted and not in control of your time, do you feel like you’re constantly on the go and never have a minute to stop? These and so many others are clean signs that you may be overwhelmed.
It took a long while for me to acknowledge that I was indeed overwhelmed. As a recovering people-pleaser, saying “yes” to every request was the norm for me. When overwhelm started settling in, I was first in a state of denial, feeling guilty for not being able to handle it all. It actually took having the honesty and humility to admit to myself that I was in over my head to start changing things.
Identify the sources of your problem.
The next step is to recognize what is causing your sense of overwhelm. It may be that you have unreasonable expectations as to your schedule or the demands of your life and work. Most often, it is the case. Identifying the source(s) of your overwhelm is a powerful tool to target what needs to changed.
After admitting to myself that I was indeed overwhelmed, I had to identify what was causing such an imbalance in my life and work. I recognized that my then-lack of organization, as well as my inability to prioritize, were to blame. It was clear then that I had to double down on organizational skills, and do less while having more impact and…less overwhelm.
Start making small changes.
The mistake we often make when trying to beat overwhelm as working women is to make too drastic changes all at once. Instead, start by making small changes to your daily schedule. I know I had to begin small to keep from being panicked at the idea of reducing my to do list. What that meant for me was to try to target the most critical aspects of my work and life first, one day at a time . What does it mean for you? What small changes can you start implementing on a day-to-day basis?
What this meant for me was to re-evaluate my daily routine. I realized there were many commitments that did not have any impact on my productivity or the overall goals I was setting for myself. Realizing this was allowed me to start making small modifications to my schedule, such as waking up earlier, re-evaluating my involvement in certain non-critical projects, and backing out of projects I could not commit to.
Identify what matters to you
The main reason why we get overwhelmed is that we simply try to do too much. We get away from what’s really important to us to try and control everything else. This is why it’s so important to come back to your list of priorities and identify what matters most to you. Is it your family? Is it your work? Even within your family and your work, what aspects are most important to you?
For me, it was coming back to the essentials, such as spending fruitful time with my loved ones, or focusing on work that really mattered to myself and others. It wasn’t until I clearly and unapologetically pinpointed these that I was able to pursue my goals more proactively.
Give yourself grace
Beating overwhelm is not an easy process. You may encounter feelings of guilt, self-doubt and self questioning all along the way. It helps to forgive yourself and allow yourself some grace, patience and understanding through this process.
For me it meant condemning myself less for being overwhelmed and trying to change on a daily basis. It also meant not being overly harsh with myself on days when I still felt under pressure. It also meant being willing to move on from failures, and apply the lessons learnt going forward.
Now your turn: how do you beat overwhelm in your work and life as a working woman?
To your success,
The corporate sister.
by Solange Lopes | Oct 3, 2018 | Career
For many of us, especially as working women, finishing the year strong is an important priority. It can also be a quite the burden, as the end of the year is a stressful time. Not only is it sometimes instrumental to our success at work and in life, but the pressure of the coming holidays also adds to the general sense of overwhelm.
I used to dread the last quarter of the year thinking about the holidays, performance reviews, year-end commitments, and other obligations would have me breaking in hives at the drop of a hand. It took a long time for me to sit down with me, myself and I, and start trying to find ways to finish the year strong and reduce the stress at year-end.
Related: How to deal with office stress during the holidays
Here are seven tips that can help you finish this your strong:
Make an inventory of what you have accomplished so far
It always helps to start with the good stuff. What have you succeeded at so far in the year? What have your accomplishments been? Taking stock of your successes not only helps put perspective in your journey; but it also helps you visualize where you stand in terms of the goals you set at the beginning of the year. I like to sit with a piece of paper and a pen as I enter the last quarter of the year and take stock of my accomplishments, as a way to boost myself up and to see how many of my goals I have actually met. It also gives me a good sense of how far I have to go for the remainder of the year.
While it’s important to take stock of your successes and celebrate, it’s crucial to understand everything you have learned in the course of the year. This may come as a result of failures, learning experiences and your overall journey as a whole. I like to keep a running tally of everything I learned through every project I tackle in my work and my business. This is very helpful for me to take stock of my progress, but also a performance review time when I actually have to discuss this progress throughout the year.
Make an inventory of what you need to finish
Now that you’ve taken stock of your accomplishments, it’s time to consider what you need to finish to achieve your goals for the year. Which projects have been lagging behind and do you need to complete? Which major goals are unfinished and need you to push forward before the year ends? Are there any new commitments you need to attend to?
As I approach and enter every quarter, especially the last quarter of the year, it’s important for me to make a list entitled “To Finish”. These are the important commitments and projects that need to absolutely be completed by the end of the year.
Clean Your Networking Database
The last quarter of the year is also a great time to attend to your networking efforts. A large part of this is to update and clean your networking database, which is basically the list of all your networking contacts. Which recent contacts have you not yet added to your networking database? Which contacts have you not kept touch with in more than six months? Which contacts may you need to remove from your networking database?
Related: 7 ways to Refresh Your Networking List
Cleaning your networking contacts database is key to finishing the year strong, as it will help you strengthen your networking relationships. This will come in handy as you approach the end of the year.
Schedule a feedback session
Feedback is a powerful tool to assess your progress and how much further you have to go to finish the year strong. It’s one thing to assess your own progress, and take stock of your accomplishments and lessons learned; it’s another to have the perspective of someone else on it.
Related: 4 ways to leverage the power of feedback in your career
Schedule some time with your managers to go over your performance and get some feedback. However, you don’t have to limit yourself to just your managers. You can also schedule some time with your co-workers and team members to conduct informal feedback sessions. Having various people’s perspective on your work can help you enormously in adjusting your performance and finishing the year strong.
Related: 7 Easy Steps to Prepare for a Stellar Performance Review this Year
Plan to ask for more.
The end of the year is a great time to start thinking about a pay raise or improvement in your salary while you still have time. Schedule a time to discuss this with your managers. However this has to be a different time then when you schedule your performance review.
Related: Forget Karma, How to ask for a raise (even as a woman)
Asking for a raise or other additional benefits during the last quarter is key to securing your professional future as you get ready to start a new year. It’s also a strategic time as you’re able to gather what you have accomplished so far, as well as your lessons learnt, so as to make a better case for yourself.
Related: How to make more money without leaving your job
Prepare your year-end communications.
Year-end is a great time for strategic communications, from end-of-year plans and announcements to holiday mailings. As you enter the last quarter, think of drafting your year-end communications before the busyness of the holidays takes over. Take time to carefully craft these and schedule these ahead of time.
This is particularly important if you’re an entrepreneur running your own business, as year-end may be also be a financially crucial time for you. Taking time to do this ahead of time will save you many headaches, and avoid costly mistakes or omissions.
Don’t forget about self-care!
Did I mention the last quarter of the year is a stressful time? Let me repeat it again: year-end is a stressful time! This is why it’s so important to prioritize
self-care. You may ask yourself if self-care is even possible as we enter the last months of the year. Not only is it possible, it’s absolutely necessary!
For me, what self-care at year-end looks like is all about interweaving rest moments into my busy schedule. Although there’s much to be done, I make sure to put my phone and laptop down for at least a full day a week. What does it look like for you?
Now your turn: How do you plan to finish the year strong?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 27, 2018 | Career
In the past few years, blogging has certainly become extremely popular. There are millions of blogs worldwide around a multitude of topics. Blogging has almost become a cheap commodity. However, there are still some great benefits of blogging. One of these is blogging to boost your career.
As a career woman, you may think that adding blogging to your career objectives is not necessary. As a matter-of-fact, you may even consider that it may be a hindrance or an unnecessary effort. However, blogging can actually help you take your career to the next level in ways you may not have thought possible.
Here are a few ways blogging can boost your career:
Blogging about your area of expertise can help position you as an expert
Anytime you write about a given topic, it requires you to learn about it first. It also demands that you reach a certain knowledge around said topic. As you start blogging about a topic related to your career, you actually become an expert at it. This is because you would have performed some advanced research on it, and immersed yourself in it more than the average person.
As you become knowledgeable about your area of expertise, you also start to be perceived as an expert. Companies may recognize you as such, and perceive your expertise as a positive asset. In many instances, it may be what positively separates you from other candidates applying for the same job.
Pick an area of your career that interests you
The not-so-secret secret of blogging effectively is to write about something you enjoy. Blogging can be time-consuming and require extensive research. It’s important to write about a topic that you’d get less tired about in the long run. An area that is more inspiring and motivating for you will lift you up when you don’t feel up to blogging or sharing your expertise.
What is it about your particular area of work or career that part of your interest? What would you be willing to do research for for free? Those are the topics you should blog about.
Add your own spin and creativity to it.
What differentiates bloggers, as well as professionals in general, is the level of creativity and innovation they put into their work. As you add blogging to your resume, consider also adding your own spin on any topics you write about and share with your audience.
Many bloggers are guilty of regurgitating information they copy and paste from the web. However, the best ones are those who are not afraid to dig deeper and go a step above what everyone else can find on Google. How can you infuse your own personality and worldview into your perception and transcription of your area of expertise? This will set you apart as a thought leader and a potential asset to organizations and businesses looking for fresh minds and vibrant talent.
Now your turn: Would you blog to boost your career?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 24, 2018 | Career
If you have a hobby you enjoy doing in your spare time, you may wonder how to actually turn it into cash. If so, then you are among a large part of the population that is striving to create additional streams of income doing exactly what they love. I was always fascinated by people who are able to turn their hobbies into cold, hard cash. The most interesting part is that they are able to do that on a very part-time basis while still holding on to their careers and fulfilling their various personal and professional responsibilities.
In the age of social media and technology, it has become even easier to monetize any hobby, from writing and blogging to knitting or fishing.When I started blogging, it was purely for fun and to relieve some of the pent-up energy I had from work and life in general. As I got more interested in it, I realized there are many bloggers out there for actually making a living out of something they might have started as a hobby. This is when I started thinking of the very possibility of monetizing our hobbies and even turning them into actual careers.
Here are a few way you can do the same with your hobby:
Get clear about what you like you as well as your natural strength,talents and abilities.
Taking your hobby to the next level by monetizing it also means being very clear about what it is and what your natural strengths and abilities around it are. Being aware of what you enjoy doing and how good you are at it will give you the confidence and the strength you need to pursue it. As I was enjoying blogging and writing in general, and that I realized that I had some skills around it, I was able to be more confident and more energized to develop it.
Get clear about your why
One of the first questions to ask yourself when seeking to monetize your hobby is: “Why do I want to monetize this activity?” Is it to create a side income? Is it to change careers? Is it to replace your full-time income? Is it to follow a passion? To defend a cause? Whatever the reason is, it’s important to be clear about what may spur you to turn your hobby into a source of income. It is your “why” that will help you in times when your motivation falters, or when you’re not sure whether to continue or not.
My own why has always been to follow my purpose. Whenever I hit a wall or I’m too overwhelmed, I remind myself of the very reason why I even started on this journey. It keeps me going, motivates me, and helps me make sense of it all.
Identify your target audience
As you seek to monetize your hobby and start a business, another question that you want to ask yourself is: “Who is my target audience?” This is a fancy way of saying: “Who am I serving?” Your target audience is made up of the people whose problems your hobby-turned-business is meant to solve.
For The Corporate Sister, it’s working women who want to thrive in their careers and in life on purpose. For any financial advice blog or business, it would be people who desire to better their financial situation. For someone who is passionate about surfing, it would be other people who are passionate about the same things and are looking for solutions around it.
Identify an unmet need that you can help solve
The root of making money out of anything is first identifying an unmet need and then solving it. Your hobby-turned-business has to be able to answer a question that keeps many people up at night. Those people are your target audience.
For instance, if your hobby is knitting, your audience may be made up of people whose problems are centered around knitting. You may be helping them solve problems around knitting more effectively, having better tools to knit or selling their knitting products. Whatever the problem that you’re helping to solve is, orienting your hobby towards providing an effective solution that your target audience needs is the answer.
Provide solutions to your audience’s needs
Once you have identified an unmet need that your audience has, now it’s time to provide solutions. You can do this by creating products or services through which you can channel the answers you’re offering. If you’re a blogger, then your blog should be helping your target audience through your articles, as well as through adequate products and services. As an avid knitting fan, you may be creating a new knitting product or even a community of people like you who are interested in finding motivation and inspiration around knitting. The point is create a solution to answer the questions of your target audience.
Create a community
Monetizing a hobby cannot done alone. In the world of business you need other people. In other words you need a community to support your efforts and direct your products and services at. This community may be made of your target audience, as well as other people who also thrive and gravitate around your idea.
Social media has made it easier nowadays to build such a community by providing online access to like-minded people. Networks and groups of individuals interested in your hobby are also great sources of support and community.
Enjoy the process
One of the biggest mistakes many people make when monetizing a hobby is losing the enjoyment and the fun of the process while striving to succeed. The reason why you started was because it was enjoyable in the first place. This is why you launched into this adventure of turning your hobby into a business.
It’s important then make sure that you don’t lose this joy as you start thinking about dollar figures and profits. A good way to do this is to keep reminding yourself of your why. Another way is to be aware of your own progress and evolution as an individual as you’re monetizing your hobby. Is the process making you happier, more miserable or flat out drained? This will help you calibrate and adjust as you go through this journey.
Now your turn: How do you go about monetizing your hobby?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister
