Returning to work is a nightmare, I know. Even if you’re hybrid like me, your in office days can be anything but productive. There are so many distractions and interruptions and your daily routine can be interrupted. Here’s how to create a calm environment so your in office days can be as productive as your telework days.

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How I Prevent Work from Home Burnout

Ever since 2020, I've been able to work my full time job from home.  It's amazing and I've been thriving but they aren't kidding when they say burnout can still happen even if you get to work from home.  For me it was because I stopped taking days off because I figured, why bother?  If I can be home anyways, I shouldn't need to take time off just to get a break from work, right? WRONG! Once I was towards the end of 2021 I realized I was burnt out.  And I knew exactly why.  I was no longer taking days off like I used to when we worked in the office.

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Purging Your Work Wardrobe for Telework

 

If  you are lucky enough to be transitioning to a full time or part time telework schedule from now on for your job, you can rejoice because you will likely save money and space when it comes to your wardrobe. But that also means you should do a closet purge so you can have a more organized and useful closet. 

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New Year Goals for Your Career

 

A new year is a great time in your life to set some goals for your career, no matter how long you've been in your current field.  Not only can career goals help you grow in your career but it can help keep your job from getting boring everyday, since you have something to work towards. Here are some goals to set for yourself in your current career.

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Staying Organized While Teleworking

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 So most people are either still teleworking or are being informed by their employer that it's going to be a more permanent thing now, which is great, but for some people, they are struggling trying to figure out how to get a work life balance in their home with their actual work space.  Here are some ways I stay organized while teleworking.

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A Beginner's Guide to Telework

 

Whether you have dabbled in telework from lockdown or you're starting a new job where it will be a regular thing, it can be a hard adjustment to something so new but so great.  And if you don't know what you're doing, working from home can be tough and full of blurred work-life boundaries.  Here is the beginner's guide to telework.

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What No One Tells You About Being an Administrative Assistant

Administrative positions never get the credit they should.   People in these positions quite literally run an office.  If you don't believe me just imagine if the clerical and admin workers in your office all quit on the same day with no warning.  Would everything still function and flow as usual? I doubt it.  I decided to write about the stuff no one tells you when it comes to being an admin in any field.

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12 Annoying Things Coworkers Do

Working in an office is like nothing else. There are all types of personalities and pet peeves in an office. So today, I'm celebrating all of those by putting together a hopefully relatable post.... 12 things coworkers do to piss you the hell off!

1| They call you right after they send you an email.  Okay, so you just sent me an email and then you call me to tell me that you sent me an email and ask if I read it yet.   No! Knock it off.  Your 2 options are either 1. Turn a read receipt on if you wanna know if I read an email and 2. If you're just gonna call me to tell me what the email said, then don't even bother sending me an email.   Actually, it would be ideal if you just send me an email and wait like a normal person for me to read it and respond.  Phone interruptions are a pain in everyone's ass.

2| Standing at your desk talking for excessive amounts of time.  I do have things to do ya know?   Especially when you have an administrative position you have emails flying in every minute.  But it's cool - continue to stand here telling me about your f&$*ing experience standing in line at the store last night.  COME ON!!!!!!

3| Talking really f*$&%ing loud.  Inside voices please. What are we in frickin kindergarten again? Do I need to ask you to put your head down because you can't follow rules and keep your voice down?

4| Complaining about the smell of food or perfume. Yea like we don't already smell it ourselves.  Sit down like the rest of us. You don't have to run around shouting "do you smell that? Oh my God."  As long as you aren't smelling poop - just shut up.  Oh and if you don't like smelling cologne or perfume, well.. too bad.   It's called personal hygeine.  We like to wear deoderant and perfume.  Get over it!

5| Standing next to someone's cubicle having a personal conversation that doesn't involve them. Hey, can we take that elsewhere? 

6| Judging you for having a second piece of cake.  "Oh look, Susie's having seconds." Yea thanks for noticing, jack ass.  Stop judging me!!!!

7| Judging you for NOT having cake.  I love how people berate the healthy folks that don't want to partake in junk food celebrations.  Good God, talk about peer pressure.  Are you gonna ask me to do drugs with you too? Because you might as well sucker me in to that as well.

8| NOT washing their hands.  Dude, you work in an office.  If you don't wash your hands after you go to the bathroom, people WILL notice and they WILL talk.  So chances are, we all know who you are.  Not only that but how rude, do you really want to get us all sick? Okay, well I'll remember to cough right on your face once I catch something!

9| Making you feel bad for being younger than them.  I'm sorry my parents didn't bump uglies sooner so that I could be born closer to when you were and could understand whatever the hell show you are talking about.  Next time you ask someone if they know about that show, and they say no, there's no need to say "Oh you're way too young." Just be like.. "Oh I must be old as f$*%".

10| Micromanaging everything.  I hate micromanagers.  If you want your employees to get sh*t done, tell them briefly what you want and back off. Sitting at their cube all damn day is not productive.  Calling them 20 times is not productive either.  Having daily meetings is DEFINITELY micromanaging. 

11| Asking someone else before using your own brain.  Okay, so before you ask someone a question, pause, take a deep breathe, and ask yourself if you already know the answer.  Nothing makes you earn the title of "pain in my ass coworker" more than asking a dumb question. Oh and PS - if I have to google something for you, just know that YOU should have already googled it.

12| Coming into work when you're sick.  Really? That's the biggest F U.  Again, I'll be sure to sneeze on your keyboard.

So did I miss anything?

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A Few Things to Remember About Administrative Professionals

In honor of Administrative Professional's Day I wanted to make a post that every admin out there can relate to.  I know that many people take us for granted, but I don't know if they really understand what it's like to BE us.  So here are some things to keep in mind.  I promise that you're adminsitrative professional will thank you!

[1] We need our space. 
Just because we are out in the open doesn't mean you should hang around constantly.

[2] We aren't invisible.
Having a conversation with other people right in front of our desk makes us feel under appreciated and invisible. We are people too. Would you stand in your boss's office and talk to a friend? No... so go away.

[3] Our job is exhausting.

You know how people say they get tired from a long day  where they had to be "on" all day... being on means being ready to be approached. you notice every person that walks past, and you are prepared to talk to them if they engage you. it's EXHAUSTING.   

[4] Don't interrupt.

Just because our desk area is generally open, doesn't mean we forgo privacy. if there is someone at our desk whether it's for work or a personal conversation, please dont assume it's okay to just come up and stand or just jump right in. Go back to your desk and check back later.

[5] Those little tasks add up.

I'm not kidding when I say we slave over a copy machine. Those things get hot. And when you have a billion staples and paper clips and you want some things double sided but others not wehave to do a lot of rushing around over the copier to coordiante everything.

[6] Multi-tasking is constant.

Not only do we have about 10 things always in the back of our mind for ongoing projects that we are waiting to hear back from someone else about, but we are constantly interrupted by ringing phones, emails, and foot traffic.  It's exhausting.

So with that being said - we understand our job is to be the one everyone depends on but please remember that our jobs can be just as difficult and tiring as everyone elses.

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Staying Drama-Free In The Workplace

When it comes to your job there's always going to be drama around you, especially if you work in an actual office.   So while it's easy to not be the cause of drama in most cases, it's also important to find a way to not let the surrounding drama affect you. 

Here are a few tips to do just that. 

Mind Your Own | I always say just keep your head down and do your thing.  If there's drama, don't get involved.  If someone is telling you about something, play dumb like you didn't already know about it.   You never want to be the source of gossip in an office because it will always come back to bite you in the ass. 

Be the Bigger Person | I have a boss that I used to work for and she likes to say nasty things about me to my coworkers.  I know it's because she's jealous of me because I could literally run circles around her, but I also have to handle it in a mature way.   Sometimes you have to be the bigger person and just not play her game.  Don't try to start rumors about HER for revenge, and don't try to kiss her ass.  In fact, it's totally acceptable to just act as if she doesn't exist even in passing, unless it's in a meeting and you have to hold a door open for her, etc. 


Be Everyone's Friend | Just because a friend in the office doesn't like someone, doesn't mean you should automatically be against them.   Be friendly and cordial to everyone.   It will always pay off because everyone will have something good to say about your friendly ways. 

Be Your Own Person | Sometimes little cliques form in an office and they can make other people feel left out or cause them to assume you are similar to the people in that clique.  Don't align yourself with any clique.   Chat with EVERYONE when in large meetings, and say hi to everyone.   Also, don't stand in a group and gossip or whisper.  It always gets noticed, trust me! 

Do you have any tips for staying drama-free in a workplace? 

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How to Avoid Workplace Drama

 

You’re already a kick ass chick especially when it comes to your 9-5 so you can’t afford to let workplace drama get in the way of your reputation as you climb your way up the corporate ladder.   It’s inevitable that gossip, rumors, and cliques will be present in any office setting so the smartest thing a badass like yourself can do is let the shit hit someone else’s fan at the end of the day. 

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Another Blogging Pet Peeve + My Chihuahua’s tongue sticking out + My 20 Something Article

I know I don’t usually post my personal journal entry type stuff on here, except when there’s some interesting things going on… and there is I suppose. 

I mean the weather has been ridiculously frigid so I’ve just been hanging out inside with the pups.  

Nice tongue

1. MY WORK LIFE

At work, I got rid of some major stress!  its bad enough that people have personal (and business) conversations right in front of my desk like I’m invisible, the phone rings ALL THE TIME, and I’m always getting interrupted by people at my desk …oh and they are short staffed… but to top it all off.. my cell phone gives me anxiety! 

I keep it on silent but it would still vibrate… but how many notifications or messages can one girl get?  Let’s see.. Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Fan Page, Instagram, Comcast email, Gmail email, and my Covet Fashion App! Oh and then of course text messages. Even if I put my phone in my purse I can still hear a faint buzz.   And the thing about the buzz is that you know it’s an alert so it stays in the front of your mind that you have to check it soon, don’t forget! 

Well I’ve taken back my life because I set it to Silent with NO Vibrate now.  Think of it this way.. Whenever I get a free moment I’ll check my phone anyways, so now I can do it on MY terms and not be interrupted by the alert buzz that starts nagging at my brain until I check it!

2.  MY BLOG LIFE

I was featured on All Groan UP… if you don’t know what that site is, it’s by the guy (Paul Angone) who wrote 101 Secrets for your Twenties.    Well my post is about 8 things you should do as a 20-something. Check it out and let me know what you think! 

3. MY HOME LIFE

Oh, I also got some kick-ass decorative jars from my bbff (best blogger friend forever) Monica from Moda by Monika.   She has an etsy shop called Jars by Monica.   Aren’t these so cute! I can’t wait to show you where I put them!!!!

4.  MY PERSONAL LIFE

Um not much exciting here but I can't stand how my Macbook Pro digs into my wrists so I found these on Amazon for like $9.  Ahhh, relief.  

And of course…

5. MY BLOGGER PET PEEVE OF THE WEEK

I’m only sharing this to help other bloggers this may apply to.  Last time, I bitched about the whole Captchacheck thing.  But lately, when trying to enter giveaways on other blogger’s pages,  it’s extremely frustrating, especially when there are a ton of entries, when you have to follow a page and the link they give you isn’t clickable.   

I usually see this in entries where you have to follow someone on Pinterest, Instagram, or Bloglovin.  It’s probably because Rafflecopter wants you to pay to have a specific entry made in their form template, so I don’t blame anyone for just using the free version. 

However there is a SUPER easy way to fix this… and I’m going to share it with you guys now!

When you go to choose an entry in Rafflecopter when you set up your giveaways, choose “Invent your own Option”. 

Then make a title to describe the entry

Then write your link like this

Follow Ask Away on [Instagram](www.instagram.com/ellenr886).

You can copy and paste that and just change whats in the brackets and parentheses. 

 

It will look like this: 

This makes it SO MUCH easier for people to follow you ( I have passed up following people when it becomes difficult for every single entry like that). 

So here is how it looks for people entering: 

And if you are a blogger whose hosting a giveaway event and you created the form and took payments from other bloggers, it’s a great business practice and very professional to promote the other bloggers in the most accessible way possible.  PLEASE CONSIDER CHANGING YOUR ENTRY FORMS GUYS!!! 

So… what have YOU been up to lately?!  

5 Effective Tips to Find a Job When You’re Unemployed

This post is geared more towards those who are unemployed. Why? Because you probably have more time on your hands than anyone else that’s working so you have NO EXCUSE to not be super productive during every waking moment.  Seriously! Get off your bum (after you read this post of course) and get moving!

Here are 5 effective tips to find a job and if you follow these and are intensely serious about it, you will see results in no time. 

1. Have a Quality Resume

Make sure you are prepared to send out your resume by creating one and always keeping it updated.

Some things to remember when creating a resume are:

*Keep it simple yet informative. 

*Don’t include anything that’s considered fluff. 

*Make sure you describe your previous employment enough to show the skills/capabilities you have.

*Include your contact info, degrees/certifications, and references. 

*Always get 3 good references and let them know ahead of time that you are including them on your resume.

*Keep your resume to 2-3 pages if possible (not including the references). 

*No fancy paper or colorful card stock.   BE PROFESSIONAL.

*Ask friends to review your resume to see what else you could add or remove.

Oh, and if you DON’T have a resume… then get your ass in gear right now and start googling resume templates!

2. Apply Everywhere

Every day you spend not working you should apply to at least 5 new places.  Personally, I think that's really low balling it, and I would shoot for 10 places.  You need to survive in this world and put food in your stomach and money in your bank account, so start SURVIVING!  

  Places to look for job openings include:

*Craigslist

*Monster

*Classifieds

*Grocery Store bulletin boards

*Temp Agencies (They can eventually help you secure full time positions)

*Drive around town and look at the different business options, walk in, and ask if they are hiring

*Post on social media to your friends and ask if they know anywhere that’s hiring

*Search hash tags on Twitter and Facebook like “#DallasJobs”

*Search on Google for things like “Companies hiring in Harrisburg, PA”

*Start going through the phone book under the category of businesses you would like to work in

3. Make Seeking Employment Your Daily Routine

When you wake up, start looking at all of the above options for any new listing and posts.  DO NOT sit in front of the TV, be productive!   Make a check list of all the places above and then each day put a check next to it after you’ve looked for any new openings or posts. 

4.  Stop Being Lazy

The other day I watched a younger boy ride his bike in the frigid cold to get to McDonald’s.   What’s your excuse?   Not only does he do what he has to in order to get to work, but he works at a place that some people consider less desirable.

You are not above any job out there…. Everyone starts somewhere.  I watched a video of Ashton Kutcher accepting an award last year and he explained how he worked at a restaurant cleaning floors, as well as some other undesirable laborious tasks.  And you know what he said after that?   That he was NEVER better than any job he had and looked at every job as a stepping stone for the next. 

And that my friend is how you get far in life.  If you want to start your own company you have to start somewhere and work a job for someone else.  No one gets to climb to the top without starting at the bottom.   You will never find me quitting my day job to do blogging full time until blogging guarantees me an income equal to what I make now, and provides benefits.  Seriously, because my lifestyle can not afford anything less than that.   I’m being realistic too!

 If you need money and have been unemployed for weeks, get off your ass and apply for part times jobs, and secure two of them so you can make a full time job income.  And then in your free time you can keep seeking out full time employment.   And if you think “no I’m not going to do that” then give me one good reason why you shouldn’t.   Because you won’t have any free time outside of two part time jobs?   SO WHAT?!   That’s laziness.    WORK WORK WORK and make money and SURVIVE.   Find two part time jobs that have a schedule that can work with your life.    

5.  NO EXCUSES

There is no reason to stop looking just because you’ve applied at 50 places or even 100.   The thing with that is, if you sit back and wait… the chance of you getting hired goes down.  After a week, most of those 50-100 places probably either found someone to hire, or you weren’t qualified.   Keep going keep going keep going keep going keep going.   The 5 minutes you just spent reading this blog post were almost a waste… so now go make up for it by applying for jobs!        GOOD LUCK AND THINK POSITIVE!!

Don’t get discouraged either. Sometimes one opportunity doesn’t work out just so that down the road another one will!  

 PS - here are some interview outfit ideas and tips to nail it!

5 Ways to a Better Work Day

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It’s not hard to fall into a rut during the work week, and along with that can come a negative outlook on life and a crappy attitude. So here are 5 tips to a better work day!

photo by Morris Brum	via PhotoRee

1. Laugh
Whether it’s a silly text from a friend, or a sarcastic one liner that you share with your best “coworker-friend”, sarcasm and laughter is great and can get you through the day!! It actually releases a happy chemical in your brain so you physically will have some mental attitude improvement!



2. Take a break
Get up and go outside for 5 minutes, take a walk around your building or up and down the stairwell. Check your email from your phone or your Facebook feed. Or take 5 minutes to read a book you have.

3. Be grateful
Next time you start to complain that you have to be at work or that you don’t like your job…think of this… It COULD be worse..you could be jobless and not have a way to put food on the table at home. Be grateful and thankful. Plain and simple!



4. Plan your evening


Making a list of things you want to do tonight, whether they are fun or just regular to do tasks, can give you something to look forward to and focus on besides how much you don’t want to be at work currently. Sometimes it can even make you say “Eh, I’d rather be at work”.



5. Surround yourself and your desk with pictures of things that make you happy.
 Whether it’s your significant other, or your children and pets, when you glance at them, you will smile and feel better instantly. Plus it reminds you what you are working to take care of. I have photos of my family and my dogs all over my cubicle at work! It definitely works!!

3 Outfit Ideas for Job Interviews

I get asked a lot what should be worn to a job interview so I put together 3 looks.  And the best part is, they are ALL well under $100!



1. A Suit with a Statement Color

Job Interview Look - Suit by ellenr886 featuring platform heels

You don't have to blend in with all the rest in a suit.  Simply add a unique color that will pop, like red and wear it under your blazer and bring a red bag.  Big red bags scream "I want this job!".



2. A Modest Skirt

Job Interview Look - Long Skirt by ellenr886 featuring high heel boots

As long as your shirt is the right length and you wear tights that will cover your legs, you can really pull this look off and still look totally professional.


3. A Dress

A dress in a beautiful color can go a long way!

Job Interview Look - Dress by ellenr886 featuring high heel booties

And good luck on your interview!