Thanksgiving potluck

Yesterday, the kindergarten class at my daughter's school held a Thanksgiving-style potluck. The parents and grandparents signed up to make various dishes, even a turkey. I tried my hand at my mother-in-law's sausage stuffing recipe, as well as an apple and walnut version.

Sharing a meal is an excellent way to catch up with classmates of your child, and other parents, guardians, and teachers. It was also quite a reminder how much work it is to feed dozens of 3, 4, 5, and 6 year olds! I don't think the adults ate a bite until 30 minutes in, after countless trips for juice boxes, napkins, seconds, and dessert.

Thanksgiving is an awesome reminder to appreciate the people in our lives who make us feel welcome and happy. I am so very blessed.

More Inbox help

Battling the deluge of emails that one receives daily poses an extreme challenge for most people. As if work email wasn't enough, marketers are constantly spamming the masses at their private email addresses. My husband's marketing email got so frequent that he ended up setting up a new address just for that category of correspondence, complete with "junk" in the name.

I've embraced a slightly different email management tactic that's working well for me. I wanted to share two tips to manage your mail: the coupon label and Unroll.Me.

It's easy to filter the marketing messages I want to receive, like CVS 20% off coupons and offers from Loft and The Vintage Pearl, into a folder that I can check on my own terms. When the offending email enters my Gmail inbox, I set up a filter.

Then I redirect this message into a folder (I know, Gmail calls it a label, it's a glorified folder).

Now I can search or check my coupons on my own terms without them landing in my inbox.

Another cool email management system is Unroll.Me. This tool scans your inbox for mailings that you might want to read (for instance, newsletters from The Brookline Booksmith, Goodreads, or Bella Luna) but not want to read every day. You can also include LinkedIn and Facebook notifications. You'll get a digest of all of this content once a day, which you can also check any time at Unroll.Me.

Did any of this tips get you to the elusive Inbox 0? Let me know in the comments!

How to survive and thrive through the quarterlife crisis

A week ago today, I gave a presentation about work/life balance at my company. It's my version of a TED talk, though it ran a bit longer than your average TED talk and surely won't get as many views. I positioned the talk as the quarterlife crisis, because I felt it was critical to establish with my audience my past history of having my work-life balance out of whack.

I am so relieved that the talk went flawlessly! Even the interactive polls and the WebEx behaved. The best part was that after, dozens of coworkers took the time to thank, congratulate, and tell me how my tips would help them to integrate their life into their work.

Please feel free to check out my presentation.

This is my slide deck.

Here's a list of tips for reducing stress throughout your workday.

And, finally, here's to a better work-life balance for all!

Google Voice explained

One of my previous employers offered an excellent perk, a phone and data plan. While I often used the smartphone for business, I decided to also have the phone double as my personal phone. I did not make this decision lightly, but keeping track of 2 phones, 2 chargers, 2 calendars, etc. convinced me to integrate my work and personal identities, so to speak.

Unfortunately, I made a rookie mistake that I hope I can help you avoid. I transferred my personal mobile phone number to this company. Luckily, my SVP at the time generously signed the paperwork to transfer it back to my personal use when I left the company. However, if I had known about Google Voice, I could have avoided this.

For just $20, you can transfer your personal phone number to Google Voice. This service allows, among many other features, call forwarding. I recommend getting a new mobile number through your employer's phone plan and letting Google Voice call that number. This way, you don't have to re-circulate a new phone number. It also allows you to differentiate between personal and work calls.

You can send unlimited text messages via email or the Google Voice web site and make free calls via Gmail to any North American number. There is even a setting that allows you to send calls to your number to an office phone during weekdays and a mobile or home phone during other time windows.

A tangent on switching employers. "But I love my company, so I don't need to worry about the mobile number release," you might say. You may love your employer, but turnover is so common that you should be protected, even if a future move is unlikely. What if your spouse gets a job across the country, for instance? Also, Forbes ran an article recently showing that salaries tend to remain stagnant if you stay at the same company. I have not found this to be the case universally, but it's important to know the research and your market value. Make sure to check out my post on compensation equity.

Happy birthday to Margaret Atwood

Happy, happy birthday to my all-time favorite author Margaret Atwood! This lovely, talented, intelligent author is turning 75 years old today.

I had the pleasure of meeting Margaret this spring. I blogged all about it back in May.

Goodreads, my favorite online literature reviewer, recently interviewed Margaret about her illustrious career and the plans for a TV series based on her work. She also did a cool project where she wrote an essay to the future that will be opened in 100 years.

If you're new to Margaret Atwood, might I highly recommend 2 of her books that are my personal favorites? The Handmaid's Tale is her most famous, classic novel. I also suggest The Robber Bride, which coincidentally has a character named Charis, though she pronounces it differently than I do. Her latest is Stone Mattress, a collection of short stories that I currently have on hold from the Boston Public Library.

On the recent developments in compensation equity for women

Last month, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke at the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) of Women in Computing. I didn't see it live, because my plans to attend the conference were thwarted by a company-wide travel ban. But since the GHC conference completely changed my career aspirations when I attended in 2010, I follow it annually whether I'm there in person or not. GHC has an amazing wiki that offers all sorts of amazing resources, from PowerPoint presentations to session notes. You can follow the whole thing on Twitter and it's the next best thing to being there. #ghcmanwatch was was an exciting hashtag to follow this year, complete with a male ally buzzword bingo game.

At the GHC 2014 conference, Nadella commented that women should trust the system, and karma, regarding compensation. Here is a recap of the controversy. He eventually backtracked on his comments and apologized. Compensation equity for women is a complex, tricky, taboo, subject, and it's easy to get oneself in hot water when discussing it. Personally, I applaud Nadella for showing up to GHC, and also for his later comments recognizing the bias inherent in his original statements. While #ghcmanwatch was entertaining, I yearn for a time when we can transcend the counterproductive shaming and name calling. The fact is that women absolutely need male allies if we are going to shatter the glass ceiling.

So where does this leave the cause of pay equity for women? I think each woman owes it to herself to educate herself on effective negotiating behaviors and be her own advocate.

One place to start is the book Women Don't Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiation and Positive Strategies for Change.

Conveniently, my colleague Pat Katepoo is giving away three copies of this book. To enter, all you need to do is like her on Facebook, comment on the giveaway post, and take a brief survey (2 minutes, tops) to share your feelings about asking for a raise and contribute to research in how to address the gender pay gap.

Do it now; it only takes 5 minutes to complete all 3, and the giveaway ends November 20.

If you're serious about understanding and getting your market value as an employee, you owe it to yourself to find out more about Pat's Pay Raise Prep School for Women.

P.S.: When you are looking for ways to improve your satisfaction at work, visit Pat's WorkOptions.com site. She offers strategies for getting approval for telecommuting, job sharing, flexible workweeks, and longer maternity leaves, and other flexible work arrangements, that are effective in even the most rigid workplace.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, visit my disclosure policy. 

Sunday is for

Sunday is for sleeping in.

Sunday is for easing into your day.

Sunday is for getting ready slowly, unhurried. No rush.

Sunday is for yoga.

Sunday is for brunch.

Sunday is for making plans.

Sunday is for catching up.

Sunday is for naps.

Sunday is for resting, relaxing.

Sunday is for rehearsing.

Sunday is for football.

Sunday is for feeling grateful.

Sunday is for repose.