I haven't written in a while. Between raising a 1 year old, taking care of the house, and managing my own free time and sanity, I somehow found a mental space to ask myself: "If I were, in this one year away from work, to do something else, something that truly defines me, what would it be?" After ...
My Happy List
I got some bad news yesterday. Not the "totally bad, no good, terrible" kind of news, but the kind that makes you fret and worry and build scenarios in your mind. After falling into the worry-meets-anxiety-meets-panic-then-depression kind of mode, I realized I was in a downward spiral which felt so familiar and welcoming, but into the ...
Minimalist packing
I try to never check my bag, unless it's a long vacation (2 weeks or similar) and/or I plan to carry back 3 bottles of local alcohol produce, which is the case for most of my travels in foreign locations. Anyways. I may not be the minimalist traveler as Leo of ZenHabits, but I gathered a ...
Career Planning for Young Graduates
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/04/unemployment-not-kids-problem I recently took up two mentees from a student organization, and part of the Get To Know Each Other phase, we talked a lot about what they know and what they would like to know, about the "outside world", the corporate environment. We're talking about a reputed, large, well structured and well organized student ...
How To Get Quality Feedback After Your Job Interview
I'm excited to host another guest post! This is a post from Richard Munn of www.how2become.com, a UK website specializing in tips for individuals targeting public sector careers. Thank you Richard for writing this article for LifeToolkit.net! As a former recruiter and of course also as a candidate, I can relate to the experience of going to ...
3 things I want to do this Holiday season
Hello my dears and Happy Holidays! As I write this, my mother is in the kitchen preparing the turkey for the Christmas dinner, there's carols on the radio and around town there are some people carrying bags with supplies to cook later today. It's easy to get stressed or anxious about the Christmas cookies, burning the special ...
Erin Condren Life Planner – Review after 3 months!
I recently bought an Erin Condren Life Planner, after - of course! - a lot of thinking and analyzing options (find the process and the other options here). After I've been asked to write a review, here's how the colourful little planner helped me so far: 1. It's pricey, but it stands out. Not your average business planner, ...
My brand new Life Planner!
I don't know about you, but I feel this first half of 2012 has been pretty hectic. I've had numerous new projects, long term priorities, meetings with long lost friends, catching up on older acquaintances, and on top, lots of hard work, at work. It's been getting hard to juggle all of these, and I knew ...
10 Questions to raise Engagement (GROW model)
Whether you're a manager talking to a direct report who has a problem, or a friend helping out someone who doesn't know what to do next... there's a simple flow of questions that can help bring focus and call to action. Coaches talk a lot about the GROW model, perhaps the most known - and simple! - ...
Career Coaching for Millennials – and a Career Planning Tool
(picture from www.personalbrandingblog.com) I've been asked to deliver 3 Career workshops in less than 3 months, and while I love doing that, I can't help but thinking what might be the increasing need behind. Is it a trend? According to many studies, Millennials (or Generation Y) are the spoiled and undecided generation. Sure, they have strengths, such ...
5 questions for 2012′s New Year Resolutions
I wished for a quiet year in 2011 - a year with my family, friends, new home, and work. I wished for no big changes, no surprises, and good sleep. I got all minus the last one. But I compensated by learning to cook and experimenting in my new kitchen. Now in 2012 I have almost ...
Control vs Freedom – A Power Tool
This is a post inspired by my Power Tool submission for my coaching training. A Power Tool is an antagonism (two opposite concepts) that a client can use to his benefit in one extreme or the other. I chose to write about Control. Control vs Freedom We live in an era of multitasking, and we find ourselves ...
How to quiet your brain
Does this look familiar to you? You wake up. You stumble to the batroom, brush your teeth, get dressed, gulp down some coffee, head to work, answer emails, answer phone calls, answer questions, sit down in meetings while thinking about the shopping list for the evening, drive home, clean up, cook, eat, wash, go to bed. ...
10 Common Sense Lessons from the Corporate world
I've recently started recognizing people (outside work environment) who work in multinationals. They have a certain way of behaving and, of course, personal idiosyncrasies (or as we say it in Romanian, "pitici", or "stoluri"). On the other hand, there are some valuable lessons I've learned, some not yet mastered, while working almost 6 years for corporations. ...
How to plan a great road trip
So summer's already here, degrees in the air are buzzing and rising every day, we find ourselves more drawn to the terraces and late night beers or cocktails. And we plan vacations. Did you already set yours? I'm a fan of road trips, since I discovered that it's the perfect way to combine spontaneity with seeing the ...
