Jan Nevins, The Organization Guru

organizing your home, work & personal life, coaching & contributing to personal & professional development
Home
BLOG - What do YOU think?
About Jan
Contact Jan
Site Map
Interesting Stuff
BLOG --- Give YOUR Opinion!!  Add This
 
February 24

She's an angel ...
You all know I never do this, but here's a post about family.  Yesterday I was honored to witness the birth of my little great-neice (Or is it grand neice?)  Nola is the new daughter of my neice, Audra, and she is just the most beautiful baby ever!!  She's perfect and she and mom are doing great!
 
Here's NOLA!!   's


1:11 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

February 22

DO OTHERS KNOW WHO YOU ARE? DO YOU?

49 Personal Branding Questions to Ask Yourself

Here is a fun exercise you can do to really drive home how important it is to create your personal brand. Ask yourself the following 49 questions and really think about the answers. Try writing down the top 5 or 10 areas that you will commit to improve when you find weaknesses. Also, make sure to give yourself a pat on the back for the areas where you are doing well in too!

Let’s get to it.

49 Personal Branding Questions to Ask Yourself:

  1. What makes you indispensable?
  2. What ways do you provide value?
  3. How are you differentiated?
  4. Do you lead or follow the crowd?
  5. What does status quo mean to you?
  6. Why are you the best?
  7. Why should anybody listen to you?
  8. Do you like to try new things?
  9. When was the last time you read a book?
  10. How do you communicate your value?
  11. What are the trends shaping the new economy?
  12. How can you position yourself for these trends?
  13. What do you find when you Google yourself (ego search)?
  14. What are your goals? Stretch goals?
  15. What is your written plan to reach them?
  16. Have you taken action yet?
  17. What kind of company do you work for? Visionary or Dinosaur?
  18. Do you Google, Bing, or Yahoo?
  19. How many substantive virtual connections do you have?
  20. Are you networking with influencers?
  21. Do you follow at least 20 blogs in your field?
  22. Are you commenting on blogs a few times a week?
  23. When was the last time you wrote something someone disagreed with?
  24. What are the big ideas in your head? Do you have any?
  25. Do you have a fire in your belly?
  26. If not, how can you light a fire in your belly?
  27. Do you enjoy your job?
  28. Are you going through the motions?
  29. Can you name 5 social networks and how they work?
  30. What new things are you learning?
  31. Do you think?
  32. What is your personal brand?
  33. Are you monitoring the Web with alerts?
  34. How are you promoting your personal brand?
  35. Do you have a personal brand?
  36. Where do you want to be 1, 5, 10 ,etc years from today?
  37. When was the last time you failed?
  38. When was the last time you tried something new?
  39. When you don’t know the answer to something do you Google it?
  40. Do you believe in creating your circumstances?
  41. What successful people do you admire and model?
  42. What do you bring to the world that is truly yours?
  43. Do you rank first for your name in Google?
  44. Do you have a blog?
  45. Can you create a blog?
  46. Can you write an eBook on something you are knowledgeable about?
  47. Have you asked to be a guest author on a prominent blog?
  48. Have you been told no in the last month? If not you are not taking enough chances.
  49. How long until you take action?

Now it is your turn.

Let’s make this really fun and all post an answer to your favorite question in the comments. What do you say? Let it fly!

Author:

Chad Levitt is the author of the New Sales Economy blog, which focuses on how Sales 2.0 & Social Media can help you connect, create more opportunities and increase your business. Chad is also the featured Sales 2.0 blogger at SalesGravy.com, the number one web portal for sales pros, the professional athletes of the business world. Make sure to connect with him on Twitter @chadalevitt.

Reprinted with permission from author on LinkedIn.



6:29 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

February 13

Goodbye, Jingle
My great old cat, Jingle, died yesterday at the ripe old age of 17!!  I was holding him in my lap and he went peacefully.  I adopted him and his sister, Bell, when I lived in Marina del Rey about Christmas of 1992.  Little Bell died about 5 years ago.  Jingle moved with me from California back to Houston, then here to DFW last year.  It's really hard for me to believe he is gone.  It's totally amazing to think our pets are with us so long and are really an important part of the family.  I loved him much and he loved me back.
 
Goodbye, JINGLE
 



5:03 PM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

January 10

MANNERS -- 25 Quick Tips for Dinner and more...
LifeScript: Women's health, fashion & entertainment
Tipping, Talking and Tableware – 25 Etiquette Tips
By Emily Battaglia, LifeScript Staff Writer
Published December 08, 2007
In the “olden days,” using proper etiquette in everyday life and special occasions seemed like more of a social must than a matter of personal choice. But oh, how times have changed. However, just as chivalry isn’t dead, proper etiquette isn’t either. If you’re already employing these etiquette tips in your life, congratulations – Miss Manners would be proud. if you’re slacking on your socially savvy abilities, a little refresher course never hurt anyone. Plus: Rate your manners...
 
Parties and Gifts
1. Always RSVP to a party in a timely fashion, even if you won’t be attending.

Holding off on a response makes the host feel like you’re waiting for a better offer to come along.

2. Don’t ask the host of a party for a tour of their house unless it’s a housewarming. Let them offer one if they want to.

3. If a wedding invitation specifies you and a guest, don’t call to ask if you can bring your children, too.

4. You can bring a gift for the hostess, but just make sure that it isn’t something that would preoccupy them before or during the party.

If an invitation says no gifts, don’t bring them, or else you might embarrass other gift-less guests.

5. If you've been invited to a wedding but can’t go, you should still send a wedding gift.

6. Don’t ask for cash gifts as wedding gifts. Rely on word of mouth instead.
7. Thank you notes are a must after receiving a gift. Make sure the thank you note gets to the person within two weeks of receiving the gift.

However, an exception might be wedding gifts, since you might be busy honeymooning.

Dining
8. After sitting down at the table and waiting for everyone else to sit down, unfold your napkin and place it in your lap.

If you briefly leave the table, place it on the chair, and when you’re done, place it on the left side of the plate.
 
9. To choose the right silverware at a gourmet meal, always work from the outside in (your appetizer utensils like spoon soup and salad fork are on the end).
 
Tipping
10. Server at a restaurant: 15-20% of your bill, or less or more, (more if the party is especially large) depending on the service.

If you received free food or a discount, tip the amount as if you paid full price.

Only tip the host if you received special service.

11. Bar: 10-20%.

12. Valet and pizza delivery: $1-2.
13. Salon services (hair, nails, massage): 10-20% per service, or depending on the quality.

14. Hotel maid: $1-2 per day of service.

15. Hotel bellhop: $1-2 per piece of luggage they haul.
 
Phone
16. In most places other than your home, it’s rude to talk on your cell phone when the call is not significantly important, such as chatting about the weather or personal information.

If you must talk on your cell phone, use a quiet voice.

Don’t forget to turn your cell phone off in performance venues and in hospitals.

And please don’t drive and talk.

17. For a business phone call, if you must put a person on hold, make sure to check back with them every minute or so, so that they know they haven’t been forgotten.
 
18. State your name before requesting to speak to someone and offer to leave a message if the person requested is unavailable.
 
19. Make sure a caller knows if you have placed them on speakerphone or a three-way call.
Miscellaneous
20. When walking down the street, or up or down stairs, always stay to the right.
 
21. Keep any food, drinks, briefcases or paperwork in your left hand so your right hand is free for handshakes.
 
22. Always address an elder or higher-up professional with their last name until they specify otherwise.

23. It’s OK to take the last piece of pie, but ask everyone around first if they want it.

24. Don’t brush your hair in any place other than the bathroom or in private.
 
25. Always say “please” and “thank you” and always acknowledge someone else in the room.
 
Check out our tips for Workplace Etiquette and Gym Etiquette.

Don’t forget that proper etiquette never goes out of style!
 
Do You Have Good Manners?
In an age where it seems like the only time we see good manners on display is in the 19th century period piece movies, how do you reign on Miss Manner's meter? Find out if you need to go back to etiquette school or if you have already graduated at the top of your class. Take this manners quiz.


5:30 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)

January 09

FREEBIES TO KEEP YOUR GOALS
Most of you know that I LOVE Kim Komando, so this article is attributed by her in her newsletter today.  (If you don't subscribe to her newsletter, go to www.komando.com to sign up for FREE newsletter.  If you read her tip of the day, you can stay very current on everything technological!)  So here's how to make, track and KEEP your goals:


1/9/2010

We all have goals. But setting them and reaching them are different things. It’s easy to get sidetracked.

Staying focused is key. We could all use a little help. So, here are programs to help you organize your goals. And they’ll help you track your progress.

Evernote – This program lets you capture thoughts for later reference. Jot down quick notes, take photos and record audio. It works on computers and smartphones. So, it can be with you all day.

Watching your weight? Write down what you eat. Trying to control your spending? Photograph your receipts throughout the day. Study the notes and photos later. Find areas where you could improve.

habitforge – Many goals involve forming good habits and breaking bad ones. It could be exercising more, eating healthy or quitting smoking. According to this site, habits are formed or broken in 21 days.

Submit your goals involving daily habits. habitforge will e-mail you every morning. It will ask if you succeeded the previous day. If so, you’re one day closer to a real habit. If not, the timer resets and you’re back to day one.

Joe’s Goals – Staying on top of your goals is key. Breaking large goals into smaller tasks also helps. A promotion is a big goal. Small, daily improvements will help get you there.

Enter tasks and things you want to avoid doing. These are entered on a calendar. Check them off each day you complete them. You’ll know exactly where you’re successful or lacking. Seeing that is a motivation.

Cost: Free

System: Windows XP, Vista and 7, Mac OS X



5:49 AM GMT  |  Read comments(0)