Defining and Achieving Success

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope you’ve had a good week and are ready for the weekend. I’m happy that this weekend I’ll be able to visit with a friend and relax a bit. I can hardly believe we are into August already. Where did July go? So for this Friday, I thought I’d share a round-up of articles on reaching your goals that may get you thinking over this weekend. I think that weekends are good times for planning goals and working towards achieving them. But first, of course, you have to define success for yourself.

I don’t believe that you should let anyone else define success for you and that it’s okay if your version of success isn’t the same as your parents’ or your siblings’ or Wall Street’s versions. I think success is personal and how we define it is personal. Just because I consider a career as an instructional librarian and archivist a success doesn’t mean other people do. But I think it is important to sit down and reflect on what you consider a successful career and a successful life because life goes by too quickly and if we don’t go though life with purpose and with mindfulness then we will most likely not reach our goals. But after you figure out what your goals are and what success looks like to you, it’s nice to have some help getting there.

Okay, now on to some helpful tips to get you on your way to success! This is a good post on how to hack the beliefs that are holding you back. We all have some that we need to get rid of. Plus here’s another post to help you understand how our brains stop us from achieving our goals and how to fight back.

I’m totally into faking it until you become it, a la Amy Cuddy and power poses. And this post shows that if you Feel like you’re faking it? That might not be a bad thing.

So how do you define success and what steps do you take to achieve your idea of success?

Have a wonderful weekend full of fun and maybe some work towards your goals. Allons-y!

Tuesday Fun to Share

/ dwakimoto

Hello, dear readers! I hope your week is going well. Since many blogs seem to have Friday Fun posts, I thought that Tuesday should get some love as well. So today I have one useful article to share a few fun things to share as well. So get ready for statistics, reader species, and lemon waffles.

First up, a useful post on statistics by Lifehacker, 4 common statistical misconceptions you should avoid. I am of the opinion that everyone should know at least basic statistics and this post will help out a bit in that regard. I think it is especially handy for when you are reading newspaper articles that include statistics, which are oftentimes misleading.

I love this graphic, What Reader Species Are You?, by Laura E. Kelly. It is fun to read and share, as well as try to determine where you fit in the classification schema.

Finally, if you need a tasty recipe for lemons, check out Joy the Baker’s lemon ricotta waffles with poppy seeds and be happy that it’s summer. The smell of citrus always makes me think of summer holidays.

I hope you have a great week and I’ll be back on Friday with more. Allons-y!

Tech Tips for Friday

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope you had a lovely week and have a lovely weekend planned. Today I just want to share a few articles with tech tips to help you and for you to share with others.

As anyone who has read this blog for a bit knows, I’m at least slightly interested in productivity. I really liked this article from Lifehacker on 4 lies you tell yourself about productivity and how to stop them. I always enjoy articles that tell me not only what may be a problem, but also how to fix the problem. Also, pro tip, huge fan of single tasking. I get so much more done, in less time, and with less stress than when trying to multitask.

Are you a fan of the cloud? I am, especially for backup storage when I’m working on projects and since I probably work on around 4 different computers on any given day. I’m also a fan of privacy and keeping my documents private until I want to have them shared. So this article on the best cloud storage services that protect your privacy is of great use to me and I hope you, too.

Also, why do services have to continually change their user interface? I just don’t get it. So if you use Gmail, check out this post about how Gmail has new ads that look like emails; here’s how to turn them off. Take back your inbox!

Finally, for something empowering, hop on over to Ink and Vellum to read I am a Librarian. It’s just lovely.

I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day and I’ll be back next week. Allons-y!

And some days you just need some fun

/ dwakimoto

Hello, dear readers. Some days, you just really need to have some fun. So for today’s post, I just wanted to share some fun things that you can check out as a break from work today. Nothing really library or archives or technology or job related today. More of that on Friday.

I really enjoy cool artwork and maps and this Gizmodo post can you identify these movies drawn out as treasure maps combines both. Check them out and see how many you can identify.

I am hoping to get a waffle maker soon (*fingers crossed*) and am looking forward to making these lemon ricotta waffles with poppy seeds from Joy the Baker. They look scrumptious!

Also, happily there was a photo of Pickles, the Hobbiton cat, posted over at Hobbit Houses a few days ago that I thought I’d share. Because, let’s face it, I can’t resist a cat in Hobbiton.

"Pickles: The Hobbit Cat" from Hobbit Houses on Tumblr

“Pickles: The Hobbit Cat” from Hobbit Houses on Tumblr

I hope you have a wonderful day and week. Allons-y!

Negotiation

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope the week has been kind to you and you have something fun planned for the weekend. Today I just wanted to share a couple of articles that I found useful for learning about negotiation. Many people find negotiating intimidating, so sharing tips is always a good thing.

I like this Lifehacker article on how showing a little appreciation can improve your negotiations. Also from Lifehacker is a useful article on 5 tips to negotiate better.

I think my favorite book on negotiation I’ve read is Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever’s book, Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want. I found it useful, especially when it comes to negotiating for me and not on behalf of someone else, and maybe you will find it useful, too. What are your favorite tips and resources to become better at negotiating?

And, since it is Friday, we should end on something fun. How about e-reader versus octopus? I’m on Team Octopus, just saying.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend filled with lots of summer fun. I’ll be back next week with more. Allons-y!

Getting Rid of Clutter

/ dwakimoto

Happy Tuesday, dear readers! I feel that Tuesday often is an overlooked day of the week as it isn’t the dreaded Monday, nor over-the-hump day, or the much anticipated Friday. So I’m trying to post on Tuesdays, as well as Fridays, to at least mark Tuesdays here on The Waki Librarian blog. And today, I want to talk to something dear to my heart, getting rid of clutter.

I really enjoyed this post from Lifehacker on how clutter affects your brain and what you can do about it. I suggest reading it. I’ll wait if you’d like to click through and read it now. No worries.

Now being an archivist and librarian, a lot of people assume that it is hard for me to get rid of things or that I must have a hoarder mentality. Neither is true. What is true is that I like organization (not surprising given that archivists and librarians organize a lot of information) and do firmly believe that physical clutter makes it harder to be productive and creative. It also just saves time because you don’t always have to be searching for tools or resources to complete your project.

One of my favorite tips is being disciplined about not checking email at all hours of the day (definitely clears out mental headspace). I’m also a big fan of single-tasking; I get so much more done, in a shorter amount of time, than if I tried to multi-task. For physical clutter, doing a quick pick up in the evening helps keep everything put away in its proper place. Plus, I like to go through a do a bigger sort and clear out items at the change of the seasons. Also, for a fan of office supplies like I am, keeping organized and clutter-free is an excuse to get some new office supplies.

So what are your best tips for clearing out physical, digital, and mental clutter? I’d love to read them in the comments.

Have a great rest of your day and good week. I’ll be back on Friday. Allons-y!

Design and Creativity

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope you are well and have had a lovely week. We are past our week of a heatwave here in the Bay Area, which has made this week rather lovely and productive in my opinion. To get your creative juices flowing, and perhaps inspire some projects over the weekend, I wanted to share a few design and creativity articles with you. Use them at home and at work, and share them with others.

I love this chart on picking the right color for whatever you are designing based on color psychology. This is a helpful chart, especially if you’ve never given much thought to the emotions that many people associate with various colors. Perhaps a useful resource for the next time you need to create some flyers or a presentation for the library.

Also on the topic of color is this wonderful video, why color still matters. Enjoy it and share it.

I think we’ve all had times when we wish we were more creative and this article has some help in the form of nine of the best ways to boost creative thinking. I’ve used some of these techniques in the past and they’ve really helped increase my creativity, especially the tip on creating restrictions.

Finally, if you need a place to play to increase your creativity, check out this tutorial on how to build a ball pit on your balcony. This is awesome and inspired by the xckd comic, “Grownups”:

"Grownups" by xkcd

“Grownups” by xkcd

Have a wonderful rest of your day, a terrific weekend, and go out there and create something. I’ll be back soon. Allons-y!

More Travel Tips for Summer

/ dwakimoto / 1 Comment

Hello, dear readers! As it is summer (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), I thought I’d share some travel tips as we are definitely in high travel season now. Use them to make your planning and traveling experiences more enjoyable.

Gizmodo has some nice tips on how to book travel online for less. I love a good travel deal and using these tips should help you find a better deal on your travel.

Lifehacker periodically has good articles on travel tips, especially for flying. For example, it is good to know you should ask for cash instead of a voucher when you’re bumped from a flight. It is also a good idea to check out your air travel rights before your next flight.

I also think their article on travel concessions that aren’t always worth it is a good read. It will help you weigh the pros and cons of various concessions, such as red-eye flights, before you book your travel.

So some things you can’t really plan for, no matter how many tips you learn. For example, I just had an unexpected wrench thrown into my summer plans when the airline told me they no longer fly out of my home airport on the day I had planned to leave and wanted to fly me in and out of two different airports. Luckily, I did some research (like a good librarian), and had some flexibility in my schedule, so I was able to arrange to come back another day in order to fly in and out of the same airport. Plus the airline customer service people were very nice and helpful. But although you can’t plan for everything, you can learn as much as possible to help you if you ever run into some unforeseen complications on your travels.

I hope you have a wonderful time traveling this summer, if you are traveling, and a wonderful time at home, if you are doing a stay-cation. I’ll be back soon with more. Allons-y!

Tips for New Grads and Anyone Looking for a Job

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope those of you in the United States had a very happy Fourth of July yesterday. It is very quiet on my campus this morning as a lot of people took a vacation day to have a long weekend. One has to love summer for the more relaxed pace and time to breathe. Today I just want to share a few articles that I think will be useful for new grads and others looking for jobs this summer.

Even with the economy picking up, it is still a very tough job market in many fields, including libraries and archives. So I think that Lifehacker’s article on 6 of the most common resume flaws and how to fix them is rather timely. A good resume or CV is still one of the best ways to convey your experience, skills, and knowledge to potential employers. A good cover letter never hurts either. As I’ve served on multiple hiring committees, I can definitely say that a readable resume that is tailored to the position is very useful to the committee. No one wants to search through a poorly constructed resume and many won’t take the time. Lifehacker’s article also gives good advice on how to make your resume as positive as possible, which I think is always a good thing.

Although not strictly about job seeking, I think Lifehacker’s article on break the ice in any situation is useful for those going on job interviews, too. Being able to connect and talk easily with people on a job interview can be difficult, but having some ideas of good conversation starters can be helpful. I think this is especially useful for those who have all-day interviews as there will always be an awkward silence or two that you might feel the need to break during the day.

Also, for those looking for jobs (especially in the library and archives fields), don’t give up hope, do try to continue to build your skills, and do try to remain positive. Don’t be afraid to ask others in your field who have more experience than you to look over your resume and cover letter. Having an extra pair of eyes, especially someone who has hired people before, look over your application materials is very valuable. Also, always get the names of the members of the hiring committee correct. Do your homework and come prepared to interviews with questions. Practice your answers to interview questions. Do send a thank you card or thank you email after an interview. And, once you get a job, give back. Offer to read resumes, talk with people who want informational interviews with you, and share your skills and knowledge.

And, just for fun, take a look at this chart explaining the difference between a geek and a nerd. I quite enjoyed it.

Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll be back soon with more. Allons-y!

Quick Email Tips

/ dwakimoto

Happy Tuesday, dear readers! Just wanted to share some quick tips for email that have come through my feeds that are especially important to those who use Gmail.

Check out Lifehacker’s article on how to get the delete button back in the new Gmail for Android. Very important for those who like to read email (and clear inboxes) while on the go.

Also, I think this is a really great summary article by Lifehacker on Everything you need to know about Gmail’s new, super-confusing layout. Why do companies insist on changing layouts when things are working? I just don’t get it.

Also, while not strictly about email, this is a good, resource-filled article on the top 10 computer tricks every geek should know.

Finally, I got a laugh out of this article and if you are also into educational technology, you probably will, too: 33 signs you are an EdTech nerd.

Have a wonderful rest of your day. Allons-y!

p.s. Also, just a reminder that Google Reader is shutting down on July 1st, so check out Lifehacker’s best alternatives round-up article on what you need to do to make sure you can continue to read your feeds using another service.