Asking For a Friend | Chapter 70
Advice from Babe to Babe
Congrats babes, you made it: one week into the fresh start of a new decade. We trust all your resolutions are going strong (don’t worry, we won’t ask you a month from now) and your 2020 outlook is bright. To carry you into your second week, the gurus have answers for three timely questions about some new habits for the new year.
I would definitely set some aside as "emergency" PTO days. For instance, dedicate 12 of those days to vacation or something fun, and save three in case of illness (or a particularly nasty hangover). I personally like to spread my time off throughout the year to help prevent burnout.
Unless I have a big trip planned that will require a big chunk of my PTO being used at one time, I try to vary how much of it I use in a single go. I live in Seattle, so a lot of my planning revolves around the weather—two days in February for a long weekend somewhere sunny (I’m heading to Los Angeles this year!), two days to use on Fridays in July or August when it’s hot out and I want to be in my canoe instead of at my desk, and three or four days for a fall trip.
I also try to squirrel away some “just-in-case” time. I was glad I did last year when I found inexpensive last-minute tickets to visit my family in England over Thanksgiving! The five days of PTO I had left allowed me to have a brief, but just-long-enough trip home.
How to invest depends primarily on what your investment goals are. Are you looking for short-term, long-term, low- or high-risk options? Having your money invested through your bank or credit union offers more protection than the stock market with options like IRA and CD accounts. These are good if you want to park your money for years (or even decades) and let it accrue interest. There's also penalty fees to dissuade you from pulling the money before it's reached maturity—built-in accountability! You can buy old-fashioned (but reliable) treasury bonds from the government, also ideal for long-term, lifetime investments, but with no fee if you have to cash it in before you'd planned.
If you'd like to try your hand at stock market investing, there are apps like Stash and Acorns that break it down in laymen's terms and allow you to start small with your investment (as little as $5). I like Stash myself because I have more control over which companies my money is invested with, versus Acorns which chooses for you. Not sure which to choose? The best thing for any investment portfolio is diversity. If you can, I would try a combination of any of these, like a CD and a treasury bond, or an IRA and a Stash account.
There are so many wonderful ways to invest your Christmas bonus, but don’t forget to invest in yourself! Sure, you could go out and spend on a new pair of shoes or pay off that credit card bill, but set some aside to invest in your future. That could be starting a website for yourself or a new set of headshots, or even signing up with something like MasterClass to broaden your skills. But don’t neglect what earned you that bonus—your kickass self!
Anything that will get you closer to the next phase of your career is worth striving for. Whatever you decide on, when it comes to resolutions—personal or professional—there are two key rules. First, set SMART goals (there are a few variations, but basically this means specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely). Second, you gotta talk about 'em! Tell your boss you have set a goal to pass a certain exam relevant to your field by December, to bring in a certain number of new clients by July, or to present at a conference. Talking about a goal not only shows your boss you are interested in growing, but it increases visibility which keeps the fire under you to actually work on it. Plus, in the case of your supervisor, it opens up the opportunity for them to help you achieve it, whether that is providing resources like study materials or some time off to study or go to a training, removing roadblocks for your customer attrition, or connecting you with people who can get you in the right rooms.
Two easy ones I'd suggest are: setting a timer to get up and walk every hour (or half hour) and having a reusable water bottle at your desk, making 10 glasses of water a day your drinking goal. A more challenging resolution would be to try to change any negative behavior you have at work. Reading Brené Brown’s book “Dare to Lead” last year helped me a ton to realize the ways I wasn't performing my best at work. It felt a little culty, but I even printed out all Brené’s sayings (like: “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.”) and lists (this one is my favorite) and put them up around my desk. Her words made such a difference in my work life that even my bosses noticed and told me they were impressed with the changes I was making.
My rule of thumb for any type of resolution is to choose one that's attainable. I may not have the tidiest desk, but I can resolve to clean it up once a week for example. We spend such a big chunk of our lives at work, I like to pursue goals that make my time there as pleasant as possible. Goals like keeping my space organized or tackling emails in a timely manner help me feel like I have my work life together. This in turn can lead to better productivity and reduce burnout.
Until Next Week,
—The BWH Advice Gurus
Asking for a Friend is Babes Who Hustle's weekly advice column that asks and answers the work-related questions on all of our minds.
Looking for advice and guidance? Hit us with all of your workplace-related questions below and stay tuned for next Wednesday's edition!