Editorial Resolutions

By: Editing Working Girl

It has been one heck of a year - both personally and career-wise - and if 2010 treated me this well, I can't wait for 2011.

This year I not only got a new full-time job, I was also able to kick butt in the freelancing world (by entering it). All of this change and success I have found has me ready to keep it all going full force in 2011, and with that, comes some resolutions.

Embrace the unknown - This year I was given more than one writing assignment that I wasn't too sure of, whether it be a topic I didn't know much about or needing to learn a new blogging software or even learning new style guides. That being said, I managed to pull it off in the end and have learned so much more than I would have imagined (especially at the software company I work for). Successfully writing about a new or foreign topic gives me a huge confidence boost. I want that all year long in 2011 - and just think of all the new things I will learn!

Focus on social media, really focus - At my full-time job I am in charge of social media and blogging initiatives and I want to kick it up next year! We have been working on a lot of brainstorming on ways to maximize our social media efforts to reach customers and I am ready to implement them all in the New Year!

Decorate my office - One of my tasks in 2011 will be to transform my office into a cozy place I am excited to go to everyday (though I love coming to work, my office is a bit lacking in color and playfulness). I want pictures! Posters! Frills and pink everywhere!

Blog, more - In 2010 my personal blogging kind of went kaput and took the back burner to all of my freelance writing and contributing. Not only am I ready to start my blog back up - I am currently applying for even more contributing!

Most importantly:

Don't think of work as a job - I've been inspired by workisnotajob. I hope you get inspired too.

What are your Working Girl Resolutions? Did you keep your 2010 resolutions - and are there any that will carry over to 2011?

2011: The Year of Change

by Social Media Working Girl

Just as Lawyer Working Girl posted about her New Year's resolutions here, I'd like to take the opportunity this week to share some of my wishes for 2011.

To be completely honest, I hope 2011 includes a lot of change for me--both personally and professionally.

Let's dive right in and start with the personal stuff.

I'm currently in a long-distance relationship. While my man is only a 3-hour drive away, this can certainly get in the way of living the life we want to live. A lot of our free time is spent driving to see one another or cramming a thousand things into a short period of time. I'm praying that something changes here... and soon.

Of course as a working girl who has a career, I have a few prerequisites that must be fulfilled in order for that long distance to shorten (aka, one of us moves to be with the other). Note: My man is currently in graduate school for the next 3+ years and thus, he won't be the one moving.

Which brings me to the next bit--professional change.

While I have been "mostly" happy with my current job, I would love the chance to further my horizons, explore my skills, challenge myself, have more opportunities for growth and learning, and most importantly--love what I do day in and day out.

Several years ago when I began this job I was ecstatic. I saw room for upward growth and the potential to truly challenge myself professionally was easy to see. But lately things have been, well, stagnant (to say the least) and--probably like most of you out there--I'm overworked, underpaid and completely undervalued.

All of this coupled with the fact that the love of my life lives 150+ miles away makes my life as a 20-something working girl pretty unhappy. So what do I hope for in 2011? Lots (and lots) of exciting new changes.

Fingers crossed.

What are some of your hopes, wishes, dreams and goals for the New Year?

New Year, New Me?

by Lawyer Working Girl

I don't normally do New Year's Resolutions. I mean, let's be real. I figure that if I wasn't doing something on December 31, the calendar now saying January 1 isn't going to make me start doing it. You know what I mean? But I completely understand why people do them. It's not only a new day, but it's a new year! It's a fresh start! It's a great starting place to make necessary changes in your life. I just believe that you have to come to the conclusion within yourself that it's time to make those changes and not just say you're going to do it because it's January 1.

Well, with all of that being said, I know that there are some things that I need to commit myself to doing, so I'm starting now mentally preparing myself so that hopefully but January 1, I will be ready to implement these changes. So I guess, what I'm really saying is that I am doing some New Year's Resolutions this year. Go figure.

So, what are my resolutions? I will spare you any personal resolutions and go straight to career resolutions (after all, this is the Working Girl blog).

First, I plan to utilize my evenings and weekends a lot better so that I can work on my passion projects. In a previous post I shared with you all that I also blog outside of Working Girl and I am engaged in other social media. Blogging and social media have given me an outlet to pursue my passions. I don't intend to be somebody's employee for the rest of my life, so I need to dedicate myself to working on my passions so I can build my own empire (insert evil laughter...ha. Just kidding.) How am I going to do this? Well, if I want it to one day be my full-time job, then I must treat it like it is a job. I must set aside "work" hours in the evening and on weekends, specifically setting aside 1 hour each evening and 3 hours each day of the weekend where I focus on my passions. That means, shutting off the TV, putting down and phone, and carrying my laptop to my desk to work (not that kind of working, mostly watching TV stuff I do now).

The second one involves the bread and butter job. You know. The one keeping the lights on and a roof over my head. We have specific targets and goals given by the boss that we should aim for each year, but I want to set my own personal goals. This upcoming year I want to...(silence). Hmm. Well. I'm kind of at a loss for a resolution related to my job. There are some things that I want to do, but they aren't really resolutions (and I don't want to share those prematurely, but hopefully, I will be able to share them with you soon!). Honestly, I can't really think of any resolutions. There are things that I should probably do like cut down on personal stuff/Internet usage during work hours, but that's a HARD one to stick to. Ok, ok. I know. Resolutions aren't supposed to be easy. If they were, we'd already be doing them, right? Ok. That will be my resolution, and hopefully, I will truly stick to it.

I guess that's about it career-wise. Anything else I want to do is more personal, but I must say, that if I can do the personal things, I'm quite sure that I will be a better person in general, which will carry over into my work life.

Working Girls, do you do New Year's Resolutions, and if so, what are they?

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa to all you Working Girls and safe travels during the holidays!