Advice and Randomness for Friday
Happy Friday, dear readers! This quarter has been super-busy and I can hardly believe we are already in March. I think someone must be speeding up time. Anyway, I wanted to share with you some of the articles and resources that have recently come across my screen that I think may be useful to you and to those you serve at your libraries.
We’ve been talking about UX (user experience) more at my library, thank goodness, and so I thought this infographic on How to test your landing pages was especially timely. I even like that the infographic is well-designed and easy-to-use. I’m looking forward to some usability testing and UX re-design happening on our library pages hopefully in the near-ish future.
Because I seem to be constantly running up against the clock this quarter, the Lifehacker article on Simple secret to time management: Jedi time tricks was a good reminder on how to prioritize what needs to get done. Plus, who doesn’t want to be more like a Jedi?
As we are nearing graduation time (seriously, it will be here before we know it), I thought this article on advice I wish someone had given me for my first job was timely. It is also a good reminder to those of us who have been working at our organizations for a while to help those who are adjusting to org culture and to also keep on the look for burnout in ourselves.
On to some timely practical tech advice: How can I stop losing and breaking my headphones? This is a great article for everyone to read and hopefully will save you time and frustration in using your headphones.
Also, do take the time to watch this amazing TED Talk by Amy Cuddy on how your body language shapes who you are. I found her talk incredibly insightful and moving, especially at the end. And Dr. Cuddy reminds us to not fake it ’til we make it, but “fake it ’til we become it.”
For your Friday fun, check out this post on how to repurpose some old hardcover books:how-t: hardcover book lamp. Then check out this lovely video talking about Neil Gaiman’s Calendar of Tales project:
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I’ll be back soon with more. Allons-y!
Life, Work, Change, and Art
Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope your week has been lovely and you have a wonderful weekend planned. Today I just want to share some thoughts on various articles I’ve been reading, mostly having to do with work-life balance, in various forms.
I thought it was interesting that Lifehacker published these two articles very close together: why you should embrace work-life imbalance and don’t forget to live. I’d love to hear your thoughts on work-life (im)balance. I believe that we should all do work we love and have careers we enjoy because then the hours do go by more rapidly and are more fulfilling. However, I’m not for being a workaholic. I believe in working very intensely and with great focus in order to accomplish as much as possible, but not having career as the only facet of my life. Having time for friends and family, reading for pleasure (and not for research), baking, and simply being are important, too. Time might be wibbly, wobbly, but we have a finite amount and it seems like a shame not to enjoy life outside of our careers, however fulfilling and enjoyable we find them to be.
Also in the vein of work and life articles, Lifehacker published one on why you are afraid of change and what you can do about it. I think this is useful no matter where the change is occurring in your life. Life is change and it is nice to have some tips on making the most of it.
And since it’s that time of year when people in the United States are doing their taxes and cleaning up their records, I thought tips on what documents to shred and what to keep would be useful.
Finally, on to some beautiful fun. Check out the 2012 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge winners. Art in science is a truly wonderful thing to behold.
Also, I wanted to share the ongoing lettering versus calligraphy competition. Gorgeous, gorgeous lettering and calligraphy. Take a break and just enjoy how expressive lettering and writing can be.
I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend. I’ll be back soon with more. Allons-y!
Some Tips and Fun for Friday
Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope that your day is going well and that you have a wonderful weekend planned. Apparently the Super Bowl is happening on Sunday, so if you are excited about that, I hope your favorite team wins. For myself, I’m looking forward to a sunny weekend of catching up on reading and having a potluck with friends. Before we get to the weekend, I want to share a few things that have come across my digital dashboard that I think might be of interest to you and your patrons.
This quarter has been absolutely crazy busy. Between teaching, committee work, interns, and reference hours, I barely have a minute to pause during the week. It has made for very long days and less reflection time than I would normally like, but hopefully I’ll make it through the quarter without anything falling through the cracks. Therefore it is unsurprising that I found this post by Lifehacker on why you need more margin in your life particularly timely. I really do need to create more margins in my life, and I suspect that you do too, dear reader.
For those looking for ways to get ahead in the career department, I suggest taking a look at Lifehacker’s futureproof your job with a career insurance policy. Just don’t forget about building in some margins as you are building up your career.
Also, an article that would be good to share with all your colleagues, friends, and patrons: top 10 good tech habits everyone should have. I plan on sharing this with my students when we talk more about technology, security, and privacy in class.
Now, on to some fun, this Gizmodo article on 19 adorable animals using technology adorably is sure to make you smile. But if it doesn’t, perhaps you’ll have to break out some chocolate and make Joy the Baker’s chocolate and peanut butter pudding.
Finally, I leave you with this lovely photograph from Beautiful Portals Tumblr, which reminds me that I should really go get a cup of tea (and perhaps you should, too).
Teapots by Gloomtreehouse via Beautiful Portals Tumblr
I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day and a relaxing weekend, dear readers. I’ll be back soon with more musings and useful links. Allons-y!
Friday’s Post of Tips
Happy Friday, dear readers. I can’t believe how busy this quarter has been and we are only in the second week! Today’s post is the usual assortment of things I’ve read that I think are helpful as well as some fun stuff to get you ready for your weekend. So let’s get into it.
I have various friends and family members who are currently looking for work, so I thought this Lifehacker article on 10 tips for acing your next job interview was particularly timely and useful.
I am also a fan of this article on 9 strategies successful people use to overcome stress. Having a less stressful new year is something I think everyone can get behind as a resolution and I hope this article is useful for you, too.
Also, I know we are just past the holidays, but I love planning travel and thought you all might be interested in Lifehacker’s planning cheap travel guide, too. Let’s hear it for planning summer vacations!
This article was really interesting and I’m thinking of sharing it with my information literacy class: how websites vary prices based on your information and what you can do about it.
Finally, on to the fun. This video of 3D projections on a building is amazing. Watch this when you need a break and need to get inspired.
Also, in craft news, I love this One Ring Scarf over on the Make: Craft blog. It is awesome. So if you have friends that knit and love LOTR, do share this with them.
Have a wonderful weekend. I’ll be back with more next week and perhaps even some thoughts on teaching this quarter. Allons-y!
Hello, dear readers. I can hardly believe we are 8 days or so into the new year already. It is the first week of classes here at my campus so things are hopping. I just wanted to share a few fun links today and will hopefully be back later in the week with a longer post on some of the things that I’ve been thinking about over the holiday break.
First, I wanted to share this post via Stephen’s Lighthouse and BuzzFeed: 26 moments that restored our faith in humanity. Read it when you are feeling a bit down and want to feel a bit better about the world.
And, as always, I just love xkcd comics and had to share, especially after hearing on the radio how many new year’s resolutions have already been broken:
“resolution” by xkcd
Also, Lifehacker has a nice roundup of their Most Popular Long Form Features of 2012. Star it and read when you have a chance.
From Gizmodo, check out a video of a person putting out a boat fire with “sheer awesomeness” (It made both me and my partner laugh when we watched it. It really is quite awesome).
I hope that your year is going well and that you have a lovely day. (Wish me luck for my first day of class today.) And I’ll be back soon with more on libraries, archives, and various other things. Allons-y!
And I’m Back from Australia!
Hello, dear readers! I hope you are all well and are getting ready for the holidays. I apologize for the blog silence over the last few weeks, but I’ve been traveling in Australia and actually having a holiday. But now I’m back and want to share a bit of my trip with you.
The official reasons for going to Australia were to present at a conference and attend my graduation. Both of which were lovely experiences, but also wonderful excuses for taking a couple of weeks of much needed vacation as well. And, after flying 16 hours to Melbourne, I thought that taking a few weeks was the only way I’d ever want to get back on a plane! So first to the conference.
I have to give thanks and a shout out to the wonderful coordinators of the Buildings, Books, and Blackboards: Intersecting Narratives Conference in Melbourne. It was a great conference filled with interesting talks and friendly people. Part of Melbourne’s Knowledge Week, it was hosted by RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) in its newest building. My talk on part of my PhD research was well-received and I’m excited for the possibilities of extending my research into some of the areas talked about in the conference. (And wouldn’t it be great to have an excuse to do research in Australia?) It was a great experience and so nice to step out of being at a conference solely focused on archives and/or libraries into a conference about interdisciplinary work and with a focus on histories. And I have to say that everyone was super-friendly and nice, which is always wonderful at a conference far away from home (and completely jetlagged to boot!).
RMIT
After the conference, I spent some time checking out the sights in Melbourne and touring the Great Ocean Road, before heading up north where I spent the majority of my time in Brisbane (home of my alma mater Queensland University of Technology). I happily got to meet with my supervisors from QUT while in town and even got to attend my graduation ceremony, which was quite fun. QUT was awesome and live streamed the ceremony so some of my family and friends back home got to watch me graduate, too. Technology is awesome sometimes. Don’t you just love the bonnet that is part of the regalia?
In my academic regalia
Brisbane is home to the very awesome State Library of Queensland, which has great indoor/outdoor facilities (and free wifi) and absolutely wonderful gardens (although the paths are filled with water dragons).
Colin Campbell Place at Roma Street Parklands
And, of course, if you go halfway ’round the world to Australia, it would be a shame not to cuddle a koala. So, obviously, my partner and I had to go out to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and cuddle koalas while we were in Australia.
Cuddling a koala
Now I’m back and catching up with work before the holiday break and hopefully will be back to regular postings about libraries, archives, teaching, and technology soon. I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday break full of relaxation and joy. Allons-y!
Some ideas and fun for Friday as I’m off to Portland for WACES!
Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope your week has gone well and you have a relaxing weekend before you. It is hard to believe we are halfway through November already. The time does seem to start going more quickly at this time of year. I’m off this weekend to speak with one of my colleagues at WACES (Western Association for Counselor Education & Supervision) this weekend. I’m really excited to be speaking at a conference that isn’t in my field and can’t wait to see how we are received. I’ll hopefully post some thoughts and photos next week. But first let’s get to the ideas and fun for the weekend.
First, check out the great post from Lifehacker on Idea Rot: Why Ideas Have a Two Week Shelf Life. Short article and it will get you motivated (hopefully) to take some of your ideas and make them real. I’m a huge believer in setting aside time away from distractions for getting things done. I had to carve out lots of time when I was writing my dissertation and I still have to carve out time away from people and the Internet in order to get articles written or any of my design projects finished. It is so important to give ourselves the permission to really work and ignore other things, like email, in order to accomplish more in a day then eight hours on email.
I’m also thrilled that ArchiveGrid will become free in January 2013 (via INFOdocket)! Very exciting news and definitely great to share with anyone you know who does archival research.
Finally, because it is Friday, I wanted to share this video that is sure to make you smile (HT to Collin for sharing this with me).
Have a wonderful weekend full of relaxation, fun, and maybe getting into that project you’ve been dreaming about for months! I’m off to rainy Portland, but will be back next week with more. Allons-y!
