Be honest with yourself

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Home Office? Start your day with your calendar

Self-employment requires a high level of discipline. Working for someone else in the age of “work from home” requires the same level of discipline.

When working in an office environment, it’s less likely that you will stray to Facebook or peruse your Gmail for anything but a fleeting moment. At your remote location, however, there’s no co-worker passing by or turning around to see what’s on your computer screen. So, the lingering on the non-work website can go on too long. That’s not good for you or your employer.

Here's a tip for maintaining a work focus and maximizing it.

Look at your calendar.

When you hit your office, look at your calendar. Mentally map out the day. I take this a step further and use Clockify, a time tracking software. I log appointments and meetings from that day’s calendar and Clockify adds up those hours. As the day passes, I fill in the blanks and at the end of the week, I can see if I’ve given it my full forty (it’s usually more than forty hours), and I can see how my time was invested: meetings, research, proposal building, client calls.

Is it double work? Maybe,

But I need to connect with my calendar, really look at it, before starting the day, because experience has taught without that habit I miss meetings, or I’m late to them, and forget that most important thing I needed to complete. I’m blissfully unaware of what’s lurking just moments away that I might miss when the calendar pop up occurs when all of a sudden I decide I need to eat something or head for that second cup of coffee. 

Photo by Ben Mysc on Unsplash

What a man does at work, and how women decode it

Early one Monday morning, Carol noticed a male co-worker exhibiting odd behavior - not really working, not really typing, sort of resting. Maybe communicating with a distant star? 

At that moment the team was supposed to be updating their sales progress in Salesforce, the company's customer relationship management (CRM) software.

She used an office messaging app and alerted a teammate to share the head-shaking experience.

He looked something like the cupped chin picture, except imagine a man, not even a hint of a smile.

Here's the private, text conversation.

8:54 AM

Carol: Chin in one hand, the other hand resting on his keyboard or typing with his little finger -- what is he doing???

8:54 AM

Samantha:  HAHAHAHA

i have no idea...................not salesforce

8:55 AM

Carol: I'm going to get a look at his screen - watch this misdirect . . . 

He's STARING at salesforce -- it's communicating with him telepathetically (sic)

9:04 AM

Samantha: omg

no way

it cant 

(pause)

that would mean that his mind works faster than it does

Think about it later, right?

I left the grocery store with enough bags threaded on my arm that I should have kept the grocery cart, but I didn’t want the indecision of leaving the cart next to the car or being a good citizen and pushing it back to the store.

I managed to wrestle the key in my pocket to open the trunk and set the bags inside, realizing that the clerk had inserted a refrigerated item in each plastic bag, so I’d have to unload everything once I got home, instead of leaving a few things for later.

Leaving a few things for later seemed to be my current status. I’d left a lot of things for later including keeping a tidy house. I was usually messy but now there was dirt in the corners and the wood floor could stand a good sweeping and mopping.

Housework made me think of Aunt Cheyenne. She had a system I could not follow but made perfect sense to her and must have made sense to her home because it was always tidy. She did a lot of things right. She used to brag that she’d never been late to work a day in her life. I was usually not on time. We had different stresses though. She had worked in a dry cleaner mending clothes with small, neat stitches, and running the ironing machine to place precise, clean seams. I, on the other hand, worked in high tech and it wasn’t so much getting to work on time that was the issue, as much as leaving at a decent hour. Work life now flowed into home life and never ebbed.

I slammed the trunk close and slung into the driver’s seat, careful to look for someone behind me who might be backing out at the same time. I only had to make that mistake once. I eased out of the parking space and nosed the car toward home. The car did a little jig that told me I would have to get it into the shop soon, that like other things had been delegated to “things for later” status. Might be surprised when the debt collector for “things for later” came to call.

Why did I always think things could wait?

At the house, I unloaded the car with only a quick glance at the carefully manicured lawn and flower beds. After stuffing things away, and on a whim, I plopped on the floor cross legged and stared at my space.

What was it that I needed to go from here to there, from where I was to where I wanted to be? To go from the past – where I seemed to be stuck, to the present. I crinkled my brow. 

My mind wandered.

I picked myself up and thought, “I’ll ponder that later.”

What voice in your head usually wins?

I have a friend on the East Coast who does the video for his church's services. He posts them on Facebook when they’re live. I've surfed in. It’s pretty boring. 

I watched the worship video from my home church, and had multiple thoughts. Here's the first.

In my regular life, I work in the world of communications – business storytelling, advertising, public relations, and about six minutes in to this video appears a great storyteller, Nancy Gaston. She is fantastic, but her story is stuck six minutes into a boring video (from the eyes of a kid).

If the church is trying to reach kids, they're missing the mark.

Kids aren't going to sit through six minutes of boring to get to the good stuff. And no kid is going to surf into a video titled “Worship - August 2, 2020.” (The titles of church videos should be either the scripture, a title with keywords from the sermon, or anything but the date. Facebook already includes the date, and no one is searching Facebook for "August 2, 2020.")

Here’s what I'd recommend.

Pull out just the children’s message, post it as standalone video under a playlist on Youtube with a title like “news brief for kids” or “how to have more fun being a kid,” and the title of the video should NOT be the date, but something that corresponds with the message in the video, something that sounds interesting to kids, i.e., not a finger wagging from adults. For instance, use the title “Have you ever wrestled?” This might pull in a few curious adults as well. 

In the video info section of YouTube write: “Wrestling with tough choices? What voice in your head usually wins?” Use some key words from Nancy’s talk so someone searching might find this video.

Next, share the link of the video with the church’s preschool, Noah’s Ark Preschool to post on their Facebook page, email to their families.

And, email the link of the video to the parents of kids in the church, with a message, “Here is a five minute activity you can do with your kids: 3-4 minute video plus a question: “What do you think about what Nancy said?” (It doesn't have to be complicated).

What voice usually wins in your head?

Carol

No, you don't know how to wash your hands, so watch this

Can you sing happy birthday twice? Then you've taken the first step in proper hand washing.

Here's the rest of what you need to know:

Governor Jay Inslee of Washington State, said in a statement, “We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this (corona) virus.”

In the meantime, wash your hands — the correct way, and for gosh sakes stop touching your face.  

Breaking my silence on Goodreads: my first review

After being a member of Goodreads for many years, I finally broke my silence.

Ten Thousand Sorrows : The Extraordinary Journey of a Korean War Orphan by Elizabeth Kim

Elizabeth Kim presents a mirror for us to judge how we treat each other, how Christian communities and families can become oppressive and thrust horrendous expectations on women to obey, to accept their lot and be grateful for the accompany suffering. After experiencing multiple losses, many with an undercurrent of racism, Kim’s life lingers in depression. She stands on the threshold of suicide and must decide if she values life.

Loss is a consistent theme that threads its way through Elizabeth Kim’s writing. As a toddler, she loses her mother, she loses her home and rails against the missionary run orphanage that houses her. She loses her crib mate who dies while she sleeps. She loses the kind gentleman who travels with her on her trip to America to meet her adoptive parents, and once she is part of this new family, she loses the right to her feelings, thinking logically, choosing her religion and even choosing who she will marry.

She faces racism outside and inside her home and learns to be ashamed of not being a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. It is her own daughter, who she seeks to protect, who gives her the strength to break out, but not necessary break free. Elizabeth Kim

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

Half my family is Asian, I care about this: #StarringJohnCho

#StarringJohnCho Imagines the Asian actor as a Hollywood lead in a variety of movies.

Go, vote, it's Election Day

Go vote, it's Election Day

The Navy wants my daughter, I'm not a fan

Recruiters face challenges without an independent, objective and unbiased military justice system. 

The Navy called yesterday. The man calling asked to speak to my daughter. I said she wasn't available. In reality, he was calling on my cell phone, I was at work. My daughter was at her work. If he had this number she didn't want to talk to him.

I told him I would let her know he called, but based on our conversations, she was not interested.

Instead of asking when a better time to call to talk to her might be, he launched into his script. He wanted to schedule an interview. He wanted her to know what the Navy offered.

Since I knew she wasn't interested, and I could easily imagine what the Navy offered women, I asked how he got this phone number.

He said he was going through old records and it could be she filled out of form asking for more information (not likely), or it was a number received from her high school (more likely).

Then I launched into my script, “As a mom, I'm not sure I want my daughter to go into the service, based on how they treat women,”

The surprise in his voice was palatable, “Why? What have you heard?”

Now it was my turn to be surprised, “Don't you read the news?”

Take a second. Do a Google search. Page after page appears with stories about women in the service who have been assaulted by men in the service and their superiors who refuse to condemn this reprehensible behavior. They protect it. “Boys will be boys.”

I say, “Girls will be moms,” and this mom says, “Based on your reputation, you don't deserve my daughter.”

Your community hasn't earned the right to interview my daughter. First, invest in efforts that criminalize behavior that assaults, harasses, and creates a hostile work environment for the people you are trying to recruit. A career in the military shouldn't mean that women, or men, are unsafe from their fellow service personnel. It shouldn't mean a recruit is subservient to self-serving criminals who continue to assault. It shouldn't push victims into servitude to higher ups willing to cover up abuse.

In an interview with MSNBC, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said one in five military women – and three percent of men, experience unwanted sexual contact. Gillibrand's Military Justice Improvement Act, legislation to assign sexual assault cases to specially trained military prosecutors, fizzled.

The Department of Defense (DOD) released a report in December 2014 on sexual assault in the military. The DOD claimed success because only 19,000 people were assaulted, a whopping 7,000 less than those assaulted in 2012. Digging a little deeper into 2012, shows that of those 26,000 sexual assaults only 3,374 were reported and only 302 were brought to trial.

If you want brilliant people to serve our country. Stop endorsing a playhouse for boys.

Grow up.

Become men.

Clean house.

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Happy National OK Day, Okay?!

On this day in history in 1839, OK entered the national vernacular.

In the 1830s "OK" was part of local Boston slang and was propelled to national prominence when it first appeared in print in the Boston Morning Post. That happened on March 23, 1839. OK gained in popularity when it was picked up by politicians, thus securing its seat in history.

A bit of sleuthing by the late Allen Walker Read, a professor at Columbia University, fleshed out all the incorrect attributions to the origins of OK and Read's efforts led to uncovering OK's true origins and it's March 23 birthday.

Now, who is going to tell us when OK gained the correct spelling of “Okay?”

Read more on the History Channel's page: history.com/this-day-in-history/ok-enters-national-vernacular

How early is too early to go to work?

Morning rush hour traffic, Portland, Oregon.

I'm in the habit of heading to the office around 6:30 a.m. to get in front of the bulk of morning rush hour traffic. Although my late afternoon intention is to leave early, it doesn't always work out that way, which, in the end, makes for a long workday.

In the early morning, I appreciate a dark office, the slow transition from the soft tapping of fingers on my computer keyboard to the full morning sun streaming through the knee high to ceiling windows and the rise in volume from voices streaming into the office expressing their morning greetings, shouting out coffee runs, and the onslaught of work and strategy conversations that ensues.

If I could I would arrive at work an hour before I do, I would. Those early hours seem more meaningful, more fruitful, more focused, more free.

But too early isn't always time better spent.

How about you, when do you get to work and how early do you think is too early?

Opportunity accepted

Carol Doane has moved to the Oregonian Media Group

Change seems constant in the digital world, and now for me personally. At the end of 2014 and I was offered a new position at Oregonian Media Group and while there are great products and great people at KGW – this was simply a fantastic opportunity.

Oregonian Media Group offers a deep level of digital intelligence, expansive resources and on-site product management... and now me.

Looking forward to sharing a fabulous 2015 with you,

Carol Doane
360 Convos

Top 5 ways to keep your computer and identity safe during the holidays

Don't click on links in emails. Go directly to the website to check on orders.

Traditionally, phishing and malware attacks rise during the holiday season as online impersonators try to trick shoppers users into installing malware or providing personal information.

Before the holiday season starts, take some time to learn tips to make your online experience safe and insure a smooth celebration.

1. Don't click on emailed order confirmations or shipping links

This time of year, scammers take advantage of increased online buying and the corresponding package deliveries. They use fake order information and shipping notifications as a method to infect PCs and grab personal details. These fake notifications often look very close to the real version. When in doubt, don't click directly on order confirmations or shipping links within the email. Go directly to the retailer’s or shipper’s website by typing the address into a web browser to verify order and shipping information.

2. Don't respond to password requests, even from your bank

Your financial institution will never e-mail you asking for your password or any other information. Emails requesting that you use an embedded link are an attempt to scam you into surrendering private information for identity theft or other unauthorized purposes. Legitimate organizations should never request sensitive information in this manner. Instead of clicking on a link, type the legitimate URL to your financial institutions in your browser to access the web site.

3. Unless 100% certain of the source, never open attachments

When the sender is known and the attachment is in doubt, contact the sender directly and verify the legitimacy of the attachment.

4. Nice sentiment, but don't open online greeting cards

Each holiday, you can expect a flood of e-greeting cards from friends and family wishing you a happy holiday. While seemingly harmless, these holiday greetings can be dangerous. They may contain harmful viruses or may be used for identity theft. E-greeting cards are best not to be opened, and especially should not be opened using a work computer.

5. Carefully review all email, delete any suspicious ones

If the email is suspicious, do not click on any web link or open any attachment.

Two possible ways to evaluate emails are:

• Move your mouse over a link without clicking it; you can often see the actual destination URL address underlying that link. If the now visible URL doesn’t look like an address that belongs to the legitimate site, be extra careful. If it appears to be legitimate, still be careful, the hackers are getting creative in this area as well. Instead, go directly to the website you know.
  
• Often times, but not all the time, the “To” list of the email has multiple names that do not make sense for the subject matter. Delete these emails.

BONUS

6. Safe Computing Tips for the office

In the workplace, you are the first line of defense and the best defense. Be skeptical of work and personal email that you’re not expecting and that is from unknown sources or just looks suspicious. When in doubt, contact your local help desk to verify any suspicious emails.

What tips do you have?

Some decisions are easy

Sign on the way to Mellisoni Vineyards, Chelan Washington.

Some decisions are easy.

Some are not.

What's been keep you up at night?

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Let's talk Facebook and share a cup of coffee

Tomorrow's "When to boost Facebook posts," marks the fourth event in KGW's Social Media and Digital Marketing series. Each event features a specific business interest for those who use social media as part of their outreach efforts.

As a social media fiend, I am especially looking forward to tomorrow's event with Krys VanSlyke. He's the Senior Manager of Social Media for G/O Digital, a division of Gannett – KGW's parent company.

Senior Manager of Social Krys VanSlyke

I sat down with VanSlyke this morning to glean some insight on how his team in Phoenix is using Facebook. It's pretty fascinating what they can accomplish with a target and the right budget. Doesn't have to be large, it just has to be enough.

Their work runs the gamut of one-man shops to national corporations. Each company has it's own goal, VanSlyke's team creates the strategy, creates the ads, does the testing, optimizing and resetting to figure out how to hit those goals.

Most of the tools G/O Digital uses are readily available to anyone who wants to run an ad campaign on Facebook.Should you do it on your own? Sure. If you want to practice guesswork and ride the slow train.

Or you can take the fast track. VanSlyke says his team knows what questions to ask to get the campaign focused on the right targets and G/O's proprietary tools allow them to do more testing, do the testing faster, and build on areas creating success.

And VanSlyke emphasizes team.  "If someone gets stuck they're not alone."

So, if you're in the neighborhood tomorrow at 8:00 a.m., drop in for a jam packed morning of Facebook advice and a great cup of coffee.

Here's the scoop:

Parking

Plan on arriving early. Visitor parking in our lot is limited. If you miss out on a visitor spot, please do not park in spots marked reserved. These are provided to other tenants in our building. On-street parking is available along Jefferson Street, but we've got a full house, so if you're a teensy bit late you might have to hoof it a bit.

KGW Studio, 1501 SW Jefferson St, Portland OR 97201

Remember pen and paper

Summaries but not the full deck. Our presenters share their summaries, but don't dish out the whole enchilada. That means you'll want to take notes. If you arrive empty handed find me quick and I'll fix you up with pen and paper.

Bring a business card

The sponsor CenturyLink Business usually brings some bling so remember your business card in case there is a drawing or someone you want to connect with later.

Do you Twitter?

#KGWSoMe is the event hashtag. We're hoping to have a live stream so you can ask questions, so bring your smartphones and tweet away.

Contact me to set up a marketing consultation, to get updates on the next event, or to grab a cup of coffee: cdoane (at) kgw (dot) com.

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Coping with a son's mental illness propels Pamela Deane's career

In any given year, an estimated 22.1% of Americans ages 18 and older suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. That means that one out of every five people you work with may be suffering with an illness that you cannot see, that you may experience as you interact with them, and an illness that may or may not be curable.

Pamela Deane, author of The Translation of Max.

Author Pamela Deane had that experience not at work, but in her home.

While raising two sons as a single mom, her eldest was diagnosed with schizophrenia mid-way through his high school journey.

Throughout the turmoil of discovering it wasn’t a teenager experimenting with drugs or alcohol, juggling an unpredictable home life which spilled out and created chaos throughout her day teaching high school English, Deane managed to survive. She managed to raise both sons to adulthood. She managed to maintain classroom order and keep her teaching job, but most importantly she secured resources for her firstborn to improve his quality of life.

While not autobiographical, Pamela Deane’s book, The Translation of Max, introduces us to Maggie whose experience mirrors Deane’s own.

The book will inspire you to celebrate Maggie and the steadfast way she pursues the quest to help her son, the heartache she feels as she understands the limbo her younger son vacillates in when Maggie's life is drained of energy, time and money, and the honest way she admits when she is too tired to do it all.

The Translation of Max is sprinkled with nuggets of humor which allows the reader to chuckle and take a breath before the onslaught of ordeals that escalate one after the other. It will keep you reading until the end.

Meet Author Pamela Deane

Friday, August 22, 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
The Breakfast Club
Umpqua Bank
720 Esther St
Vancouver WA 98660



After retiring from teaching Pamela Deane launched her writing career. The Translation of Max is her second book and is recommended for anyone facing a family crisis. It is available on Amazon.

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When to boost Facebook posts (event!)

Don't touch that boost button, yet!

Anyone managing a Facebook presence can tell you that organic page reach has been dropping every quarter. If you've tried all your engagement and viral tricks, and are thinking about putting some money behind your efforts, DON'T CLICK THAT BOOST BUTTON, yet

In this seminar, Krys VanSlyke the Senior Manager of Social Media for G/O Digital (division of Gannett), will share how his staff approaches social spend and divulge multiple Facebook tips, including:

• Why the "Boost Button" may not be a smart way to spend your money
• How to set expectations and build budgets
• Which ad types are best for your objectives
• How to use Facebook targeting capabilities

Tuesday, August 19

8:00 am- 9:30 am

KGW8 Studio
1501 SW Jefferson St
Portland, OR 97201

Sponsored by:

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See you in the morning, I'll be next to the coffee

Tomorrow marks the third installment of KGW's Social Media and Digital Marketing event series. Each event has keyed in on best practices for businesses using social media.

As a data fiend, I am especially looking forward to tomorrow's metrics roll out, not that I think it will stop the naysayers who complain about social media in general and offer a litany of excuses of why they don't like it, why it is a waste of time and why they hate all the advertising in their Twitter stream, but because I do like social media. All parts of it. Including the advertising.

Don't confuse me with people who sell advertising — I used to think I did. Of late, I've come to the realization that I no longer sell advertising. I sell audience.

No one cares which website their desired target is on, they care about the person they want to reach. They think that I can only reach people who visit KGW.com, but that is only a fraction of what I do.

With a myriad of tools that are available through our parent company Gannett, I can deliver audiences on just about any website you can think of, and about 100,000 websites you didn't know existed and through in a little search engine marketing to drive it home,.

In the meantime, drive over to KGW tomorrow and join us for a jam packed morning and a great cup of coffee.

Here's the scoop:

Parking

Plan on arriving early. Visitor parking in our lot is limited. If you miss out on a visitor spot, please do not park in spots marked reserved. These are provided to other tenants in our building. On-street parking is available along Jefferson Street, but we've got a full house, so if you're a teensy bit late you might have to hoof it a bit.

KGW Studio, 1501 SW Jefferson St, Portland OR 97201

Remember pen and paper

Summaries but not the full deck. Frank Mungeam is a great presenter and he shares his summary, but not the whole enchilada. That means you'll want to take notes. If you arrive empty handed find me quick and I'll fix you up with pen and paper. (See my card below for contact info).

Do you Twitter?

#KGWSoMe is our event hashtag. We're hoping to have a live stream so you can ask questions, so bring your smartphones and tweet away.

WIN a Kindle!

Our partner CenturyLink Business is sharing the love with a business card drawing for a Kindle. I want YOU to WIN, so remember your business card.

Here's mine. Contact me to set up a marketing consultation, or to get updates on the next event, cdoane (at) kgw (dot) com.

Portland job fair April 8

For job seekers in the Portland area connect with CenturyLink at their April 8 Job Fair.

CenturyLink Job Fair
Tuesday, April 8, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
310 SW Park Ave, Portland OR

Centurylink is now hiring for experienced Telecom Sales Professionals in our Portland office. We strive to strengthen businesses and connect communities by delivering advanced technologies and solutions along with honest and personal service.

Join CenturyLink's Portland Hiring Event, Tuesday April 8 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 310 SW Park Avenue. Be sure to have a copy of your resume when you come. CenturyLink offers attractive pay and benefits in a team environment with incredible earning potential based on sales performance.

Connect with the great people at CenturyLink at our Portland Hiring Event, Tuesday April 8 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 310 SW Park Avenue.

For details and to apply, go to http://tinyurl.com/prdho3f.

CenturyLink is an equal opportunity employer

CenturyLink Job Fair
Tuesday, April 8, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
310 SW Park Ave
Portland OR



CenturyLink Jobs: APPLY