What personal items should you bring on your first day at the office? Here’s what I’d bring to keep in my desk…
How to Lighten Your Load
If you’re carrying a million bags, how do you look professional? How can you lighten your load and reduce the number of bags you’re carrying? Reader R wonders… I work in a large corporate environment and recently had a daughter. I’m back at work, but I feel like a bag lady. I’m only 5’3″ and … Read More about How to Lighten Your Load
Staying Cool in a Hot Office
How do you stay cool in an overheated office? Reader L — who notes that she is nowhere near “hot flash” territory — wants some advice on working with some overactive radiators: You’ve written about staying warm in a cold office. What about staying cool in a hot office? The weather outside is frightful, but … Read More about Staying Cool in a Hot Office
The Perfect Planner/Calendar
Which are the perfect planners for smart, busy women, ladies? Reader D wonders if she has to make her own Franken-planner to find the absolute best planner out there… Here’s her question… I realize this may be a bit too late to be useful for the upcoming new year, I would love to see a … Read More about The Perfect Planner/Calendar
Drawer Drugstore: Toiletries to Keep In The Office
What toiletries do you keep in your desk drawer? We’ve talked about the clothes you keep in the office, the food you nibble on during the workday, and the tech stuff you have to have for the office — but what about toiletries? I have such an established list that, when my brother started his … Read More about Drawer Drugstore: Toiletries to Keep In The Office
Tech Fun: Slightly Geeky Things to Keep at the Office
Not only do I consider myself a bit of a tech geek, but I specialize in a weird subset of tech geekiness: tech for the office. These are my top techy things to keep at the office — readers, what do you keep? (Check out our prior discussions on clothes to keep at the office, … Read More about Tech Fun: Slightly Geeky Things to Keep at the Office
The Pantry In Your Desk Drawer: Snacking and Dining at the Office
2018 Update: We still stand by this old discussion on snacking and dining at the office — but you may also want to check out our most recent roundup of 40+ snack ideas for work. Last week we talked about what clothes you keep at the office… this week, let’s talk about the food you … Read More about The Pantry In Your Desk Drawer: Snacking and Dining at the Office
Clothes to Keep at the Office
2019 Update: We still stand by this advice on what clothes to keep at the office, but you may also want to check out our more recent discussion on what clothes to keep at your office. One of my favorite series of posts that we’ve done on Corporette was always the series on stocking your … Read More about Clothes to Keep at the Office
Open Thread: The Best Notebooks
When we talked about the best pens a few weeks ago (which I’m still in the process of trying out — many of the ones mentioned by the readers were subsequently sent to me by Jet Pens, so thank you! — others I’ve bought myself) some of the readers noted that we should also talk … Read More about Open Thread: The Best Notebooks
Open Thread: What Are Your Favorite Apps?
I’ve complained before that I had a dinosaur of a phone — a Treo 755 — due to my loyalty to both Sprint and to my 10+ years of history with a Palm Pilot. I finally bit the bullet and bought a new phone — the Samsung Epic 4G, an Android phone available from Sprint. … Read More about Open Thread: What Are Your Favorite Apps?
Open Thread: What’s Your Favorite Pen?
When I was a kid, I loooooved going back to school shopping. New pens! New folders! All that crisp, white, lined paper… It seemed like everything had possibility and promise. (Yes, I was a dork.) These days, I still love getting new supplies, but it seems like too many of them let me down — I’ve literally thrown about 5 different brands of pens across the room because they work inconsistently, or stop working. And a good pen is really important. To be clear, all I want is something that I can pick up from my pencil cup or my desk, and use it without for something simple like signing my name or writing a brief note, WITHOUT having to scribble somewhere else to make sure the ink is flowing. Is that really too much to ask? (Let’s not even get into something more arduous, like taking notes for an extended period or writing a letter… sigh.)
So I thought we’d have an open thread: what is your favorite pen? (Pictured: Ball point pens by Caran d’Ache, available at Plastica for $23 — they also seem to be available at Amazon for a bit cheaper, though. Hat tip to Daily Candy.)
My favorite used to be the Pilot Precise V7 Fine Point Blue Rolling Ball. I liked the bright blue color (more royal than navy, but still “plain blue ink”), I liked that you could buy them in bulk for a reasonable price, and I liked that you could see how much ink is left. Maybe it’s just my bad luck, but it seems like every pen in the last pack I got was a dud.
Next, I really really liked the DIVOGA retractable gel pens, which I received for review from the company — they wrote fantastically, beautifully smooth, AND they looked pretty? Sign me up. Perhaps my ink supply is getting low on all of my pens, but it seems like I spend half my time drawing circles on scratch paper, trying to get a steady flow of ink — but it seems a bit suspicious that all 3 died at once.
I’ve had inconsistent luck with the Pilot G2 (but it’s currently my go-to pen that I keep in my purse). I also was really excited to try the Sharpie Liquid Mechanical Pencils, which promised to write like a mechanical pencil but turn to a permanent ink after 24 hours — and found that it just works like every erasable pen I’ve tried (which is to say, poorly).
So readers: what are your favorite pens? Which brands do you swear by?
Business Cards for Everybody!
Reader H wonders whether students should get business cards… A couple weeks ago, you did a post about stationery and handwritten notes. In the run-up to OCI, I’m wondering if I should order business cards. Many law schools offer student business cards but I personally think the branding is sort of tacky and would much … Read More about Business Cards for Everybody!