What I Pack for Work

I’ve been working at a coffee shop a lot recently. I seem to fluctuate between feeling more productive at home and craving the atmosphere of being around other people. So, I pack up and work for the first half of the day at my favorite coffee shop, Ritual Cafe. 

Everything I need for a day of work fits in my backpack, and today I thought it would be fun to give you a mental snapshot of what those things are. 

First off and most importantly is my laptop, and the charger to go along with that. I have a 2015 13” MacBook Pro that I adore. You can read this post about how I thought I ruined it on the way to Sri Lanka, and this post about how it magically came back to life when we got home. My laptop is such a necessity and the center of everything I do. 

From there a crucial part of my work productivity, regardless of where I am, is my bullet journal which I use as my planner. I use a Rhodia dot journal, and I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to a standard planner. I have my calendar, my ideas, my to-do’s, everything in here. 

I normally also always have my personal journal with me. It’s just something I love having on hand because you never know when the mood is going to strike where you’re like “I need to write about this!” It’s a great way to document life as well as work through thoughts. It's not necessarily a must-have for work, but if something is floating around my head, distracting me, it helps to have a place to put in into writing so I can get back to work. 

Lately, I’ve also been carrying around a plain lined notebook. I like making lists, taking notes, and such in here instead of on my computer or in my bullet journal. I really like physically writing some stuff out, and it’s great to have paper on hand for when you need to do that. 

Because of these three paper notebooks I carry around I always have my pencil pouch with me, and while it only has a single mechanical pencil in it I keep other important bits in there:

+ Headphones (a must when you’re working outside the home whether it’s for editing videos or needing to listening to music)

+ Foray StyleMark Fine 0.5 mm in black (my main bullet journal pen)

+ Papermate Flair Medium (an unnecessary pen I use to create my fake calligraphy in my bullet journal)

+ Frixion Ball Slim in blue and orange (my favorite pens to journal and write with)

+ small clear ruler (use it to fill out my bullet journal)

+ Chapstick (who doesn’t travel with this?)

I normally have my Seagate 1TB external hard drive in my bag. This is where I keep old video footage as well as important documents. It’s nice to have it if I’m editing a video where I reference back to something I have footage of. (I need to get a second external hard drive because my current one is just about full.)

I almost always have my Canon g7x for me for filming when I’m out and about. I’m awful when it comes to filming in public, but if the mood strikes I want to have my camera on hand. Oh, and I guess it’s worth mentioning that I have my phone, keys, and wallet with me at all times, but that’s pretty much a given for everyone.

I also bring my travel coffee mug with me for working from the coffee shop because even though I’m going to sit there and drink it, I find that it stays warmer longer with the lid, and if I don’t finish it I can bring it with me. (But this rarely happens). 

What are your work must haves? At minimum, it’s obviously my laptop, but I’m pretty much unstoppable with these few things I talked about today. And it all fits easily into my backpack. 

Getting Back to Reality After Traveling

Ok, so you’ve just gotten back from a great trip and you have to get back to reality. 

Here are some strategies I’ve found that really help me get back at it. 

+ Clean your home

All the way down to the vacuuming and dusting. Get all those stray dirty dishes popped into the washer, your laundry cleaned and put away, and take this opportunity to get all the little random bits and bobs back where they belong.

Nothing helps me more than getting my house in order. 

+ Go grocery shopping

I always aim to eat healthy while away, but in reality that doesn’t always happen. So, when I get home I am always rejuvenated to go get a healthy plant heavy grocery haul. 

And it’s just another step to getting everything in order at home, which once again does so much to make me feel better about being back and at it again. 

+ Tick off some to-do’s

Go through your mail or other things you’ve been avoiding. I took the chance Sunday morning to sit down and order a few things I needed offline including a new bullet journal and accessories for that (yay!) as well as a sunrise simulator alarm clock (more on that in a bit). I also ordered a new credit card seeing as I lost mine in Avignon while there (I think I threw it away).

+ Add in a habit or element discovered during trip

One thing I really noticed during this trip was how little I was on my phone, computer and such. And it was amazing! I always like to think I can disconnect myself, but it’s so nice to be forced to sometimes. So, I’ve been trying to carry that forward now that I’m home. 

Other things I do more of when I’m traveling: I read more books (so I went to the library), I have more adventure (Michael and I went rock climbing last night) and I came home with a renewed desire to meditate and journal more.

+ Accept the weather of where you are

It’s hard, especially when it’s 30 degrees colder, but I’m making a conscious effort this year to accept the cold weather and make the most out of it (snuggling into cozy slippers, blankets and all things warm). 

Right after I got back in town I went and bought a few candles, a new sweater and sweatpants and snuggled into my house.

Another thing I’ve done to help with this is ordered a sunrise simulator alarm clock for Michael and I. And it does exactly what it says. It mimics a sunrise in your room, and I can’t wait to get it because I can tell a big difference between waking up when there’s light out and when it’s still pitch black. 

+ Visit family and friends

I went and saw my sister and nephew the day after I got back, I had a nice long phone call with my mother the day I got back, Michael and I hung out with a few friends last night and I’ve made plans to get together with a few friends this week. 

+ Indulge in what did you missed while you were away

What I missed most were things like work, my own space and a routine. I really savored the first moments of getting back to work this morning, I was very aware and conscious of being in my home and therefore wanted to spruce it up and take care of it. 

+ Take some time to pamper yourself

I steamed my face with a warm washcloth, exfoliated it, put a hydrating mask on it and lathered my entire body with avocado oil after soaking in the bath surrounded by candlelight. 

It was magic.

I always fell a bit worn down and rough at the edges after traveling so it’s nice to take some time out for myself to get me back to 100%. 

+ Alter your schedule

I love using travel as an excuse to change things up.

For example I love being able to make the most out of jet lag and wake up earlier than normal. 

What do I went to spend more time doing, less time doing? 

Overall, while I love traveling, I am so thankful that I love coming home. But when I get home I like to hit the “refresh” button and do all these things before digging back into my day to day life. 

What I Bring For Work When Traveling

I love hearing what others pack for different trips, so today I wanted to share what I bring so I can work while I’m traveling. 

While I’m not traveling for “work” (soon!) I am lucky enough to be able to work from anywhere so I always have a few key things with me no matter where I go. 

Laptop + Charger

When you’re a self-employed girl boss who’s business is (mostly) all online you always take your laptop with you. Trying to do anything on my phone for work (outside of posting to social media) is a pain. 

And there’s nothing better than setting up shop in a cool little cafe in some new city and cracking out some work. 

When Michael and I first went to SE Asia together in 2014 I left my laptop at home. We ended up spending a lot of time while in Chiang Mai in coffeeshops because he had some unexpected work come up. And I remember really just regretting my decision to leave my laptop at home. 

It now comes everywhere. 

Headphones

This is a must for travel in general, but there’s nothing worse than forgetting to pack your headphones.

While there’s other tasks you can complete if you’re out in public, you can’t edit videos because hello, that would be rude. 

Not to mention popping on some motivational, upbeat music, watching videos or taking a break to meditate. 

External Hard Drive

The storage on my laptop is pretty decent, but I never want to run out of space to create. So, having extra storage is a must. 

Plus you can throw videos, photos and everything from your trip on there to keep your phone and SD cards clear for even more goodness. 

I also store different things on my hard drive that I might need to access for work. 

Bullet Journal + Pen

My planner! I would be lost without this one. There’s something about the routine and organization I get from this tiny book that is revolutionary to what I’m able to accomplish for work. 

Even day to day if I don’t have my planner I can’t tell people if I’m free a certain day, which makes planning anything difficult. 

Camera + Charger

I love that I now have a smaller Canon g7x for traveling. And because of this I almost always have my camera with me. 

Not only do I like documenting my travels, but being able to film a new FemmeHead video even when I’m not home is valuable. 

Overall, it’s a simple list of items I need, which makes life oh so easy. And how amazing is it to be able to run an entire business with just a few things!

What are your work must-haves when traveling? 

Trying to Create the Perfect Home Office

When I started creating FemmeHead from my apartment I didn’t really care to have a space. I always just sat at the kitchen island because the stools were slightly uncomfortable, which helped keep me focused. 

You see, I can’t work from a couch or anywhere too cozy or my mind will slip into “Hey, I’m comfy, let’s watch some videos or some Netflix.” 

When you work from home you have to learn how to create a “work" environment that is separate from your “home” environment. 

I know what keeps me on track, and structured chairs are part of that. 

A few months ago I found myself in a work funk. The usual motivation I have for FemmeHead wasn’t there.

I was frustrated and confused. 

Then one day I realized, I need my own work space, I need a desk.

But where was I going to put a desk? I really didn’t have much space. Michael had a desk in the back bedroom that he used every now and then. But it was too clunky and the internet wasn’t strong back there. 

I wanted to be able to sit in front of one of our windows, which meant I needed a taller desk. 

So the next morning I went over the shop my mom works in and built myself a desk out of three scrap pieces of wood I had, that I’m fairly sure were one table sleeves (wood pieces that you slide into the middle of a table to extend it). 

I had a desk, but then my next issue was I didn’t have a chair/stool that was the right size. My solution was to take one our kitchen stools and put it up on blocks to raise it to the right height. 

And that’s what I’ve been using for the past few months. And it has been great to have a space to go to each morning, and for my mind to know, right here is where we work. 

But now I can feel that it’s time to graduate to a bigger work space. One that I can work in and film videos from. 

This has all come at kind of the perfect time. Michael just signed a lease on an office in the East Village (Des Moines, of course). This means he isn’t going to be working from the back bedroom, which means I can take that space over. 

Right before my birthday I went on a little decluttering spree in that room, went through it all, donated and moved quite a bit before finally rearranging the room so it was basically just a bed. 

So much room for activities. 

Not to mention an entire wall that opened up is just perfect for my little office corner. 

Now, comes the fun part, designing and decorating it. 

The first step is that I have to find a desk. But I’m not just going to buy a desk to have a desk.  

Nope, I’m an annoying conscious consumer. I’m only going to buy something that I absolutely love, and that can move spaces when the time comes. 

And I don’t want to spend a butt load of money. Seriously, why are desks so expensive? 

I’m going to hunt around town through the antique shops and such. I’ll know my desk when I see it. 

Once I find the desk then I can choose the perfect chair, and then I’ll have the necessary bones. 

From there I want some greenery, some prints or photos, and probably a spot to store my pens. 

Everything will have a place, and it won’t just sit on my desk like it all does now. 

Having a space to work from gives what you’re doing a certain amount of legitimacy that you don’t get from your kitchen counter or a coffeeshop bench.

And while I love the freedom I have to work from anywhere (I’m typing this on a plane ride from San Francisco to Portland at the moment) I know the structure of having my spot at home will do me a world of good. 

I also want to be able to film from that spot as well, which I already have started to. But at the moment it’s just a blank white wall. Clean, but kind of boring. 

As for the internet, Michael and I ran an ethernet cord through the ceiling all the way from the front room, so a simple adapter will give me lightening fast internet. It doesn’t get much better than that does it?

I can't wait for this process to continue, building my space as well as building my business. What a fun time it is to be alive, am I right? 

The Beauty of Multiple Streams of Income

I’m trying to remember a time when I only had one job. 

You see, I’ve always worked a variety of odd jobs. I helped my parents flip houses from junior high through high school, then I worked in a coffee shop, a mall, my college, a restaurant, another restaurant and another restaurant, all while nannying and painting on the side. 

And I think there’s something awesome about realizing that your money doesn’t have to come from just one place. 

I think that’s pretty freeing as well. 

And don't for a second think that I'm bragging, gloating about how rich I am. 

I'm neither. (Gloating nor rich).

Even now that I have FemmeHead, my money I make through that doesn’t come from just one place either. And I think that’s a big misconception/confusion people have when wanting to start an online business. 

I know I was really confused for a long time how people made money online. 

So, I wanted to break down all the various places I currently have money coming from. 

Let’s start with FemmeHead:

 + I make money when people take/buy one of my courses.

+ I make money when someone does 1-on-1 coaching with me. 

+ I make money through affiliate codes (such as Amazon, Daysy, and RubyCup). 

+ I make money from YouTube through ad revenue. It starts trickling in at a few cents a day, then a few dollars a day, and so on. It took me a year on YouTube before I had that cents to dollars jump. And over the past month YouTube has been struggling with advertisers so I've seen a 50% cut in my revenue from them. 

None of these things on its own could even come close to being able to support me. With all of them combined I almost have enough to get by. 

This is where you have to make the decision to find other sources of income. And when you’re starting off there shouldn't be that embarrassment of “Well, I work here."

For me this used to be waitressing. And I struggled talking to people about where I worked. I had a lot of internalized guilt and embarrassment when it came to this. 

I absolutely dreaded the question, “So, Victoria. What do you do?"

We all want to have some super cool, super professional answer to this. 

And the sucky part of this is that I actually really enjoyed working there. I just really got bogged down with the judgemental looks, and “oh, so where do you go to school?” (assuming that's the only reason I would work there). Things like that. 

Now, that I quit waitressing, but I’m not quite to the point where I can fully support myself just with FemmeHead, I’ve had to look into other avenues of making money. 

And yes, believe me this is a point of stress at times, but I try to look at it as a fun challenge. 

This has involved both creating new parts of FemmeHead, as well as using skills I already have outside of FemmeHead. 

I’m constantly creating new things for my business, (I’m currently working on merchandise and a workshop). And I have started painting houses on the side. 

One of the perks of living in Des Moines is the cost of it all is fairly low in comparison to other parts of the country. I hear what people pay for just rent in some cities and I’ll just about choke on what I’m eating/drinking. 

And because I live with someone, our costs are all pretty much split, which makes things like rent and groceries really manageable. 

So I guess what I’m saying is that you have to look at the big picture.

What are your necessities? Are there certain expenses that you view as "must haves" but really could be cut back on a bit?

Don’t limit yourself to one “job". I know this is nothing new. People work two, three jobs all of the time.

Use the skill sets you have and build on them.

And don’t be embarrassed by what you do. I spent too long with a lot of anxiety built up around all of this. But as soon as I decided to "own it", life became much more enjoyable. 

[Potentially sad news: I have been reassessing FemmeHead this week. At the end of the day it is my business and livelihood, so with the ad revenue issues on YouTube, I'm most likely going to have to take a step back a bit from videos, and focus more of my time elsewhere. But I don't want to stop making videos all together. I wanted to give everyone an opportunity to support what I do on YouTube. If this calls out to you, go check out my Patreon page to see how you can support the work done at FemmeHead.]

Finding Gratitude In Work | Even When It Sucks

I had a few moments during my last vacation where I found myself thinking, I’m so excited to get home so I can get back to work. Normally, I still work during “vacations” but this one had me totally disconnected from internet access. 

And each time after I found myself having this wishful thoughts about being back home, sitting, working away, I would stop myself and fully appreciate the gratitude I felt for being so excited by “work”. 

I mean, how incredible is it that while on vacation the thought of getting back to work excites me so much. It has the same feeling as the anticipation for going on a big trip. 

This sensation has been years in the making, and that’s something I want to talk about today. Because even if you have a job that you aren’t totally in love with, yet aren’t quite in the position of quitting just yet, I guarantee there is at least one or two aspects of it that you can look at and say, yeah that right there, I’m grateful for that part of my job. 

For some people this is benefits, or maybe the consistent structure of 9 - 5, or even for others the flexibility to stay home with a sick child if need be. While the mundanity of day to day tasks can cause us to slip into a fog of, "bleh this sucks" I challenge you to once a day pull yourself out of this, stop for a moment and find one thing to be thankful for. 

We’ve all had jobs that we didn’t enjoy or detested all together, and just going to work gave us that pit of anxiety in our chest and stomachs. But we’ve also had jobs that we’ve loved, and still found ourselves in moments of “I really don’t want to do this today.” 

Even now, in the midst of something I could only dream about for many years I find myself every now and then unmotivated to do the tasks set out for myself, by myself, for the day ahead. 

But I have gotten really good at recognizing these moments almost as soon as they happen. And I quickly stop myself from whatever it is I’m doing, and place myself smack in the reality of it. Why am I feeling these negative feelings in that moment, and what can I do to change my attitude about the situation. And often just the act of stopping and thinking is enough to realize, “Hey, this whole set up you’ve got going for yourself right here is pretty freaking amazing.” 

But sometimes I will recognize a reoccurring feeling that arises from these moments of thought. Recently there was a lot of feeling lonely. And guess what? I have complete control of that. What could I do, what could I add to change that feeling. And the answer was simple — social interaction. This is a common complaint of those working from home. While we love the freedom and flexibility of it, we often crave having someone around to talk to, whether that’s to bounce our ideas off of or to sit and have a conversation about something totally unrelated. 

So, I’ve made it a point to schedule weekly coffee dates, “co-worker” days with two of my friends who also work from home, as well as to plan a girls night every other week or so. Another easy way I’ve found to relieve some of this feeling of being lonely is to simple head out to a coffee shop to work for a few hours. The sensation you get from being around people, having a chat with the person who takes your order or makes your coffee, and the probability to see a friendly familiar face is enough to make the $5 cup of coffee worth it to me every now and then. 

I think the biggest lesson I want you to take away from reading this is that if you are unhappy in a situation don’t just sit there and continue on with it. Take the time to step away and really ask yourself what it is that you are lacking? What do you need? And at the same time asking yourself to find something positive, even in the midst of feeling so crummy about the day. 

This can seem like a steep task when you find yourself in the same routine day after day, doing the same things day after day. 

I actually find that there are certain aspects of a daily routine I crave, and will find myself missing if I don’t make time for them. 

The biggest being my morning journaling routine. I always feel a little off kilter if I don’t have time in the morning do sit down and write. 

I also feel a positive impact when I make time for an afternoon break (usually around 2 p.m.) for a bit of yoga, stretching and meditation. 

So, first identify those elements of day to day life that you enjoy. It’s as simple as a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper or a early morning workout routine. Whatever it may be, get clear on what it is you want to keep. 

Next, look at maybe something you could eliminate from your routine that doesn’t really bring you any added benefit or joy. 

And then you can look at what elements you want to add to your day. What is something you can start doing that will brighten your day. For me it was more time with those I love and enjoy spending time with. For you it might be a 20 minute walk in the park, or taking the time to read a good book for an hour in the afternoon. 

Can you apply this same frame of thinking to your responsibilities at work. Yes, there’s probably certain daily tasks that you can’t get out of, but maybe there are some that you can, and maybe there’s others that you can add. 

Ask for more responsibility, propose a new project, whatever it may be. 

And don’t forget to find the happy bits each day. What aspect of your job are you grateful for today?