Welcome to the Saturday recap. Enjoy!

What I’ve Been Up To / Thinking About

This week, I’ve continued to refine my thinking and approach to personal branding. We all have a personal brand – created intentionally or ad hoc. I’ve reinforced my POV that many of the approaches we take when considering a corporate brand can be leveraged for personal branding.

One of those areas is our brand color(s). The signature hue that defines our work and sense of style. Have you ever considered your personal brand color?  I’ve thought quite a bit about mine over the years and still connect deeply with the orange/green/purple combination you see on my website. I hope the posts in progress can help you discover your personal color palette.  

What I’ve Written – Blog Summary

This week starts with thoughts on how we spend our time. From there, I have two “pairings”. The first is focused on our routines and the second is our personal brand character & impact.

Balanced. We all have 168 hours a week and we fill them in a way that creates our current balance. If we don’t like the balance or mix of activities, it’s time to work toward a new mix.

Routine-Quake. There are moments in our life when things suddenly (or not so suddenly) go “off the rails”. This is a routine quake. The post helps us recognize when it’s happening.

Fluid Routines. When we talk about habits and routines, the structure is often rigid – a set list of things to do. In this post, we explore how to make some routines more fluid and open ended.

Known For. We can be known for Attributes (skills and knowledge) as well as Approach (how we work). Having a short list of our attributes and approach allows us to better communicate our personal brand difference.

Personal Brand Influence on LinkedIn. Have you ever wondered about the level of your personal influence? This post provides 10 ways you can understand your current influence on LinkedIn.

What I’ve Listened To – PodList  

There are 5 episodes this week covering habits, where we spend our time, job interviewing, and a fun one exploring the magic of the monarch butterfly annual migration.

Build Amazing Habits: Simple Steps to Break Bad Habits & Make Good Ones Stick. 56 minutes. We all have habits. This episode provides tips on building and breaking them as appropriate.

Too Much Work? What to Say When You’re Asked to Do More. 9 minutes. Optimal Work Daily. We’ve all been there! Stella Grizont provides tips to navigate requests for work and reduce overwhelm.

Don’t Buy Time to Do Low Paid Work. 6 minutes. Before Breakfast. We only have so much time outside of work. This episode has us considering using our time to do low paid work.

Job Interview Tips: How to Answer the Question “Tell Me About Yourself”.  9 minutes. Happen to Your Career. The title speaks for itself. This is a good one for anyone in the job search mode.

The Magical, Mesmerizing Migration of Monarch Butterflies. 12 minutes. TED Talks Daily. Sometimes it’s great to just listen to something about the wonders of our world. This is a great one.