Happy weekend, everyone, I hope you're having a wonderful one! After an unusually busy May, we're trying to take it easy this weekend and keep things very home/neighborhood-centric! I also found inspiration this week to return to music (slow, baby steps!), which feels pretty fantastic. Meanwhile, if you're looking to kick back with some interesting content, here are the reads/visuals that caught my eye this week via Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome:

- When family-friendly policies backfire.

- An evolving view of animals.

- For the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler fans out there!

- How to build a business that fits your lifestyle (featuring my colleague Morra Aarons-Mele!).

- Yelling from the sidelines? It can distract your child.

- Out of the classroom and into the woods.

- Short film Just Breathe helps kids deal with emotions.

- Remember when I was yabbling away about the awesomeness of Priority Bicycles? They've got a Kickstarter going for children's bicycles!

- I am positively obsessed with Meghan Trainor's ukulele rendition of Dear Future Husband.

- Mapping the hourly wage needed to rent a 2-bedroom apartment in every state. (UGH)

- Nonacademic skills are the key to success. But what should we call them?

Image credit: no-bake millionaire's shortbread bars via Pinterest

Happy weekend everyone, I hope you're having an excellent one! We're in the middle of a bizarrely busy day (seriously, what is it with everything being scheduled for this weekend?) but I wanted to pop in quickly to share a roundup of reads and visuals that caught my eye via Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome. So much interesting stuff out there! Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday! 

- It's time to Climb Out of the Darkness.

- Congrats to Nick Fradiani (of my beloved alma mater)!

- Ha! Please stop saying these 25 ridiculous phrases at work.

- The definition of hell for each Myers-Briggs personality type.

- Stand with girls around the world - post a #Strengthie!

- The Muppets are returning!

- Where the "elite" kids shouldn't meet.

- Do we talk funny? 51 American colloquialisms.

- Generation X's parenting problem.

- The real reason college tuition costs so much.

Image credit: s'mores brownies via Pinterest

You guys, May. I'm already digging it! Warmer temperatures (according to the forecast, 70+ degrees all next week!), I'm starting to see our hosta and peony plants push up through the ground, and it looks like all the flowering trees on our street are about to burst. WOO HOO! Meanwhile, I wanted to leave you with some reads and visuals that caught my eye this week. Enjoy this week's installment of Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome.

- One way you can help Nepal right now.

- How to attract female engineers.

- John Oliver's glorious Dr. Oz takedown.

- This is how fast America changes its mind.

- How to keep women with children out of the workforce.

- For a healthy heart, you may have to eat more cheese.

- Photo essay: images of empowerment.

- Let's all wax nostalgic with this musical tribute to 80's teen movies.

- What a collection of 250,000 Lego bricks looks like.

Image credit: Greek goddess dip via Pinterest

Pretty much everyone I know has hang ups about money, and despite having built a very respectable business for myself over the last 9 years, I have repeatedly wrestled with (hang up related) procrastination that leads to epic suffering at tax time. This year I'm changing that, starting with Q1! Today, as part of my work via the Office Champions program, I'm sharing 6 financial things to do to make being a small business owner less painful.

1. Embrace being more knowledgable. Let's start big picture. Over the last couple of years I have learned from Jon that it is more powerful to embrace financial knowledge (good or bad) that fear it. Knowing what works and what doesn't will help you grow. The next 5 steps will all help you become more knowledgable about your finances.

2. Implement an accounting system you’ll actually use. Obviously, you need a way to keep track of income and expenses. I know many people who prefer accounting software, but I knew there would be more barrier to getting organized if I bought a program that I would need to sit down and spend time figuring out. Plus, I already knew how I wanted to track things and it was fast and easy for me to set up a system using Excel so I was ready to jump in and get organized more quickly. 

3. Declutter your paper process. In the past, paper office clutter has totally overwhelmed me. Go paperless with bank and credit card receipts and keep receipts at bay via digital tracking. For example, I’ve recently started exploring OneNote, which is super handy for cataloging expenses. Just snap a picture, annotate the receipt (e.g., with client name) by typing or inking, and then you can search text within an image when you need to call it up.

4. Form a system for incoming/reconciled paperwork. For remaining paperwork, form a simple system. I’ve been working on revamping my office (more on that to come) and realized that one thing that made me resent financial processing was having an inbox on my desk (taunting me!). Now I simply keep a folder in my top drawer for paperwork I need to reconcile and once reconciled, that paperwork moves to my filing system in my closet.

5. Reconcile your finances weekly. This step is CRUCIAL. Prevent the overwhelm factor at tax time by reconciling your income and expenses (e.g., receipts, credit card, business banking, pay stubs, etc.) weekly. I set this as a recurring to-do item and it just takes a few minutes a week to keep on top of it!

6. Do a quarterly financial check in. Assuming you are doing #5, this step will be a piece of cake. Tally up your income and expenses. The income piece is especially important if you pay estimated taxes and tend to have variability in your flow. In the past, I have just paid a fixed amount each quarter without accounting for growth (because I didn't make true quarterly estimates) and have owed a painful amount at tax time. Also, embracing the knowledge (#1 above) of how your business is doing will help you evaluate whether you need to ramp up your efforts, adjust spending, or simply celebrate a great quarter.

I’m thrilled to say that thanks to this process I've developed I’m totally on top of my quarterly finances for the first time in 9 years of freelancing and I plan on celebrating a great Q1, likely with burrito and cookies. Yay, burrito and cookies! And yay (in advance) for not suffering at tax time next year!

Disclosure: This post was inspired by my role as a compensated Office Champions ambassador; ideas and opinions are, of course, my own! For more in this series, check out my 9 tips for digital decluttering!

Image credit: vector by FreeDigitalPhotos.net (text added by Christine Koh)

Happy Saturday everyone, I hope you're having a good weekend so far, despite this wacky weather. If you haven't yet checked out the Weekend Roundup, be sure to do so since there are 25 event options to consider. And meanwhile, if you're looking to cozy up with some interesting reading, here's what caught my eye this week for Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome. Have a great rest of the weekend and see you back here on Monday!

- The world’s best teacher lives in rural Maine and doesn’t care about test scores.

- How Tim Gunn spends his Sunday.

- 8 powerful questions we should ask ourselves immediately.

- How Ethiopia managed to supply water to 48 million people.

- Tom Hanks reenacts all of his films in 6.5 minutes.

- Corporate volunteers can be a burden for nonprofits.

- “Yoga pants are ruining women” and other style advice from Fran Lebowitz.

- I don’t care if my son goes to college.

- How to design an edible landscape.

- 17 modern myths that are making motherhood miserable.

Image credit: ultimate stain removal guide via Pinterest

Happy Saturday everyone, I hope you’re having a great weekend. Today we’re finishing up celebrating Violet’s fourth birthday with a playdate with a couple of her friends from school. Man, I wish I had realized earlier on with Laurel how awesome small friend birthday gatherings are! Anyway, better late than never! Meanwhile, lots of interesting content around the web...enjoy this week’s edition of Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome:

- Why I’m a public-school teacher but a private-school parent.

- The ghost children in the wake of China’s one-child law.

- Why are white people expats when the rest of us are immigrants?

- Gender equality bake sale causes stir at Utah high school.

- A doctor discovers an important question patients should be asked.

- Why children need chores.

- And also, the four-part chore solution.

- My talented friend Gabrielle is coming to Boston as part of her book tour!

- Why the 9 to 5 life is hard for creative people.

- I couldn’t afford to lean in.

- Social media’s small, positive role in human relationships.

- How much (or little) the middle class makes in 30 U.S. cities.

Image credit: triple layer hot chocolate cake via Pinterest

Following my post on amping up your wardrobe with necklaces, for the next installment of Style on a Budget, I'm focusing on scarves. Like necklaces, scarves offer a lightning fast way add dimension to your outfit, and here in the tundra scarves also are functional for warmth! Added bonuses: you don’t need to go to a dressing room to try scarves on + per the recommendations in this post, scarves offer an affordable means to try a new style or fad.

Today I'm sharing a collection of scarves from Old Navy because: a) they are crazy inexpensive; and b) you don’t have to worry as much about the inexpensive garment fall apart factor because, well, NO SEAMS! Here are 7 options in a range of styles; I encourage you to use these affordable options to venture out of your comfort zone! For example, do always wear neutrals? Then try colorful options #5 or #6. Is your style super minimal? Then pair it with the romantic vibe of #4.

1. MODERN. This black and white geometric print (currently on sale for $12) adds instant edge to an outfit, whether you're going casual in a denim shirt and leggings or with a black sheath dress at work.

2. PREPPY. This navy blue stripe scarf (currently on sale for $14) is just begging to lift a simple outfit. The stripes would also play preppily well if you want to mix patterns (e.g., with dotted skinny jeans).

3. BOHO. With it's mixed pattern weave and tassled edges, this white and blue large pattern scarf ($16.94) offers up a more casual, bohemian feel. It would play well against a denim shirt, skinny jeans, and knee high boots.

4. ROMANTIC. Encourage spring into being with this romantic floral scarf ($14.94). It would look super cute with a belted dress or contrasted against a military jacket.

5. CREATIVE. Want to get double the bang for your buck? The cheerful colorways and two-sided patterning of this reverse infinity scarf ($17.94) show just how creative and vibrant you are. 

6. ELEGANT. The large scale pattern of this floral print (currently on sale for $12) conveys lovely elegance while giving your outfit a color boost.

7. MINIMALIST. I'm a big fan of white scarves as a means to instantly brighten your face. This white and grey colorblock scarf ($17.94) offers a cool, minimal way to add texture to your outfit.

So fun, right? I'd love to hear which scarves are your favorites!

Image credits: Old Navy

Yesterday I did two interviews about the snowpocalypse. The first was a short Skype segment on The Weather Channel about parents' reactions to the snow days (note to self: replace ugly bookshelf in office!) and the second was a longer segment on WBUR's Radio Boston about ideas to curb cabin fever and cope with cranky employers. The Radio Boston segment was especially fun, and I loved chatting food with Gordon Hamersley! Hope the tips help!

Image credit: Christine Koh

Today is Clean Out Your Computer Day -- a day to review and delete old files and programs -- and as many readers know, I love random holidays like this, especially when they inspire me to get more organized! As part of my work via the Office Champions program (and because I was in desperate need of laptop cleanup!), I thought it would be helpful to share my top tips for digital decluttering, and also how to keep those precious files safe.

1. Make note of your disk space. This is a super quick step and really more for your data collection gratification. Make a note of your remaining disk space so you can see your starting point.

2. Delete old programs. Go through and delete old programs you no longer use. Sort by most recently used applications for specific details on usage to help your process.

3. Break the process down into small chunks. The idea of cleaning out your entire computer can be a daunting one. Break the process down into small chunks so it feels more doable and so you can enjoy the satisfaction of checking off sections. For example, start with cleaning off your home screen (I have a terrible habit of dumping temporary files there) and then work your way through individual folders.

4. Clean out folders, tackling digital photos LAST. Clean out and delete/reorganize files and folders. I recommend tackling digital photos last because of the nostalgia rabbit hole factor. Get in a good rhythm with the easier files first!

5. Be ruthless. As you tackle #4, BE RUTHLESS. I recommend this tactic with physical decluttering and the same goes for digital decluttering. For example, with photos, delete images where people have their eyes closed, mouths open and full of food, etc., as well as repeats of the same shot or photos that really don’t contribute to storytelling in any way. I like to think of the process as curating the very best images; I may shoot, say, 300 photos at a party and I'm happiest when I can reduce that collection to 25 or so images.

6. Empty your trash/recycling bin and check your disk space again. This is the gratification side of step #1; you’ll feel happy seeing your increase in disk space!

7. Back up your data. After some catastrophic file losses in the past, I cannot recommend backing up your data enough! I use both an external hard drive + cloud service. Using something like OneDrive or Dropbox is awesome so you can access your files from anywhere. (To learn more about how Office and Dropbox work together, see here and here!)

8. Run a scan. Once your hard drive is cleaned up, I recommend running a scan. Just initiate and go make yourself a cup of coffee!

9. Maintain a digital decluttering routine. Prevent future overwhelm by maintaining a digital decluttering routine. If you digitally declutter once a week, or even once a month, the process will be quick!

Have other great tips to share? I’d love to hear them in the comments!

Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Disclosure: This post was inspired by my role as a compensated Office Champions ambassador; ideas and opinions are, of course, my own!