I’ve already tried removing and reinstalling MS Office 2007 but the problem continues.

After several lengthy calls to Microsoft I was told that my operating system (Windows Vista) is corrupted and one solution would be to buy and install Windows 7.

Reinstalling windows for me would be almost as disruptive as buying a new PC.

So I think my options are:

1. Do nothing and risk having my PC blow up on me. (I keep getting strange pop up “dll” errors signaling there may be trouble ahead…)
2. Install Windows 7 (it can’t possibly be worse than Vista).
3. Do what several people, including my sister, have suggested and switch to a Mac.

I’m tempted to follow Mae West’s advice on this one: “When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I’ve never tried before“, so now I’m seriously thinking about the benefits/disadvantages of switching to a Mac.

Considerations

• I’ve been a PC user since Windows 3.1 was released and I’m not looking forward to another learning curve.
• On the other hand, do I want to continue supporting the company that released Windows Vista and MS Office 2007?

I’ve read several articles including Should I Buy a Mac or a PC? from WiseGeek and after reading all the comments from readers and their strong arguments for both the Mac and the PC, I’m still undecided.

Ok, I’m headed to Best Buy now just to look around and ask a few questions…

If you’re going to be a freelancer you have to be EXTRAORDINARY

The market for freelancers that are average is horrible

The market for exceptional freelancers has never been better

Work is the Stuff that Scares You

Work is the Stuff that Scarce

Work is the stuff that you ultimately may get paid for but that in the short run, you may want to avoid (‘cause it’s hard).

Hint: If it scares you that’s the signal that you should do it

You can watch the entire 18 minute interview here:

What it Takes to be an Entrepreneur Way Beyond 2010

I believe my resume primarily indicates the number of years I was institutionalized in Corporate America and it is not a fully accurate reflection of all my talents, skills and accomplishments. I also haven’t figured out an easy way to indicate my day job experience alongside by freelance work in a chronological resume.

Burn Your Résumé clearly explains the many limitations of a standard resume:

The Truth About Resumes

Unfortunately, the standard resume format remains for many people, “the best way to communicate your skill set and professional experience, especially when you are not a big networker, are trying to finagle your way into a new field in which you have no contacts, or are simply looking for a job in an area that IS résumé-driven”.

“When you are asked to show a résumé, you are really being asked to show how well you play within the rules. Did you put your purpose statement at the top? Did you use solid numbers instead of ranges? Did you account for any time between legitimate, salaried positions?”

“While it was once practical to frame your work experience in the résumé format, the project-oriented lifestyle that I and most entrepreneurs and young professionals now live does not fit within those parameters. How would I explain in a résumé that I took a certain small project that was below my usual price range and not something I would probably put in my portfolio because it allowed me to practice building websites with Joomla? I couldn’t”.

Conclusion

The post concludes with a more effective and genuine alternative to a resume: “…the real path to getting work (or creating work) that you really enjoy and are rewarded fairly for is to ditch the résumé, make connections, talk up your work and make use of projects that can slingshot you toward more opportunities”.

Amen.

You can enjoy the full article here: Burn Your Résumé

Eat that Frog

That’s the title of a popular book by Brian Tracy and it is a mantra I often repeat when I find myself avoiding a difficult task. Asking this question usually does the trick for me: “what is the most difficult, non-urgent but important task I should tackle today? (It usually happens to be a task that will advance my career, help me generate income, or help me resolve a conflict with a colleague or a client).

Then I try to imagine how good the rest of the day will feel if I start the day with that difficult phone call I’ve been avoiding or if I try to take a stab at that article that’s due in two weeks and I have no idea how to start.

Can You Relate to Any of These Statements?

• If I don’t exercise first thing in the morning I won’t do it later.
• If I don’t write a post first thing in the morning when my mind is still fresh and fully awake, it will take more effort and time to write that same post in mid afternoon.
• If I don’t jump start a brand new project early in the week, it will be easy to put it off for another week.

The satisfaction we feel after completing a difficult or unpleasant task provides a boost in energy and confidence that propels us to continue tackling other challenges. If on the other hand we start our day doing what comes easy, (answering emails or surfing the web), those difficult tasks will only grow more and more intimidating and ugly as the day goes by.

Avoiding our most critical tasks leads to stress, dissatisfaction and decreased self-esteem. Concentrate your efforts on the jobs that matter most (those that advance your medium and long-term goals) and then deal with the rest. If you have a work assignment, then deal with that first.

Take Action

You can plan, dream, write goals, attend workshops, get a coach, analyze and strategize all you want but nothing can take the place of ACTION. Action yields results, immediate feedback and it’s a great confidence builder.

Procrastination-nuker Dave Navarro, from Rock Your Day, has written a series of articles about overcoming task avoidance that I’ve found particularly helpful for keeping me from slacking. I think you’ll find it very helpful:

3 Reasons You Don’t Take Action (And the Quick Fix)

The term ‘time management’ is a bit misleading since you really can’t manage, store or save time.

The only thing you can manage is yourself, your actions and your reactions to external events.

Getting a grip on your schedule is one of the hardest things to do. As entrepreneurs, we must resist distractions and non-productive activities at all times or our business will suffer.

This post examines a simple yet time-proven technique to help you achieve more.

Write Things Down

Writing down everything you need to do is crucial to getting things done. A good reason for writing things down is that it reduces stress. Every uncompleted task weighs heavily on your mind making you irritable and stressed out. Instead of worrying about all the things you need to do, let your daily planner or to-do list do the worrying for you while you focus on completing your most important tasks of the day or the week.

Even if you consider yourself undisciplined, disorganized and easily distracted, you’ll be surprised by the power of this technique. The more difficult the task, the more often you need to write it down.

Say your goal is to become published within the next 6-12 months. (By that I mean having one or more articles published in a magazine or a newspaper). To accomplish this goal, you will need to write it down on your journal, on a list of tasks for the coming year, on a piece of paper next to your desk lamp and on your daily and weekly to do list.

Writing an article is the easy part. Marketing your article, targeting possible markets, writing query letters, contacting publishers, revising the article to fit a target publication, submitting your article or query letter, waiting for publishers to reply, and then finally, having your manuscript approved for publication (after receiving several rejections) is a process that can take weeks and even months, specially if you’re a beginner.

It is easy to become discouraged at the thought of completing a goal with so many critical steps. Keeping a little note within view at all times: “Key Goal: Get Published this Year!” can do wonders for helping you stay focused despite the delays and disappointments you may experience on the way to achieving your desired outcome.

Writing a note makes it easy for me to remember what items I need to buy at the grocery, even if I forget the list at home. The mere act of putting something on paper gives the task a life of its own. Every post and article I’ve ever written was first an item on a list I wrote months ago. The more difficult and intimidating the task, the more often you have to write it down, if you hope to complete it.

If I don’t write something down, schedule it and track it as a project, I’ll never do it. There are just too many urgencies and tasks competing for my time and attention on a daily basis. If on the other hand I write a task in several places, there’s a high probability that I will achieve it. If I only write it once, it just won’t happen.

Write with thick color markers on wall boards, or on a large sheet of paper and post it on a planning wall in your office, write a list of goals and projects on a word document, in a notebook, in your journal. The more you write it down the greater the likelihood of achieving a goal.