For those of you that work in a professional office environment, flip flops are never ok. Let me repeat that, flip flops are NEVER ok. Flip flops are appropriate if you are at the beach, a family picnic, running errands on the weekend, or if you just got a pedicure and are waiting for your Essie “cute as a button” pink nail polish to dry. But, when you stroll into work in a blouse, a suit skirt, and flip flops, you look like you either forgot your work shoes at home or like you do not know how to dress in a professional setting.

Sure, if you are at the office late or on the weekend, then flip flops may be ok; however, during normal business hours, you should have on a conservative, closed-toe, shoe.

So, instead of this at the office…

Try this…

Or this…

And, leave your flip flops at home.

One of the most deadliest weapons you can possess as a woman, is expert knowledge of whatever field you work in. Sure, being smart, likeable, and efficient are important but, simply knowing information can be a huge value. You should make it a point to continue educating yourself as you advance in your career, because if you do, you become an asset to those you work with. You are better able to do your job, and can help others do theirs. Continuing to read books and articles, keeping up with trends in your field, and knowing about recent developments, will undoubtedly make you indispensable.

Time is valuable. Time is not something people willingly waste. And, most people’s schedules are so jam-packed, that time becomes something that drives each day. We live appointment to appointment, meeting to meeting; so, when you are late, you throw someone else’s day completely off course.

When you schedule a business lunch with a prospective client at 12pm and you cruise up to valet at 12:17pm, you not only show poor time management skills, but you signal to the person you are meeting that her time is not important. The prospective client is sitting at the table alone, checking emails, waiting for you to arrive. You have not only managed to annoy her, but you have sent a clear message that her time is not as important as your time. And, as she sits there drinking a watered down lemonade, she wonders how you handle your workload, if you can’t manage to make it to lunch on time. Ultimately, she does not hire you and you lose a potential client. Her mind was made up at 12:13pm; four minutes before you ever arrived. Bottom line, be on time.

Sunday seems like the perfect day to accomplish all those pesky tasks that make the coming week easier. Whether it be folding laundry, making the kids’ lunches, picking out work clothes, meal prepping for that new diet, or working on a presentation for work, we usually end Sunday feeling extremely accomplished, but also extremely fatigued.

While doing the week’s prep work is necessary to have a seamless week, recharging and simply being lazy is also necessary. When you spend your Sunday buzzing around the house, organizing and packing the week ahead, you end up tired on Monday morning, and less productive because you have to fight to stay awake. So, after you tackle some of Sunday’s tasks, take a break. Go to brunch with some friends, take a nap, or cozy up in your favorite chair with a book. The couple of hours of “lazy” time, will allow you to recharge so that come Monday, you are well rested, and ultimately more productive.

We have all had a conversation with a woman who uses the word “like” repeatedly while talking. It’s almost as if she can’t find her words fast enough and instead fills the gaps with the word “like.” You know this woman; some of you are this woman. You walk into a co-worker’s office mid-morning and say “omg, like, today, like, on my way to work, I was like driving, and like this driver just like came into my lane and I like had to swerve to like, get out of the way.”

Like, huh? You lost me.

Often times, women fill the silence between their words with “like” and “um” rather than just pausing, taking a breath, and continuing their train of thought. And, because of these gap fillers, some women are not communicating effectively. Unfortunately, using “like” unnecessarily, makes people tune you out, not take you seriously, or label you as ditzy.

Next time you have a conversation with someone, try to recognize if you actually need to use the word “like” to make a comparison or give an example, or if you are using the word “like” merely as a gap filler. If it’s the latter, work towards speaking slower and eliminating these gap filler words. You will be surprised at how much more sophisticated you sound.