You know those nights when you stay up way too late finishing the last three episodes of This Is Us, then your alarm goes off in the morning and you hit snooze six times? Well, the problem is, that after you finally peel yourself off of your pillow, you’re running late for the monthly staff meeting at your new job. So, after you shower, rather than take the time to blow dry your hair, you leave it wet, throw on some blush, grab a pop tart, and head to work.

Even though you somehow arrive on time, your cover is blown because wet hair is a sign of poor time management. Arriving to work with wet hair announces to the entire office that you were running late, or that you’re too lazy to spend the time to blow dry your hair. Now, there are the select few who can wash their hair, throw it in a bun, and take it down at lunch to reveal glorious locks. But, for the majority of us, we simply look like we got caught in the rain and can’t manage our own lives.

So, rather than arriving to work with wet hair, skip the shampoo and use a dry shampoo, or throw your hair in a high bun with a dramatic earring. You may think you look a mess but, at work, dry dirty hair is better than clean wet hair.

Navigating the workforce can be scary, intimidating, and overwhelming. So, if you are trying to convince yourself that you can go about it alone, you are wrong. Having a mentor or someone at work that has your back is crucial to your success. A mentor can tell you about mistakes she has made and how to avoid those same pitfalls. Similarly, she can advise you about her experience in things such as negotiating a raise or dealing with a difficult boss.

In addition to a mentor, having an ally at work that looks out for you can be helpful as well. You need people at work that can vouch for your skills when you are not around. And, often times, your allies may not be other women. Don’t shy away from men in the workplace that vouch for your skills or otherwise have your back. Be thankful for the help and use the advice and insight to help advance in your career. Because after all, it takes a village…

Year after year, we make resolutions to better ourselves but, rarely do we make resolutions to better our careers. Career resolutions keep us on track throughout the year and force us to reflect on the past year. If you don’t have any career resolutions on your list for 2017, here are 5 resolutions you should start with:

1. Networking. Make an effort to attend one networking event a month and connect with people that you may have lost touch with over the last year. Attend a happy hour for professionals, grab coffee with a friend from college, or plan a social outing with co-workers.
2. Keep your inbox under control. Set a goal to start each week with 0 unread emails. Organization leads to productivity. So, set a time each morning to answer emails, unsubscribe from unwanted emails, and delete junk mail.
3. Seek constructive criticism. To successfully climb the ladder at work, you have to grow and advance your skill set. The best way to do this is to ask for feedback on projects and use that feedback to improve.
4. Stop being a negative Nancy. It’s so easy to complain and focus on all of the things that seem to be going wrong at work. This year, try to eliminate complaining and set a goal to look at life with a glass half full attitude.
5. Read More. Studies show that people who read are more successful than people who don’t. So, read more; read anything; just read. Set a goal to read five books this year, then next year, up that goal to ten.

We all love a crisp white button-down shirt. But, button-down shirts can become your worst enemy when it comes to office attire.  Shirts that are too small or that gape  in between buttons and show your bra to the entire office just aren’t professional. You leave the house looking great but two minutes later your shirt looks like this…

Here’s how to fix it:

If you turn sideways in the mirror and notice one or two small openings in your shirt, around your bra, then all you need is some double sided fashion tape. Cut a piece of the tape that’s the length of the space in between the buttons, apply the tape, and firmly hold the two sides of the shirt together until it feels secure and doesn’t gape open. And, don’t forget to pack an extra piece of fashion tape in your bag for the day, just in case your awesome boobs decide to pop the tape open in the middle of the day.

Now, if you look in the mirror and notice openings in between every single button, then you need to buy a larger size shirt.  You may be worried that a larger size will look boxy or that the sleeves will be too long so, invest in a good tailor to make some tweaks. It will only cost you a few dollars and the shirt will look custom made.

For some of us though, no matter what size we buy, the shirt gapes open, or our boobs break free after five minutes of the shirt being taped closed. If you are one of these women and you don’t want to give up on button-down shirts completely, then try wearing a neutral colored camisole underneath the shirt so that your bra is not on display for every office looky-loo. You may also want to try buying a men’s shirt and getting it tailored to your curves.

Whether you’re a college student prepping for finals or an attorney prepping for trial, stress is inevitable. But, rather than losing your #@!%, yelling, or having a nervous breakdown, try this:

Eliminate the desire to panic. Take a deep breath and remind yourself not to panic because it is not the end of the world. Whatever it is that seems like an emergency is better handled if you remain calm. So, take a breath so that you can continue to think clearly. When you panic, or simply react without thinking, you make decisions that you wouldn’t have otherwise made; you abandon training, you abandon logic, and you abandon the calmness required to assess a situation. So, take a breath, give yourself a little pep talk, and whatever you do, don’t panic.

Remain Objective. Remember that when you’re faced with a situation that seems insurmountable, you need to remove all personal emotion and subjectivity and look at everything objectively. It is easy to allow our subjective self to take over and read things into a situation that aren’t there. For example, your boss comes by first thing in the morning and is yelling because she can’t find a client’s folder that she needs for a meeting that started 2 minutes ago. Instead of assuming she is yelling at you because she thinks you’re a horrible person, remain objective. Your boss is not yelling because she hates you, she is yelling because she is frustrated that she cannot find what she needs. So, remain calm and simply help her find the folder. If we objectively hear what someone is saying, we can resolve the problem without being offended or distracted from the ultimate goal.