Five Things I Can't Get Through the Work Day Without

In keeping up with the “top five” theme that’s been going on since I started this blog, I thought I’d keep it going with this next post. So without further explanation, the five things I can’t get through the work day without. What are yours?

#5 Day Planner
I tried putting all of my meetings, appointments, to-do items, etc. into my calendar electronically, but after many failed Blackberry to Macbook sync attempts, I decided that a good old fashioned day planner was the only way to go. It may be bulky in my work bag, but I can write down anything easily in there, and I can easily see the day and week ahead – never forgetting a thing. Plus, I LOVE to cross things out when I’m done with them and you can’t do that on a Blackberry. My 2010 planner is a time.mine from the dot mine group (it’s the pink one, duh).

#4 Coffee
Yeah, it’s cliché but it’s true. A little bit of caffeine in the a.m. (and sometimes in the afternoon) goes a long way. Usually I bring my coffee from home, but at least once a week I get my Starbucks fix. Usually a grande soy latte if you’re curious, however, this time of year I opt for a peppermint mocha.

#3 Tweetdeck
As a PR professional, I need to know what’s going on in the news at all times. Not only that, but I need to network with my fellow PR pros and get to know journalists, so Tweetdeck is the mother ship for accomplishing all of this. Tweetdeck allows me to categorize and see people tweeting to me and around me, as well as allows me to handle multiple Twitter accounts I tweet for. Plus, I can check out people’s Facebook and LinkedIn status updates without having to log into several platforms. I just wish it was available via Blackberry and to access multiple Facebook groups I’m an admin for, but I’m sure it will be soon.

#2 Notepad and pen on-hand
At any point in the day, I can be given information that’s important to do my job. Whether it’s my boss or a coworker talking about a current project, a client calling me with an assignment or just a really good thought, it’s essential to have paper next to me. And I always have a scrap pile around so I can reuse paper. Save the Earth, people! Print on both sides and recycle!

#1 Pandora
Sitting behind a desk all day can at some times get a little boring, so that’s why I always need music to get me through the day. Yes, I love my ipod for the gym and car, but at work I’m all about Pandora. I have a lot of stations I like to put on random so at one moment I can have T-Pain blasting, then the next Ray LaMontage. If you want to know what stations I’ve been listening to and what I’ve bookmarked, check out my Pandora profile. I also love how you can tweet what you’re listening to! I recommend giving songs a thumbs-up or thumbs-down as often as possible because the more you do, the more Pandora knows you. It sucks because it only allows you to listen to 40 hours per month for free, but I’ve started paying the extra 99 cents per month when I max that out. It’s totally worth it because it’s the only online radio station that “gets” me.