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The graduate scheme I’m on involves rotating around 4 different companies in a year. That means I’ve met a lot of people, a lot of really fascinating and inspirational people. Meeting all of those people is a big part of the scheme, it’s actually one of its aims. We’re sent around different companies and learn about them in part in order to become some of the most well connected people in the building.

But it can be hard to keep in touch, especially when your work email address is always changing. That was the inspiration behind these, little stay in touch cards, which I now really want to have made up. I feel like they would be a really lovely way to leave something with people you’ve worked with on a grad scheme, an internship, or on a freelance job. I really liked the idea of finishing them by hand so they feel personal and in the moment, so they’re less like a business card and more like a greeting card – I know which of those I am more likely to want to respond to.

Would anyone be interested in a real-life version of these?

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“What if they’ve just made a huge mistake and I’m not actually supposed to be here at all?” This question was the chorus of my first (and second and third) year of University. I never truly felt like I deserved to be there. It must have been a mistake, a prank, a sympathy admission. I thought I’d gotten over it by the time I left, but the same little self-doubting voice came back when I started my job in London. These feelings haven’t just been exclusive to my ‘career’ achievements either, I’ve felt it in relationships too.

These feelings fall under the umbrella term of Imposter Syndrome. Imposter Syndrome was coined by the psychologists Dr. Pauline Clance and Dr. Suzanne Imes, after Dr. Clance identified the same self-doubting feelings of being a fraud in her students as she had seen in herself as a student. It is particularly common among women and seems to have reached its self-doubty fingers into the very highest positions. According to this, really great, piece on Man Repeller about Imposter Syndrome Albert Einstein, Sheryl Sandberg and a number of US Presidents have all suffered from it.

That’s why imposter syndrome is the next of the demons I’m going to attempt to ask to politely fuck off. I designed this poster to remind me of my achievements in regards to places where I feel like an imposter. This hasn’t completely eradicated the feeling, and I’m not sure anything ever will, but it has helped to consider all of the things I have done before and in my job, that weren’t just luck. By making a slightly unnecessary certificate for myself I’m also trying to get over the idea that any praise is false and that I don’t deserve it.

If you’re not sure if you’re suffering from Imposter Syndrome, or if you need to justify to yourself that it’s real, this test allows you to place yourself on the Clance IP Scale. If it helps my score was 89, I’m an Oxford Grad now working in a competitive communications grad scheme while freelancing as a designer.

Download the certificate in gold and grey here.

*I’m clearly not a psychologist or a therapist, so yeah, just bear that in mind – this is just me trying to tell my own demons to politely fuck off.

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Happy Galentine’s Eve!

I love Parks and Rec. I’ve loved it from the moment I first binged it to every time I’ve come back when nothing else has quite compared.

I’d say I’m 90% Lesley (10% April) an assessment that has scientifically been verified by several Buzzfeed quizzes. So, it should come as no surprise that I think that Galentine’s day should be an official national holiday. I say this even though I’m admittedly a little light on the lady friend front currently (hit me up gals). I mean what could be better than a holiday where ladies celebrate and support ladies over waffles?

Even though it has still yet to be officially recognised I wanted to share some ideas, and a couple of cards, to help inspire great Galentine’s celebrations (not one of them involves buying a gift):

1. Embrace the traditional spirit of Galentine’s and take your ladies out for brunch. It can be hard to put the effort in and actually get everyone together, so managing to have something as simple and tasty as brunch can feel like a special occasion – especially if there are mimosas involved. Top brunch spots in London include: Palm Vaults (everything pink and wonderful), Farm Girl (good for anyone with a restricted diet, but not boring at all!), Foxcroft and Ginger (damn tasty), Bronte (if you’re feeling a bit posh).

2. Print out this postcard and send it to a lady you love. There’s something special about a handwritten card, they’re a bit more personal. In a time when almost all of the post we receive is bills or ASOS orders bound to be returned, getting a handwritten card from someone we love is a real occasion. So, why not brighten your galentine’s day and send her a postcard. I’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting, all you have to do is: print them off, write your message, put a stamp on it and drop it in one of those big red boxes. (I went a postcard because they’re not as intimating as writing a full card, they’re a bit more fun, and they’re cheaper to send internationally.) You can print yours here!

3. Call your mother. When you bring up the idea of Galentine’s day most people think of going out with their female friends. But let us not forget the ultimate gals who were there for us before we could even day the word gals who looked after us when we were sick or grumpily throwing tantrums in supermarkets, who had our backs even when we made the most questionable of pre-teen fashion choices. Taking the time to have a proper conversation with your mum, not just a text or a cursory email, but a proper conversation where you really listen to how they are, and let them know how much you appreciate them, can mean more than you realise. While you’re calling your mother, why not reach out to all of those female relatives who you don’t speak to enough. I know I for one don’t call my grandma enough either.

4. Pledge to Knopify your friendship for a year, and follow through. Just like puppies aren’t just for Christmas, friends aren’t just for Galentine’s day. Use this contract to pledge to be the best friend you can be for the year ahead, and come back and review it next year. Don’t just sign it and put it in a draw, stick to it. Tell your friends you love them more. Carve out the time to see them, to call them, to write to them. Email them that stupid article that made you think of them. Send them cookies if they’re having a bad day. Make binders about your friendship. Be as fierce as Leslie Knope is about her female friends. Take the first step now, and print your copy of the contract.

5. Celebrate and support your gals across the globe by donating to a women’s charity. There are so many women’s charities out there that are in need of funding that it’s impossible to list them all or pick out the most important ones here, but The Life You Can Save has a useful list, The Women’s Resource Centre is a network of women’s charities across the UK, Woman Kind supports the rights of women and girls across the world as do Women for Women International. There are so many more so you can easily find a charity that supports something close to your heart.

Who are going to be your galentines this year? What are you doing to celebrate?

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I know I’m late to reading this one. Fates and Furies had its moment in 2015. It was hyped. Then it was Obama’s favourite novel of the year. Then it was hyped even more. But somehow, probably in a stupor of Early Modern essays I missed it.

2 years on, it’s still fantastic. Fates and Furies is a tale of halves, in terms of both content and structure, a marriage. Groff has been applauded for her honest take on her subject matter, and while I’ve never been married I would wholeheartedly agree that her portrayal of the tensions of relationships in real, every day, life is completely, and believably, human.

Groff’s choice to write her novel in two halves isn’t revolutionary but it is rarely done so well. As you read, it just makes sense. The second point of view adds so much to the novel and to the richness of the characters. By the time you reach the half way point, you are so invested in Matilde and Lotto, you’re so close to their story, it doesn’t feel like a radical shift or turn but just a step deeper into their relationship.

At the time of its release, Fates and Furies was frequently set alongside Gone Girl. Both are tales of complicated marriages, both are populated by flawed occasionally caustic characters, both are real page turners. But Fates and Furies isn’t really a thriller, it couldn’t be made into the same kind of box office smash as its bedfellow. It’s just that bit more domestic, that bit more internal.

I will say, however, that some of it’s literary-ness felt a little forced to me. Certain sections (without spoiling it) felt structurally shoehorned in to look clever and some passages of prose felt overblown past the point of being the good kind of rich description. Those sections didn’t mar my enjoyment of the novel, but this wouldn’t have been an honest review without my noting them.

Fates and Furies was in equal parts devastating and enthralling. There’s just something about the way Groff’s characters feel like they’ve grown rather than been crafted and the way that she makes you question the subjectivity of truth in all things, but especially relationships.

SOME QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS YOU READ

  • What effect do the narratorial asides have on your reading experience?
  • Do you ultimately side with one half of the marriage over the other?
  • How do you think the story would have unfolded differently if Matilde had told her half of the story first? Where do you think your sympathies would lie?
  • Did you enjoy the play sections of the novel? If so why and what did they add?
  • Certain images are repeated throughout the novel, which ones can you remember? Did you find that those repeated images helped tie the two halves of the novel together at all?


IF YOU WANT SOME FURTHER READING TRY…

IF YOU WANT MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS HAVE A LOOK AT…

If you need something to mark your place when you read Fates and Furies, you can download and print the bookmark above for free.

Read the first Book Club for Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal

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It’s a new year and everyone’s really keen to start taking on more projects and make a fresh start with some fresh work. But before you just dive in, take a step back and really put some consideration in when you’re writing your contracts. I’ll be honest and say that when I stated out and I was mainly just working for friends I didn’t have contracts, which wasn’t too bad. I still didn’t have them when I started working outside of that group. After a while I ended up coming across so many pain points that could have been mitigated by writing a good contract, which I’d put some thought and some conversation into. That’s why I wanted to share this checklist with you guys.

I really like resources like Bonsai for putting together professional, legally binding, contracts, without the anxiety and legal degree. But before I even look at one of those resources I make sure I know what I want to go into that contract using these 10 questions.

 

1. WHAT IS INCLUDED IN YOUR ESTIMATE OF COSTS?

You need to be clear about exactly what you are going to do for the cost you are charging. Work out if you’re including the costs of materials, fonts, conference call costs etc. This is also where you should put the number of redrafts or iterations you are prepared to do as part of the project. You also need to know, and let you client know, any additional fees such as rush orders or any discounts you’re giving them.

2. WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR THE PROJECT?

Every project needs a timeline, or at least a fixed endpoint. Your client needs to know when you’re going to deliver, and how long they can expect things to take.

3. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM THE CLIENT?

Sometimes you need your client to do some homework, either to work out exactly what they need or to find certain resources. Make these things clear in your contract so they know exactly what they need to do for you to be able to do your job, that way if there is a hold up because you’re waiting on something you know where the responsibility lies.

4. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CLIENT?

In legal terms it’s important to spell out that you’re a freelance contractor rather than an employee. In personal terms it’s essential to make clear the relationship you’re planning on having, if you don’t take calls on weekends or after hours, or if you’re only going to work from home you need to make sure there’s no expectation you’re in office.

5. WHAT WILL BE THE PROCESS FOR FEEDBACK AND APPROVAL?

Feedback and approval is one of the main things that can slow a project down, where possible in a contract you need to highlight how long each feedback session is expected to take. Some clients require hard copies and signature to mark approval others are fine with an email chain, you need to know which your client prefers and have it in writing in your contract.

6. WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS?

As a freelancer having the work you’ve done in your portfolio is super important, when you’re writing your contract you need to specify that the rights of the thing you’ve produced allow that. If your client is unhappy with this, it’s best to know at the start.

7. WHAT CONFIDENTIALLY SAFEGUARDS DO YOU HAVE/NEED?

Some clients require confidentiality agreements, to protect their projects. It’s always best to be safe than sorry and check what they do and don’t require before you tweet anything that might get you in trouble.

8. WHAT KIND OF GUARANTEE ARE YOU GIVING?

Mistakes happen. If you’ve made a typo or a website breaks,

9. WHAT ARE THE TERMINATION TERMS?

You never want it to happen, but sometimes projects get cancelled and you need to know if you will get some compensation (set it up so that you do) and you need to know who owns the draft product that might have been produced up until that point.

10. WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE’S A DISPUTE?

Something else you don’t want to happen but need to have the provision for is disputes. This one becomes more important the bigger your projects are as you may need to set aside provision for third party involvement and who would pick up those fees.