MY FAVORITE THINGS
YOUR TOOLKIT FOR ZEN WORK AND LIFE
Finding calm during a stressful day doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a collection of my favorite books, tools, and practices that have personally helped me stay centered—even when work felt overwhelming.
Each recommendation is hand-picked to help you create moments of calm, reset your mindset, and feel more in control of your positivity, happiness, and zen.
Photo by Leandra Blei Photography.
WORKPLACE ZEN
Love the vibe of the Career Zen home office? You can recreate the zen in your workspace!
INTERNATIONAL PETSITTING
Love traveling AND animals? This is my new favorite way to see the world on a budget.
MONEY ZEN
DIRECTION & PURPOSE
JOB SEARCH & MINDSET
Affiliate Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase. I only recommend products I genuinely love and believe can help you find your zen.
RECOMMENDED WEBSITES
Here are some of my favorite sites for career research and advice. The more you know, the more you can be!
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Feeling lost and unsure where to start?
I love this narrative approach to career discovery! Download this free workbook.
A Day in the Life of Series on YouTube. Here’s an example for real estate agent.
Written interviews with various professionals. Learn firsthand what they think of their careers.
Video collection of a wide range of careers based on the US Dept of Labor.
Perhaps the most comprehensive career database. It’s not fancy but it’s great content!
Searchable site for career exploration based on your interests, industry, or keywords.
Volunteering is a great way to give back to the community, get experience in a new industry, and add to your resume! Volunteer Match is a powerful search engine.
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You might be a scanner :) Here's a talk by Barbara Sher, and a great TED talk about multipotentialites. People who are open to lots of ideas, love learning everything, and never want to choose or limit their options. You might like Sher's book "Refuse to Choose."
Learn about portfolio careers! The idea that you can have multiple jobs, hobbies, personal pursuits that combine to form the variety and fulfillment you crave. Here are some helpful articles: By FlexJobs, by Forbes, and LiveCareer.
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Want to see how your past skills might translate to new jobs? Check out this website.
You have more skills than you realize! The key to pivoting from one industry to another is transferable skills.
Gain new skills and experience to list on your resume when you volunteer for meaningful causes.
Skills don’t limit your career possibilities because you can always pick up skills. What actually energizes you?
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With 500,000+ job titles, career tests are not designed to tell you what you “should do.” Rather, they point out patterns and possibilities. You determine if it feels accurate and where to go from there. Here are some of my favorites:
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How much do you really need to make in order to live comfortably?. This is a nice calculator for Texas salaries.
Are you negotiating salaries and want to compare what others are making and understand the range? Research with this site.
Here are more tips on how to negotiate your salary!
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Want to find meaningful work? Start with a company with a positive culture and great mission! Interested in working remote? Here’s a great list of companies to consider.
ACC is offering free job search classes and coaching to the public! Highly recommend this service.
Launch Pad Job Club in Austin is a free way to gain support, talk with recruiters, and learn how to job search!
Free online job search advice, classes, and events through my friend Joey’s organization Career Connectors Network in Arizona.
AND MORE! My career colleagues recently shared their favorite free online resources for job search!
“If we can really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem.”