I was just listening to a podcast about creating a mood board. And it got me thinking, what would my mood board include for a successful working environment?

Julias Nonprofit Mood Board

  1. I don’t drink caffeinated drinks. Yup, that includes coffee! But, hands down, the best way to start my morning is with the bitterest hot chocolate you can find, only available at Misha’s in Old Town. (Not in Old Town? Just warm milk and add 1 tsp of unsweetened/raw cocoa powder.)
  2. When it all gets too serious and you’re stuck in a rut, there’s nothing better than some camaraderie and humor. Check out this honest and fun book specific to the world of nonprofits called “Nonprofit Nonsense: How to Survive and Thrive in the Crazy World of Nonprofit Business”.
  3. Partnering up with a like-minded company for a cause marketing campaign is high on every one of our client’s list. There is no better place to catch some inspiring vibes than Joe Waters’ Pinterest page where he collects and pins every notable cause marketing campaign.
  4. I’m not sure I’d call myself an archivist, but I do believe in capturing thoughts and ideas down on paper because you can then always go back and access them when the time is right—especially meeting notes. In fact, look at my archive of notebooks dating back to 2007.
    Miquelrius Notebook1
    There’s a certain excitement I have when I open this notebook every morning and document my workday. Whether it’s a doodle, a note to call the dentist, the list of projects/correspondence that are priorities for my day or stats that I jot down to mention to a client, I capture everything about my life (and a lot of inadvertent info!) Here’s my preferred notebook and here’s some great advice about picking the right one for you.
  1. One of my professional mentors once told me that if we were not getting choked up or shedding a tear every day working for our nonprofit clients, then we weren’t doing our job. When you get to work for nonprofit clients, you’ve got to get invested—personally. See what I mean by watching Ted Talks – like this one.
  2. I subscribe to a lot of emails. And I’m sad to say, that I delete a lot of them without reading. I just don’t have time! But one of the few that I always read is the Nonprofit Tech For Good In less than 10 seconds I run through 10 bullet points and get the latest updates on social, websites and all things digital! It always gets me thinking.
  3. There are a minimum of 3 golden nuggets in every month’s nonprofit blog carnival. Minimum. They pick a topic every month and each carnival is a rollcall of all the blog submissions submitted on that topic. It’s always chalk full of great advice from some of the best and brightest. Sign up today.
  4. We need to get moving—and not just our minds, but our bodies, too. I’ve drank the exercise kool-aid, what can I say? No one will be productive, creative and motivated just by sitting in front of a computer screen all day. So get up, get some fresh air. Or stand up, like I occasionally do at my new Varidesk.
  5. I will not ever forget this PSA—perhaps the first of its kind to use kinetic typography/motion graphics. Sometimes it’s helpful to go back to a place, time or campaign that moved you so you can brainstorm how to create something magical yourself.

At first I didn’t know if it was even possible to create a mood board for “work” but I hope this inspires you to make your work day, your routine or just your desk a little more stimulating. It’s all in the name of furthering your mission every day.