Comments (20)

By kilax, February 14, 2011 5:54 am

Goal: do not bring work stress home with me.

I used to think I was really good at “leaving work at work” – coming home and not having work on my mind AT ALL. But that has not been the case lately. Last week was awful. I felt frustrated every night. Which sucks. Because I really look forward to spending my evening with these guys:

And when I am feeling frustrated and stressed, I am not very fun to be around.

A lot of my stress is feeling like I have too much to do, even though I know that I don’t. So I constantly tell myself “You have enough time to get everything done.” And, “Not everything is urgent. It’s not a life or death situation.” How sad is it that I have to tell myself these things?

I hate how anxious I am. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.

Are you able to leave work/school stress behind at the end of the day? What are your tricks?

Comments (35)

By kilax, November 18, 2010 11:48 am

The company I work for is really big on allowing employees to telework (work from home). In my particular group, most employees work from home at least one day a week. I will be eligible to participate in that program in the end of December! YAY!

This morning, I learned about a teleworking pilot program where an entire division (about 40 people) of an orgranization worked from home for 3 months, every day of the week. The pilot was a huge success, and my company’s leader wants to push for people to work from home more than one day a week.

Here is what I thought was really interesting about the pilot program – the employees were required to spend the time they weren’t commuting on a wellness initiative. That could be walking, yoga, biking, running… you get the idea – some sort of physical activity.

When I heard that, I thought “holy crap – that would be a lot of exercise for me!” My door-to-door one-way commute is an hour and 45 minutes. That is three and a half hours of commuting in a day! Imagine how much I could work out. Ha.

Metra, I love you and all, but we spend TOO much time together!

I think that is a really cool idea, to encourage wellness in employees. After I heard it though, it just reminded me how depressing it is that I spend that much time a day commuting. Blah.

How long is your commute (to school/work/wherever you go)? What would you do with that time if you didn’t have to spend it commuting?

Comments (27)

By kilax, November 17, 2010 6:03 am

Thank you for your interesting feedback on yesterday’s post! It seems most people don’t care what other people spend their money on… until they are bragging about it or complaining about how “poor” they are.

At work, I’m in a trainee program which requires periodic presentations of my work/progress for a two year period. Today is the end of that two-year period and my final presentation. If all goes well, I will be on my way to ending the trainee program and receiving a raise.

For each presentation (this is the last of 6), I’ve had to write a report detailing my projects and progress over the previous period of work. Theoretically, your audience reviews your report prior to the presentation, and you spend the presentation talking about the report and answering any questions they have.

You don’t need all of that detail. All I have wanted to say is that I am so happy the presentation is today. It’s been looming on the back of my mind, causing me to feel anxious and restless. I just want to get it over with.

I don’t get really nervous about presentations – but I don’t look forward to them. Does that make sense? My strategy for these has been to create a powerpoint with snippets from my report then expand on the snippets during my presentation. I rehearse a bit in my head, before the presentation, but kind of wing it.

How do you prepare for presentations? Do you like to present?

At least I have a cute outfit to wear!

My mom bought me this sweater ($11!) and scarf ($6!) she said, as a “repayment for the gas money for driving her around all weekend.” Thanks mom!

I realized something about myself this weekend, while shopping with my mom and sister – I am a bit of a clothing tomboy. My outfit is more likely to be like the one below than the one above:

Me and Mom at Red Robin… ymmmmmmmmmm!!!

While shopping this weekend, I only seemed to be interested in workout clothing. My mom and sister were the ones who wanted to look at pants, tops, sweaters, etc. We went in to the store where my mom picked out this sweater, and I just sat on a bench in the shoe section of the store, while my sister tried on a bunch of cute outfits. I didn’t look at the clothing for myself – my mom brought me this sweater to try on. And then she had to convince me it looked nice. It’s like I have to be prompted to look at “nice” (or work-appropriate) clothing. Anyway.

My sister ended up buying quite a few camisoles (“camis”) at that store for $4 each. She said she likes to wear them under most of her shirts.  I was reading Stephany’s blog yesterday, and she said the same thing! Her favorite clothing accessory is undershirts (camis) because she doesn’t like to wear shirts with nothing else next to her skin – it makes her uncomfortable.

I usually don’t wear a cami, unless it’s necessary under a sweater or something sheer but I know Steven wears an undershirt under EVERYTHING except his pajamas and workout clothes. So maybe this is more common than I think?

Do you wear an undershirt/cami under most of your tops? If not, when do you wear them?

Oops. This got a bit long and side-tracked. Wish me luck on my presentation. It’s at 10:00!

Comments (25)

By kilax, March 4, 2010 5:05 am

I am in a position at work in which I am often training a coworker how to do what I do. I explain procedures, processes, how our contracts work, how to do things in AutoCAD, how to handle certain situations… you get the idea.

I don’t mind training someone or explaining things to them. I actually look forward to how it serves as a refresher to me, and may even open my eyes to new ideas.

BUT, I don’t feel like I am a good trainer. I don’t feel like I explain things very well! I’ve really been struggling with being articulate lately. And by lately, I mean for most of my life. Sure, I am gregarious, but when you put me in front of a group, there might be a few extra words thrown in.

I was talking to my ex-neighbor* about how I don’t think I am good at training people, and he recommending asking people how they liked to be trained. Do they prefer hands on? Reading a document? Watching someone else perform the task first?

I thought that was really good advice. So I want to ask you to help me out as well:

What qualities should a good trainer have?

Whether it’s at work, or a coach, a teacher, or even a mentor, what have your favorite trainers been like? What did they do/not do that worked/didn’t work for you?

*Sniff sniff – they moved to New Mexico!

Comments (38)

By kilax, February 24, 2010 5:19 am

Generally, I thrive on:

• schedule
• routine
• day-to-day consistency
• making my own to-do list and following it

I don’t handle very well:

• major interruptions
• crises (whether real or exaggerated)
• people dumping their stress on me
• THINGS BEING OUT OF MY CONTROL

I am just being honest here. I struggle with a fear of the unknown. Not the unknown of what is going to happen in my life, but the unknown of “how far off schedule am I going to get today?”

I live in this imaginary place in my mind, where I get to actually control my own schedule, make a to-do list, and follow it. Sure, I enjoy the occasional interruption, or unplanned event. I am not that stiff and rigid.

But I HATE IT when I feel like I have no control over my day. More and more lately I feel like my entire day is being flushed down the drain because there are so many interruptions/too much drama to deal with. I actually found myself thinking earlier this week “I hope no one bothers me today.”

Whoa – I think it might be time to reassess my situation. Hoping that no one bothers me says something about me – I am worn out and stressed to the point that I am not doing a very good job with human interaction.

Any tips on helping me be more flexible and “go with the flow”? Do you ever struggle with fear of the unknown/things being out of your control?

Comments (34)

By kilax, December 15, 2009 5:08 am

My office’s holiday parties are this week. That’s right, parties, as in plural. We have a team lunch at a restaurant on Wednesday (there will be 6 of us), a floor potluck on Thursday (about 100 people), and the company party on Thursday afternoon (about 300 people?).

I don’t worry too much about the food and drinks. I know I will be able to get a vegan meal at the restaurant (I called on Monday to check) and I will bring my own food to the potluck and not have anything at the other party. Really, the point is to have fun and socialize.

And that is what I worry about, a bit. I know I will be fine socializing at the team lunch and floor potluck, because I know people. But trying to navigate the company party and talk to people is difficult. And I’m not shy! I’m pretty friendly and open, and am rarely at a loss for things to talk about*. I just have not mastered the art of joining a conversation already in process, and since our company has a lot of groups, that is a lot of what the party is. I aimlessly wander around, trying hard not to stick with just my group, but struggle to break into conversations with the few people I do know outside of my group…

There was actually a great article about social anxiety in the December issue of Women’s Health containing a lot of tips about interacting with strangers/coworkers. One of the best tips (which is not in that link) was on how to break away from a conversation, by saying something like “There are a few other people I’d like to say hello to. I had a great time talking to you. I’ll catch you later.” That is definitely something I’ve been trying to figure out how to tactfully say! If you’re not careful, you’ll be talking to the same person all night!

The other tips (actually in the link) were to “play mind games,” “try a new tactic,” and “work the room” (I guess you’ll have to read it for those to make sense!). But the tip I needed wasn’t there – how to join a conversation that has already started.

Are you attending any Office Holiday Parties this year? Do you look forward to them or dread them? Do you ever feel like you have a hard time breaking into a conversation? What are your tactics? Have any tips for me?!

*This could be seen as good OR bad.

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By kilax, December 2, 2009 5:52 am

Did anyone else wake up this morning and think, “If this was last week, today would be my last day of the work week!”?

I sure did!

I really don’t have any room to complain though. I didn’t have to work a single full week for the entire month of November (I have two full weeks this month though).

Besides, if it was last week, the holiday festivities would just be that much further away!

But those 3-day work weeks ARE nice! December really wears me out, and it would be great to have a few extra days off to prepare for the holidays and chill.

Side Note: Don’t forget to enter my Eating Animals Giveaway!

Comments (19)

By kilax, November 10, 2009 5:20 am

In conversation this weekend, two people mentioned to me how much trouble they were having with the younger people in their office. I think it really boiled down to these younger people being lazy and trying to take (stupid) short cuts. And wow, they DID have some good stories to tell! I was amazed!

But I asked how young these people were that they were having issues with – 24.

I’m 25.

Hee hee. So I mentioned that in my office, we have a large workforce of “trainees” – younger people in the 20s age group that are actually doing a lot of hard work. The Trainee Program is a two or three year program in which you have a coach and mentor, and actually get to do different “rotations” in the office to see what area of work best suits you, and to help you become a more diverse employee.*

We had a “Trainee Forum” in August. It was a lot of seminars, but also networking between the trainees. I was amazed to find out a lot of the people I work with are trainees. I assumed that because of their professionalism, they had already made it through the Trainee Program.

Anyway, the things they were complaining about wasn’t actually news to me. I’ve heard these statistics about the younger workforce – they’re more lazy, they have less dedication and bad attitudes, there’s no work loyalty, etc. And I’ve definitely witnessed it! I guess it just made me realize how lucky, and proud I should be to work for a company where this is not the case in the younger workers.

Have you witnessed any of these myths of younger workforce? Are they myths at all?

Correction on yesterday’s post: Steven did not bribe the kids with cookies to get out of the street. He asked them to get out of the street, then offered them fresh cookies, so he wouldn’t seem mean (I think? I wasn’t there).

*I realize I am very lucky to have been given this opportunity.

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By kilax, September 14, 2009 4:32 pm

This is my first time going on travel for the job I started back in December. I’m in Washington DC all week for training that is being held at the hotel where I am staying.

Mommy, don’t go!

Originally, I was scheduled to do this training with someone from another division that I don’t know. But, fate changed, and I ended up getting to go with my favorite work friend! She works in a different division now, but when I started, she kind of showed me the ropes. We think we’re pretty lucky that we got to come to DC together!

When we got here last night, we decided to squeeze in a visit to the Washington National Cathedral.

Washington National Cathedral

Washington National Cathedral

We arrived fairly late in the evening, so mass was starting. We could hear their beautiful singing and organ playing from the back of the cathedral. The sound really resonated throughout the space.

We spent a bit of time walking around inside and around the cathedral, but I realized I still feel a bit burned out from all of the church/cathedral visiting I did in Rome/Europe. It’s not like once you see one, you’ve seen them all… but to me, they just aren’t as exciting the second time around. They’re still magnificent and beautiful, just maybe not as awe inspiring.

We were starving after visiting the Cathedral, and visited the first place by Dupont Circle that looked appetizing – some place called “DC Cafe,” where I got a falafel pita. Nom nom nom. I need to quit eating these things.

I had a falafel pita on Friday too!

My lifestyle on travel feels so different than at home – I have a per diem to cover my food for the day (it’s very generous) and I have a 2 minute commute… that doesn’t require me to get into any sort of vehicle. Now, if only the bed was comfortable…

Comments (15)

By kilax, August 31, 2009 6:48 pm

I am traveling to Washington D.C. (for the first time!) soon for a work trip. I will be there a whole week, but will only have evenings free, and the Friday afternoon until Saturday afternoon that I am there.

Does anyone have any recommendations for “must-sees”* during my very short and limited trip? I have already contacted my senator to ask for tickets to visit the Capitol, and would like to go to the top of the Washington Monument, and perhaps visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum… but that’s it. Okay, that’s a lot.

But, Steven will be there too, and he doesn’t have to be in training all day, so you can give some recommendations for him (his brother is adamant that he visit the Air and Space Museum)!

Thanks!

*Or “must-dos,” but please keep in mind that I am not the partying type.