After a month of “rehab” my shoulder is a lot better, and my apartment is looking pretty awesome. I’ve found just keeping in mind what my focus is this month helpful in making real progress, and I’m ready to get back in the gym more and will post pictures of my apartment soon.
I didn’t really have it clear in my mind what my theme would be for March. But then at my 1:1 my manager told me to make sure I didn’t burn out. And my boyfriend said, “I wonder what would make you happy. Shipping a product a week”, and I said, “maybe a significant feature a week?”
It’s possible they both think I’m bonkers.
This is after I spent a week with a crazy temperature, still going to work every day because 1) I had no food in my apartment and 2) I had way too much to do to be sick, and I’d allowed myself to be sick all weekend so I decided to ignore it. This was hard given the disturbing way the world kept shifting between boiling hot and freezing cold, but I did my best. Meanwhile, one of my friends was having a crisis, I got asked to give a demo of Google Transit to city council, Maggie and her sister came up from the US to hang out, I finally got the reviews back on my paper that was accepted January 1st… with a three day deadline to submit the changes, and I discovered that my trip to California isn’t in two weeks, it’s next week.
As a result of all of this, I was a little… tired and strung out.
So here’s my new theme: ENERGIZE.
Or in other words, it’s not what I’m doing, it’s how I’m doing it.
I’m splitting my time between two projects, and it’s a struggle. I’m ending up in too many meetings. I’m incapable of saying no. I’m not spending enough time in the gym.
So the question I’m going to be asking myself this month, is how do I up my energy levels? It’s about making time to eat better, and go to the gym, and get enough sleep, and avoid things that are de-energizing (meetings and pointless arguments, for example), delegating, and prioritizing.
Already, I’ve been to the grocery store and bought actual food. I’ve hired a cleaner. I’ve asked the travel agent to organize my hotel bookings rather than doing it myself. One of my teammates did the styling on part of my feature (actually the tech lead, and he said something lovely about my code which made me ridiculously happy). I’ve given up a commitment. And I’ve talked to my manager about prioritization – yes to anything involving women, no to other things (this will be the hardest).
Tell me what boosts your energy levels, meanwhile… I’m going to get an early night.
2 replies on “Post Grad Rehab: February/March”
My initial thought was to find time to do things you love to boost your energy level – anything that makes you happy. I am sure you love your work and the people. you will succeed in it. As for the paper, you can revise it accordingly based on the feedbacks you received if you think they can be done? Nevertheless, and most importantly, stay healthy and get enough rest to prepare for the critical days. I am glad you decided to delegate some of the tasks. Living alone and having to depend on yourself for almost everything can be a challenge, but it is what makes you stronger.
I realize when deadline is tight and we have to juggle between two or more tasks, we hardly keep the commitment to do our best. I used to picture that I want everything to turn out well, but then I got overwhelmed by the process. If only we could aim for a subset of the things we want to do well rather than every aspect of the tasks, things may seem more achievable… Perhaps put all our best in the things that we can do well, instead of letting the things that we can’t do overshadow the entire situation.
I hope that Spring will arrive on time this year. Get well soon. xxx
I like this, “Perhaps put all our best in the things that we can do well, instead of letting the things that we can’t do overshadow the entire situation.” – it’s good advice.
I will be trying to do more of what makes me happy, and less of what doesn’t 🙂 thanks!