Work is a part of who I am. It's a part of who we all are, really. I'm a part-timer, but I still spend roughly half my day working. That's why I've always believed I should do something I love and also share it with the people I love.
You've already seen some of my resolutions that talk about how I'll reconcile work with my personal life, but here are a few work resolutions -- all non-job specific-- that I'm committed to doing this year.
Resolutions for a Better Work Day:
1. Keep a work journal. One of the worst bosses I ever had once made me do this and I hated it. But after several years away from that awful work situation, I'm starting to see the merit of this one idea (and nothing else that boss ever suggested). My job is often hectic, chaotic even. Far too often, so many little projects land on my desk last minute, that I look at my to-do list at the end of the day and wonder Where did my day go? That unpredictability prevents me from keeping organized. So I'm going to start a work journal, sort of like a lawyerly billable hours system. Who knows what I'll discover by the end of the year? And maybe I'll be able to organize my time better for next year.
2. Organize my schedule each month and look ahead. It is way too easy for me to jump from event to event and let time slip away. I get so busy planning an event, that I forget to stop and ask for help until the last minute. But this year, on the first of every month, I'm going to look ahead and assess.
3. Develop a Morning Routine. Does this happen to you? I come in in the morning to find a pile of things someone left for me on my desk or someone waiting for me with an urgent request for help. Before I know it, it's 11 am and I haven't even gotten through my emails or phone calls. I need to create a morning routine of absolute must-dos and give it priority. No distractions!
4. Buy Flowers! Something lovely never hurt the spirits, right? Why not be uplifted and refreshed at work? So flowers are making a comeback!
Never forget that January is a do-over in every aspect of life. There's nothing that cannot be fixed with a little bit of focus. So here's my final resolution.
Good luck to all! And please hold me accountable! I fully expect that to be one of your resolutions.
Because of the nature of my work, I have to keep a paper trail of what I do and how much, and it IS helpful. I've also seen the idea that a work journal can include any good parts of a work day, so that if you start to get overwhelmed or bogged down in annoying minutaie, you can look back on things that went more smoothly than you expected, or on any praise that made you feel good.
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