“ WEEK 7 / 133 – 133 WEEKS TO SUCCESS ”
I have been swamped and bogged down this week. I feel like I’ve barely had time to breathe. I’ve always believed in the sacred mantra of working hard to get where you want and need to be in life, but there comes a point where you can work yourself to the point of burning out. Burning out just leads to less productivity in the end, as I’ve come to seen from so many talented professionals who soar like eagles and come crashing down into a bushfire.
I put my attentions across to those who needed to know that I expanded my horizons. I crossed my fingers in high hopes, and I am getting everything I asked for—that and more. I am busy in the most delightful way, but I know that with these newfound responsibilities, I also have to take a step back. I need to strategize to determine how I can continue this newfound momentum.
Three Tips for Working Smarter
- Give yourself permission to “waste” time
This is a tricky one for myself, because I have to let go of the stigma of having fun as opposed to constantly working. I feel like I have to “earn” the right to have fun, but if I keep on thinking that, given my constantly shifting standards and expectations, I will never be satisfied OR feel like I’ve “earned that right to fun”.
This may sound funny to people who can so easily swim in that sea of enjoyment, but I’m one of those people dipping their toes into the water, one foot firmly planted on the sand—examining and determining the depth and temperature of the water before wading in. I’m learning to let go of this self-imposed stigma. It’s a slow and steady process, but we’re getting there. It’s a work-in-progress to get to that fun-in-progress.
- Define your work hours
Ah, the proverbial 9-5 job…I was placing a catering order the other day, and was shocked to learn that the catering department had strict hours of 9 AM – 5 PM. I laughed to myself, wondering: who actually works 9 to 5 in the hospitality industry? I’m lucky enough that my hours are comparatively stable since I don’t work on property, but there are days were I do get caught up in projects or special events that require that extra overtime. That’s fine. It happens.
On a daily basis, though, I do my best to stick to my defined work hours. I have a specific window of time when I do my work, and if I can’t finish my work within that window, then I have to ask myself: how can I make this work? Time management is a necessity for getting through the work day, and moving on to what’s in my personal life.
- Define what you want to accomplish at the start of every day
If you saw my desk right now, it’d be a curious amalgamation of pastel colored post it notes with action items. To the outsider, it looks like colorful madness. To me, it’s a system that works. Everyone has a different system that fits for them. It’s up to you to figure out what that system—no matter how straight-line or out of whack it may be!—is that gets you to be your best self.
If there’s anything I’ve learned in Week 7, it’s that we got me here, won’t get me where I need to be. Keep moving forward. Keep on pivoting.
Cheers,
Kelly
@AlphaFemSociety tweets by @KellyRGonzales
About:
Each week, I take a tip from Lois P. Frankel’s book, Nice Girls Still Don’t Get the Corner Office, and explore how each of these tips affect myself and other women in similar positions on the road to becoming the women we want to be. There are far and few between who are a few steps behind me, and many more who are far advanced. I found that Lois P. Frankel’s advice applied to novice, intermediates, and experts alike. It helped me see that I was already doing right, served as a reminder to keep on doing what I was doing and how to keep that momentum going. The book also showed me areas where I could improve, and gave realistic tips to jump on board. There are a total of 133 tips, and explore one tip per week in a program I call: 133 Weeks to Success.
Join the movement using the hashtag #133WeeksToSuccess with posts which are posted every #AlphaFemaleFriday.
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