Downtime at work is such a rare thing and sometimes, it can catch you so off guard you don’t know what to do with yourself. You are caught up on your e-mails. The phone isn’t ringing off the hook. Here are a few quick and productive things you can do to make the day go faster and still feel like you have accomplished something: Get Organized – Take a good look at your projects and make a list of everything which needs to be done in order to check the entire project off of your to-do list. Choose one project –Pick a project that you can spend a big chunk of time on today. Set your timer for an hour and see how much you can accomplish. Need more time? Well, today you have plenty of time! Keep going until you reach a point when you want to stop for the day. Leave the office feeling like you got something accomplished. Learn something – Read some articles on-line or watch a TED talk on a topic of interest that relates to your field. Browse trade publications or read a few LinkedIn articles. Have a mobile meeting – Instead of meeting with a colleague in his or her office–take it outside and go for a walk. Get some fresh air and maybe your new surroundings will bring some new ideas to light. Break out the label maker – This one is my favorite! Take out old files you don’t need anymore and create new ones. File papers away that have been sitting on your desk with no place to go. Leave your workday with a clean desk. Help someone else in the office – Maybe you don’t have a lot to do today, but someone else is up against a major deadline. Offer your assistance —even if it is just to stuff envelopes or make copies. They will appreciate it and they won’t forget it when you are in need. Don’t forget the small stuff – Get a few quotes from vendors for an upcoming project. Order office supplies. Update your calendar with upcoming meetings and events. Empty your in-box. Send a thank you note.
January 2019 archive
Not My Night
Writing 31 blog posts is not easy. I’m constantly looking for material. If I don’t find it in my daily life then I go through 100s of writing prompts and magazine articles until something strikes my fancy. Unfortunately, even that doesn’t cure my writer’s block. Here is a behind the scenes look of how I approached this post today. 6 am – Wake up, shower and contemplate an idea for my post 7:30 am – Commute to work, think through my idea from top to bottom and eventually talk myself out of it, deciding there must be something else more interesting to write about. 9-5 – Work and wait for something interesting to happen. 5 pm- Nothing happens at work that I want (or can) write about. Drive home hoping for divine intervention to put me out of my misery. 6-8:30 pm – Berate myself for being the world’s worst writer. I mean, why can’t I come up with one decent idea? 9:30 pm – Decide on lame writer’s block post and promise myself this weekend I will do my due diligence and write 5 blog posts so that I don’t put myself through this torture again. 9:35 pm – Open up a Mike’s Hard Lemonade and think about tomorrow’s post. 🙂
An Unfair Errand
Shopping for a little black dress (LBD) after the holidays is completely unfair. I’m still carrying a little – okay a lot – of latke and gelt weight from Hanukkah. Not to mention that Hanukkah came right after Thanksgiving, which is most unfortunate for my waistline. Anyway, my job requires me to wear an LBD at our big gala next weekend. So, there I was at the mall this evening on an unfair errand – looking for the perfect dress. And when I say the perfect dress, it has to meet the following criteria:
- It doesn’t make me look fat. Thankfully, staff wears black so that is slimming. (Note to self: buy Spanx).
- It looks professional. I’m in charge of the program, which is a highly visible job that requires a lot of running around all while looking like I’m totally in control of the situation. (Which, of course I am… 🙂 )
- Speaking of running around. Said dress must be sleeveless because I’m a woman of a certain age and I get overheated easily at a moment’s notice. (Reminder: pack deodorant)
- More running. Dress must look good with flat shoes. No high heels for me. I can’t be on my feet all night without a good pair of flats.
- Under $100. I’m currently doing Weight Watchers and hope this dress is way too big for me by spring. I don’t want to spend a lot of money on it.
Thankfully, after visiting 4 different stores, trying on 12 dresses and allowing myself a good, yet short-lived, cry in the fitting room at White House Black Market, I selected a dress that fits me and all of the above conditions. My errand was a success. Shopping used to be a lot more fun when I was young and skinny. I miss those days.