Secondly, I don't want to post about specifics of work here since it's in the public world. I'll just say that week one I was super excited about all the possibility of what I could do to effect change. And week two, the flood of work has descended and I'm getting introduced to the culure and ways of the place. Basically I have an uphill battle that will be slow going, but I'm still optimistic.
One thing that I'm struggling with is getting into the new flow of things both my own personal flow (I forgot my ID card at the office one day since I don't have my new routines down yet) and the flow of the bigger institution. I feel very misaligned at the moment. In part because when I left my last job, I was smooth sailing with all the people and systems. I knew what to expect (generally), how to maneuver, had a short hand developed with staff and colleagues, communication was good. But I keep reminding myself that I didn't start off like that. I had to put in the work to figure things out, build up trust, develop relationships, and grow my reputation. And it doesn't happen overnight.
Actually, it dawned on me last night when I was on my way home, that my living situation is very similar. I had a great relationship with my old neighbors and have been spending this last year adjusting to a new neighbor. Again, I'd remind myself that in our first few years, my old neighbors and I were not very friendly and it was something built over time. So in a way, very parallel. I just want to jump to the good part but need to keep reminding myself it takes time and work.
However, I'm pleasantly surprised to see some of the personal development work I did during my Sabatical paying off. When I left my last job I had made a list of all the things I wanted to do and figure out. And near the top of the list was address the "nothing to wear" and "nothing to eat" dilemmas I would often face. On the outfit side, I was golden straight off the start. I feel put together and good and it takes me barely any time each morning to get dressed. Versus, constantly trying to figure out what to wear and going through multiple iterations in the morning. It started with my decluttering journey and then I added a little planning. The key is to not require yourself to be creative every day but have scheduled working sessions when your creative juices flow the best.
On the food side, the first week wasn't good and I slipped back into old habits due to convienence. But my body was crying out for the good stuff way more than the earlier days. So I took advantage of the long weekend, had one day where I popped up to Maine to visit friends, one day of doing absolutely nothing - just napping and vegging, and one day of prepping for the week. Batch cooking on the weekds is key and having quick and easy dinners ready to go. This week has been a huge success on the food front. And all my experimenting and tracking recipes these last two years paid off. I still have some work to do but feel like I have a good working system. And can I just add, I've had hamburgers this week which is rare for me since I usually stay away from beef that I don't know the source (hormone injections and breast cancer link). But in my meat CSA share last month, I got hamburger patties so instead of chopping them up into ground beef, I bought some nice hamburger buns and OMG, they were so good.
The surprise part is seeing some of the things I was working on turned into habits. I didn't realize I had gotten that far. For example, I'm decluttering as I go at work so anything that crosses my desk I'm not just filing away but really figuring out if I need, including email. I used to keep everything since I was good at organizing but then I was faced with the daunting task of sorting through it all these last two years and I'm still not done (papers and digital files/emails). It's amazing when you have a mindset shift and it adjusts your approach to things.
The other thing I do is reset each day - both at work and home. I spend a few extra minutes tidying up and putting everything away for the next day and in some cases wrapping up tasks or leaving myself next steps notes. I'm not holding as much stuff in my head and so I'm not forgetting as much and I'm feeling calmer and less stressed. Also, I think, spending so much time figuring out what I wanted to focus on career wise and what was important got me to look at the macro and not always focus on the micro. So as I'm getting inandated with information and ideas and projects, I'm comfortable seeing it in the big picture and prioritizing some items, parking others and not being spread too thin and feeling overwhelmed trying to do everything.
So overall, a successful transition from a life of leisure back into the workforce and I'm happy to see my time off was well worth it. I still have a few more things I need to figure out. I went to the gym once this week and want to make sure I keep up my cardio, strengthening and stretching work. I'm walking ridicululous amounts each day since my office is in the outskirts and it's a 10-15 minute walk to meetings. Yesterday I was so worn out because I had three separate trips for meetings which means a total of four round trips (including my commute) walking in hot and humid weather. I need to figure out how to tackle this challenge - it just eats up so much of your time. Plus the sun is not my friend.
I also want to get back into the garden as I found it restorative gardening and the weeds are taking over again. I've learned you just have to diligently work on little bits to keep things in check. I was planning on gardening a bit last night, but I think all the walking wore me out and the sun drained my inclination to be outside.
But I'm not expecting everything to fall in place immediately. And figured I'd work on integrating my workout and gardening routine over the first month of my transition back to work. Well, must run as this is eating into my morning routine. And one thing I've been trying to readjust is playtime with the cats so they aren't neglected. It's a bit humid at the moment so we'll see how much activity they will muster.
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