happiness | Uncategorized | work | work life balance

New Years Resolution

By on January 3, 2011

Usually I don’t take New Years resolutions very seriously. I mean, I’m ALWAYS dieting and trying to loose weight – so I don’t join the billion other people out there who make a New Years resolution to “get healthy” or “loose some poundage.” But this year, I really have something that I need to work on.

Today is my last vacation day. Yep – I have had an 11 day break from my job. And it was AWESOME! I didn’t miss work one bit. Today I felt a little guilty not going in since I think everyone else went back today. (Sucks for them! 🙂 They should have saved their vacation days!)

But as for missing work? NOPE! Not at all. Not. At. All!

In fact, I’ve been dreading this day. I knew the vacation would have to end. And I knew I was going to be upset. I actually started getting really upset yesterday about going back to work. Josh could tell I was in a funk and made me get out of bed and go for a walk. We talked about work and my attitude…my bad attitude.

I hate that I complain about work so much. My job isn’t what I thought I’d be doing at this point in my life, but it’s a good job. I’m lucky to have a job. And I need to remember that.

Soooooo….my new years resolution is to be more positive about my job. Here’s a few things I’m going to try:

*Multiple Personalities – During my week off, I really felt like I became a different person – the person I used to be before I started getting bitter about life (because of work). The biggest example is New Years – I drank, laughed, danced, acted crazy – and didn’t worry a bit about acting too immature, feeling too old to do certain things…basically I didn’t feel shame for doing stuff people my age do. I don’t want to be the uptight person I have to be at work all the time. So I’m going to try to have “multiple personalities.” I’ll be one person at work (boring, calm, obedient, smiling Holly) and another person when I’m not working (fun, happy, carefree, energetic, somewhat-party-girl Holly). Now, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to go out every night and get drunk and dance. But that does mean that I can’t be a loser and NOT go out if something cool’s going on because “I’m too tired from work” or because “I have to get up early and go to work tomorrow.” Lame-O. I need to remember that even though most everyone I work with is older and cares way more about their job than I ever will  that doesn’t mean I can’t act like a young, carefree adult. Just like Carrie says, “While we’re young and beautiful, we’ll party down on main street!” That’ll be my theme song. 🙂

*Leaving work at work – I’m such a worry wart. And I really started worrying about work WAY to much last year. My week off reminded me that life’s not all about this darn job. And it’s just not worth it to worry so much. So once I leave the building, my brain is done with work. And on my drive home, every time my thoughts stray to work related issues, I’ll give myself a mental SLAP! “No! Don’t think about work!” And when I’m home watching Glee and a commercial comes on and I start thinking about work…SLAP! “No! Don’t do it!” And when I’m laying in bed trying to sleep, and I start worrying about the stuff I have to deal with tomorrow….SLAP! “Nope! Think of something else – anything else but work!”

*Be positive – there are some times when I NEED to complain about work. Maybe I need to get something off my chest or get reassurance that I was right, etc. But most of the time, I only complain about work because that’s what I’m thinking about at the moment. And not only is it mean of me to whine and complain to others all the time, it’s detrimental to my attitude about work. I need to stay positive – and that means when I do talk about work to other people, I need to not complain and only speak about happy positive things.

And lastly…

*Lay off the caffeine – I really think drinking too much caffeine makes me even more worrisome and anxious that I already am. 1 cup of coffee a day – that’s it – no more.

I’m really going to try – try hard – to follow this plan. And hopefully, I’ll keep this New Years resolution!

Continue Reading

job | Uncategorized | work | workplace

Dining Dilemma

By on December 2, 2010

Everyday when noon rolls around, I have to make a decision. Where should I eat my lunch? And there’s really no good answer to that question…

I could eat in the breakroom. Which sounds like a good idea since the TV in the breakroom has cable (we canceled our cable at home) and I could get my Food Network fix…

But then I have to make small talk with everyone that walks by to use the microwave or grab a coke, or get some water, or pick up a spoon. By the time my lunch is over, I haven’t gotten to watch any of Paula Deen AND I’m exhausted from all the chit-chat!

I could eat at my desk. Which sounds like a good idea since I can get on Facebook and Blogger and email my friends…

But I don’t have an office with a door to close. So I end up jumping up, in mid-bite of my sandwich, to refill the printer paper for someone, or grab someone an envelop, or take notes for a project someone needs my help with. So after my lunch hour is over, I still haven’t finished eating, my soup is cold and I’m thinking that it’s time for a break from my lunch break!

I could eat in my car. Which sounds like a good idea because it’s nice and quiet…

But really, who wants to eat in their car? And who wants to be in the car anymore than we have to be? And in the summer it’s too hot and in the winter it’s too cold!

I could go out to lunch. Which sounds like a good idea because I could get out of the office and eat some yummy food.

But then I’d have to spend lots of money everyday. And drive to wherever I choose to eat. Which would waste time and gas!

Maybe I should just skip lunch. 🙂

Continue Reading

job | Uncategorized | work

Signs you may not be happy with your job…

By on October 14, 2010

1. The bathroom stall is not only a place to do your “business,” but also your safehaven – a calming get-a-way location where you can relax for a good 15 minutes at a time. (At least until the auto-lights go off. Then it’s just weird to sit in the bathroom in the dark.)

2. You have to move certain emails out of your inbox and into a folder titled “I’ll deal with this later” just because looking at those email makes you infuriated.

3. You feel like you have multiple personalities when you get to work. You say outloud, “I’m doing great this morning! Thanks for asking! How are you doing today?” But you are really thinking to yourself, “How am I doing? I’m tired. I don’t want to be here today. I don’t feel like dealing with all of this crap. Screw you! Is it Friday yet?!”

4. You once described yourself as a happy-go-lucky, hopefully, bright-eyed young business woman. Now you just see yourself as a bitter, miserable old shrew.

5. You’d rather take a nap in the back seat of your car during lunch that risk having to talk about work in the breakroom with your co-workers.

6. Every time you answer certain people’s questions, they look at you like you’re an idiot…even though you’re telling them the correct answer. Apparently, people think that if you lack power, you lack intelligence. (Thanks for that quote, Lauren – I love it!)

Continue Reading

happiness | Uncategorized | work

The 5 Step Plan to Happiness

By on September 29, 2010

I’m friends with a girl on facebook who is constantly posting about how “perfect” her life is. Her status will read, “I have the perfect husband, perfect job, perfect life!” or “I’m so happy!” or My life couldn’t be more perfect right now!” etc… (excuse me while I puke…)

Well, we all know her life isn’t perfect. Duh – nobody’s life is perfect. But on the other hand, I can’t stand people on facebook who are constantly complaining and talking about how terrible their lives are.

So where’s the happy middle?

I worry about being too honest on this blog. I don’t know who’s really reading it – and I don’t want to whine and complain all the time or hang all my dirty laundry out for everyone to see. But I don’t want to be “that girl” with the “perfect life” either…I don’t want to be fake.

Well here’s some honesty for ya – this stage of my life is difficult. But I guess I just feel guilty talking about how hard my life is when everything really is going perfectly…at least on the outside. I have a wonderful husband, a great family, kind friends, a good paying job, a kind boss, my health, a nice house, a new car…what else could a girl want?

But the truth is…I’m really not happy right now. My weekends are fun and distracting, but the work weeks are rough. I have a hard time staying positive…looking forward…trying to remember that my life won’t always be like this.

Last week was baaaaad. I was grumpy, depressed, glum, sad – just very blah. I cried, I drank a bottle of wine…or two…I made life miserable for my hubby (sorry Josh!). I basically fell into the “funk” that I was in before I was laid off. Back when I really hated my job. I was miserable. And I really didn’t want to be like that again. I knew something had to change.

So I did what I do best – I made a plan. So here is my “5 Step Plan to Happiness.”

1. Pretend I’m happy. (Don’t act depressed/sad/grumpy. Just act like you are happy. Tell yourself you’re happy. Fake it!)
2. Don’t worry so much. (This one is hard. But lately I’ve been worrying TOO MUCH about work. One day last week I got so worked up, I spent 15 minutes in the bathroom willing myself not to cry and trying to pull myself together. And it’s just not worth it. Plus I was perfectly fine later that day. So there was no reason to get that upset in the first place. Don’t worry – be happy!)
3. Do fun stuff. (Of course I’m going to be all “blah” if I leave work everyday and go home and watch tv all night. I need to plan stuff to do. Go to dinner with friends. Get my lazy butt to the gym, go have dinner at my parents. And eventually my husband will quit working 70+ hour weeks and will be home to hang out with me.)
4. Look ahead. (This is just my life now. It won’t always be like this. I’m young and I’m going to go through many stages of life. This stage may not be exciting or fun, but it doesn’t have to be like this forever. I’m not going to do anything drastic right now, but if things don’t start looking up, maybe it’s time to make a change. And I need to remember it’s ok to change. I’m allowed to change things. I’m allowed to do something different. Find something that does make me happy. And I’m very blessed that I’m free and able to make a change in my life. Which leads me to number 5…)
5. Pray. (God is great! And I understand now that it isn’t his job to make sure I’m happy all the time. You gotta take the good and the bad in life. You know the saying – “It’s the bad things in life that make us appreciate the good things.” So I need to remember that even though this stage of my life isn’t great, it has a purpose. Maybe God wants me to learn how to be happy even when my life isn’t making me happy. But I know he has great things in store for me later on. I just need to be patient…and follow my 5 Step Plan. 🙂 )

-Holly

Continue Reading

fun | Uncategorized | work

Neato! Finding the FUN at Work

By on August 12, 2010
There are very few things at work that I find truly “fun.” (Read my whiny post here.)
But lately, I’ve been trying find happiness in the little things in life. So for the next few blog posts, I’d like to share with you the small parts of my job that I actually enjoy. We’ll call this series “Finding the FUN at Work.”
First off –
“The Neato”
Otherwise titled “How to put a CD cover onto a CD”
1. Peel off your CD label
2. Grab your Neato (I LOVE that it’s call theNeato!)
3. Put the CD Label onto the Neato, sticky side up
4. Put the CD onto the Neato
5. Push down
6. Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it…
POP! The CD pops up and…ta-dah! You have a perfectly aligned CD cover. NEATO! (Uunfortunately, I can’t show you a picture of the finished product because it is confidential. Boo.)
But I sure do love when that CD pops up! It’s kind of like a jack-in-the-box. And I have to smile every time. 🙂
Like I said, you have to find fun in the little things in life. 🙂

Tune in next time for another installment of “Finding the FUN at Work!”

And I’ll leave you today with these ADORABLE pictures of my baby boy helping me put up the laundry.
He’s so goofy!

Continue Reading