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Inventory Work Habits

From time to time, take a look at your work habits. Look at the day: is there a time of day that's most challenging? For me there's that blood sugar drop at 3pm: it seems the solution is a Snickers Bar, or Green and Black's. As I look closer, it's the time of day when I hit the wall. I realize around 3pm that what I set out to do and what's going to happen today is vastly different. Projects are behind schedule, chocolate is the answer.

That's as crazy as the idea that throwing more time and energy at the projects, even as simple a project as decluttering my desk and files, will solve the challenge.

The answer I'm learning is more collaborative work with the team. And that's going to kick my ass to work on: yet there it is.

Look at the week--are there more challenging times of the week than others? I've solved my Monday woe that really started on Sunday. It used to be that I lived for Fridays and chastised Mondays. The trick to even out the week for me was to start saying that Monday was my favorite day. I have no idea how it really worked, but it did. I started preparing for Mondays the way I see some people get excited for a Friday night out on the town. On Fridays, I make sure to have a great way to end the work day: usually a good talk with friends about what was stressful or fun about the week. Then I go to bed early to get some good rest, and spend Saturday morning doing the mental/emotional and physical work to get me ready for Monday: a good talk with my mentor to clarify goals for the upcoming week, as well as practical chores: clothes, groceries done by around 1pm. Then, I plan something fun for Saturday afternoon, again ensuring generous time for rest. By Sunday it feels as if I have a free day: one often spent with friends, and doing a lot of nothing. The day is often open canvas space to regroup. And again, there's a pacing to get to bed early, so by Monday morning I'm practically rearing to go.

Try to look at the year and the cycles there. I just discovered for myself that I have a definite annual cycle that peaks 3 times a year. It's during those times that I need to be particularly thoughtful about how I support myself outside of work. It's a bad time to take vacation days, or have a lot going on with social outings.

There is inevitable madness at work, however, some time being objective about the ebb and flow of your work, your own rhythms, over the day, week, quarter or year, can help you develop a more strategic approach to getting work done in balance with being human, in a sustainable way. This review of work habits and patterns of your role, can help you figure out the right support systems needed, and make reasonable proposals to your supervisor and others about what will make the role you perform more successful.

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