Happy Tuesday

Happy Tuesday 

&

Happy Valentine's Day!!! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I'm a little late on my posting for the week, but here's what I'm looking forward to:

1. Valentine's Day/Date Night/Concert - I'm wrapping this one up all in one. It may be a generic holiday for some, but I still like Valentine's Day.  It's an excuse to find something fun and interesting to do rather than just go to dinner and a movie. Plus, you get presents! :-) Bf and I are going to dinner and to see Bob Schneider at ACL Live. It's the first time I've ever gotten to go to ACL Live, first time the Bf has seen Bob (not sure he really knows the music - hmm, maybe I should give him a preview?), and first time we're going to a concert together. :-)
2. Reading - I got to read a lot this weekend - finished The Lightening Thief (the first of a series of cute books) and now reading the ever popular book 1 of the Hunger Games. I'm looking forward to reading some more this week... Although, I'm noticing that my reading is heavily influenced by teenagers. Wonder where that's coming from?
3. Knitting Blog Idea - I started to knit a couple of years ago. It's really enjoyable and fun (fast projects provide quick wins!)... although I'm not fast because I don't practice enough. (I have like 3 projects in progress. Seriously - girl's craft night reallllly needs to start happening. Ha - except I'm still coordinating that one!) The main reason I started knitting was because I love scarves, but I got tired of paying for ones that I could tell I make myself. Anyways, I don't do it very often but I'm always scouring for ideas and patterns. I've been checking out some knitting blogs over time, and I have come to realize that the knitting style I was taught is very unique - combined or combination knitting. (Thanks Mama!) The most popular styles are English or Continental, while combined is a dying form. Given that there is very little information on the web (it looks like one lady with her own website? Granted - she has a loooot of information. Maybe a few other random blogs?) I've been thinking that maybe I could write some of my own DIY entries (or a vBlog?!)...? It's something to ponder and figure out what's the best way to approach it... but I'm inspired! 

What are you looking forward to this week? 

Hope it's all fabulous!

Day-to-day successes? What's that?

Do you ever have days (weeks? months?) when you have worked all day – and you don’t know what the heck you’ve accomplished? Seriously? You’ve attended a lot of meetings (at least 4, plus 2 impromptu), sent off 20+ emails (I even counted!), talked to 10 different people (I count IM, phone, or in person)… but what have you actually completed? 

Suddenly, you look down at the clock.

3:30 PM 

Holy crap! It’s practically time to leave (in 4 hours)! Where has the day gone?! You need to get cranking on all the action items you got during the meetings, so that tomorrow, you can report back in the next 4 meetings (that of course, were set up today)? Oh, what about all those things you SHOULD have done (in excess of the action items), but failed to even peek at? (Wait, did I even eat anything today?)

Yeah, really. I’m serious. Welcome to my daily world called work. 

It’s been one of those weeks – and sometimes, I just don’t know how to deal with it. 

I’m kind of OCD (isn’t this entire blog entry proof of that?). I am completely driven by accomplishing tasks – a check mark by a task is a great goal for the day!  (How about 10?)

Yea, well… I am starting to really fear those days are history. The farther I progress into my management ‘experience,’ the more I realize that I need to find a different way of measuring my day-to-day ‘success.’

Every day this week, I’ve set myself up with my own list of tasks to complete. I’m going to write this much; I’m going to get back to all these people (action items!); I’m going to read this for guidance; I’m going to set up this meeting for collaboration. And then, every day, I fail miserably to get it all done. Someone asks for help – someone comes by – a new meeting appears on my calendar – a new issue rears its ugly head – SOMETHING HAPPENS. By the end of the day, I’m exhausted. Don’t get me wrong – I have to get some of my work done – it’s not like I sit here and blog all day (although judging how much I always get assigned to, that may be what some people think). In the end, I end up prioritizing my day based on what’s critical (due yesterday) versus semi-critical (due in 2 days). It’s a constant shuffle. The constant – setting expectations so that I don’t miss deadlines… because I can’t physically keep up.

So, what’s a good way to measure my daily successes?

Is it the number of emails I send? (I can’t tell you how many emails I draft and forget to send)
Is it the number of hours worked straight without moving a muscle? (no potty breaks! you have no time! Work, work, work!)
Is it how early or late I started sending emails (or maybe I should have never stopped?)
Is it the number of rows in a spreadsheet I’ve reviewed, commented, or added? (Is 250+ enough?)

What do I use as a guideline? 

ACK! 

Happy Mondays!

I decided that there can’t be a better way to start off a week right by using Monday morning blogs for inspiration and positivity for the week (on a day when all of us wish it were really Sunday morning). I’m not putting a limit on the number but generally the goal is to think of 5…

Here we go:

1. Morning coffee – I am super crabby and lazy in the mornings (shocker?). If it were left up to me, I would go to Starbucks every morning. Don’t get me wrong – I am one of Starbuck’s favorite patrons, but I also like to try to keep my “checkbook” balanced (ok – ok – it’s really the CC balance at the end of the month). My boyfriend, who doesn’t drink coffee, makes me the best cup of joe if I smile sweetly (or grumble). I don’t know how he does it, but my morning coffee never tastes as good as when he makes it. I still visit Starbucks in the mornings to get me going, but these days – his coffee is much tastier.
2. Cold mornings – Mother Nature hasn’t been able to make up her mind this year. Spring, winter, practically summer? Seriously? But this morning was crisp, perfect for pulling out a pretty sweater and using it accessorize my outfit.
3. Seeing my best friend and new hubs – I got to see them yesterday, and it was a small slice of joy. Not only that, but we have a double date set up already! And here I was worried they would disappear into the eternal abyss marital bliss, and instead, I may get to see them more than I had in previous months? I’ll take it!
4. Closet reorganization – I bought new hangers and am starting Project Closet Reorg. If anyone has seen even just a peek of my closet, we all know that this is a major, multi-step undertaking. So far, I’m loving how the new hangers are making a little bit more room (not as much as I’d hoped – naiveté), and I can SEE what’s in my closet a lot better. I’ll try to take some pictures and maybe right a post about it. DIY seems to be the in-thing for blogs these days.
5. Positive thoughts on a Monday – the idea of posting blogs every Monday to kicking off my week with a smile.
6. Workout rejuvenation – I’ve been a lazy butt for the last couple of months, but I’ve somehow managed to keep pounds off (for the most part). However, I need physical activity like I need air – so I’m getting back into it this week. Running (gasp), kickboxing, cross-training, and Bikram yoga – some combination of those four that weekly leads to me working out 4-5 days a week. I’ve set the goal. I ordered a bridesmaid dress yesterday (size 6!!!), and the wedding is a little over 15 weeks away (May 12th). Goal is set, and it happily coincides with the beginning of swimsuit season. Done and done! =)

There ya have it my friends – those are my positive thoughts for this Monday morning. What your happy thoughts for the day to get your week started off right?!