kick ass at work

I’ve been pretty great at this lately. NOTE TO SELF: The best thing I can do for myself to kick ass at work, is to simply continue to enter and code all my tasks and deadlines into my Outlook calendar. Oh, and then complete the tasks as they come due ;)

I thought I was doing a great job but just got feedback from management that I’m not meeting expectations. I’m going to set up meetings this week to get a better understanding of what they want me to be doing. I’ve been working my butt off so it’s not for lack of trying. I probably just need to be sent down the right paths.

I tewtally kicked ass. I did everything on my list, plus tied up a ton of little tasks, plus cleaned out my inbox, plus got a jump start on tomorrow, PLUS did not completely ignore every other aspect of my life. In addition to kicking ass at work, I was also able to: catch up on, reply to and sort/delete the contents of my personal email, clean out and scrub the fridge, clean out the pantry, do the dishes, finish up thank you cards from my birthday, get together a little pack of pics for my grandma and my, er, pseudo sis-in-law? (my baby’s daddy’s sister), help rescue a poocher (and maybe even get to for real rescue him?), take care of three volunteer/freelance/barter marketing jobs, take AC to and from football practice and even feed him a nutritious dinner THAT HE LIKED, do the CSA photo and split.

I really think that completing several projects and being in control of my work day carried a sweet vibe right into all the other areas of my day and evening. When I’m feeling out of control or disconnected from my job is really affects the rest of my life—if only simply because I do my job at home.

Today, there was an unusual, synergistic awesomeness. I don’t know where it came from (hopefully not just solar flares), but I hope I can tap back into it again.

I’m scheduled to start my telecommuting schedule next week, and so have been on a mission to get my desk cleared and to-do list to-done ;) I’m really excited to start this new phase, even though I have no idea what to expect. In fact, I believe that it’s somewhat because of the unknown that I’m excited.

Against my Virgo nature, I’ve decidedly not gone the way of plans and schedules, and instead have embraced the change as it’s been occurring. I know that if I stay on top of things by simply keeping track of my to-do list in a notebook, this transition will be fine. This is not the time to tie myself down to complicating tracking systems or always-on-call expectations. Simple is best. Right, kah ;)

And by reminding myself of that and the fact that I will be in the office at least one day a week, I’ve been able to actually experience this transition as it unfolds another layer each day.

Go, me!

The new approach is good so far :) This goal will become even more important in the next couple weeks as I switch to a four-day-a-week telecommuting schedule.

I’ll track details and mini-goals here to make sure I continue kicking arse at me job!

This goal is a little vague. That’s on purpose because I don’t want to get too specific here on the internets, know what I mean? But I’m going to have to clear it up a little bit just so I can hold myself accountable. So…

1. I will take the time today to write out my to-do list (March 18).
2. I will finish the print newsletter outline this week (March 21).
3. I totally dropped the ball on the previous entry. I’ll start that back up next Monday (March 24)
4. I will get the monthly newsletter out on time (emailed and online on April 1).

That’s good to get started, I think :)

Starting today, I am making sure my weekly meeting with the boss always takes priority. Checking in will definitely help in the kicking ass department :)

I tewtally kicked ass today.

• Stupid Outlook is totally making the Master Plan Merge™ a pain in the ass. It’s going to take longer than I expected, bit I will get it done soon!

• A couple unplanned-for things have already snuck their way onto my desk. Must end that ASAP.

• Attitude in general needs a little readjustment. Creating a safety net (http://www.43things.com/entries/view/1781056) needs to take priority. Like, soon.

Thanks to kah, we’ve done 2007-08 organizational planning over the past couple weeks, out of which came a master calendar. All of my projects’ tasks have been given have been identified, and more importantly, given deadlines. Yay! I’ve also set up a weekly meeting with my director so that we can stay on top of a couple un-scheduled, though dire, projects.

My objective for today is to get the 2007-08 task list and dates imported to my Outlook. I should be able to do that in conjunction with regular end-of-month stuff.

I heart organization, and if nothing else, I have realized over the past few months that I do not function well at work without schedules and calendars and planning and regular check-in meetings.