leave work at work

Just started leaving on time last week. It has been two full weeks and I have left on time…and have only gone in early once.

Maybe it’s just the jobs I’ve gotten in the past year, but they have taught me how to deal a little bit better. I realized that I can’t work in environments that force people to climb ladders to get ahead. It’s not my style, though the job I’m in now isn’t where I want to be forever. I think it has helped me figure out how to deal with the small stuff and interact with coworkers better. I’ll always be one to worry about did I do the right thing at work, but that’s because I’m a perfectionist. But to not worry about who’s doing what and am I involved somehow is a relief. I miss having a job that pushes me more creatively, but I know someday that job will come around the corner and I will be all grown up to handle it.

I’m not working much right now…. YAY!

I still have papers to write to finish up the 3rd-to-last class of my MA. Then I hope to do this except I need to plan for next year. First though – I want to work on the Bring Maggie to Life goal – I need to write my book one day… I’ll make a list and prioritize and see how it goes.

I finally acted on all my frustration with my “coworker.” I am outta there soon enough. Although I am sad to see a lot of the projects I’m working on go out the window, at least until they find someone competent to work on them, I feel so liberated. It is so unfortunate how things are turning out for the program but it’s bureaucracy at its finest.

When I wrote this goal, I meant “in my head” so that I could actually relax. At the moment, I bring home so much work that literally, work is at home. I may have been better off telecommuting and working at home!

I don’t bring the anxieties of work home with me as often as I used to. If something particularly jarring happens that day, I might, but on most normal days, I don’t. That’s a vast improvement from before. I gave up some of my responsibilities and took a pay-cut and an hours-cut. I lost my health insurance and paid vacation time. But, I’m more sane now. I have more time to smell the roses. My current job is not where I want to be forever, so why put all my time and energy into it when I need to be focusing on finishing school? I go to Volunteers in Medicine for my medical care now, and work out payment plans with my chiropractor. I take supplements to keep my immune system boosted. I’m looking into affordable insurance plans for emergency medical expenses, just in case something were to happen. Although I had to make some sacrifices, I feel better now. I’m finally seeing that some bit of happiness lies over the horizon.

So I stopped thinking about work once I left but I certainly didn’t leave on time. I screwed up, not realizing how late it was…And here was my husband getting home from being with the girls’ at soccer practice, coming home to darkness and no dinner. Not that is my responsibility for dinner but it certainly should be my turn. He called me thinking that maybe something was wrong and here I was losing track of time.

He ends up picking up some pizza along with an Oregon microbrew and lavender goat cheese.

I have got to get my priorities in order!

somedays i do such a great job of leaving work at work. other days i wake up in cold sweats. i will say, however, that since i’ve come back to my current company, the original stresses this entry stood for, are no longer there. basically, this isn’t such a big deal anymore. i may even consider checking this one off my list.

Now that I’m teaching I got a few weeks off, so I feel rested and fabulous! When school starts though, I need to actively think about this goal.