The Vacation is Officially Over

It's another Thursday morning in the office and I'm sitting at my desk clicking the heels of my boots, eyes closed and whispering methodically, “I can make it to Friday! I can make it to Friday. I can make it to Friday?”

I'm officially post-holiday and feeling the sting.

It seems that things at work are getting more and more unpredictable as the company enacts sweeping changes. I've been around longer than most, more than five years, and I've never seen it quite like this. Restructuring, administrative musical chairs, cryptic company-wide memos, nixed holiday bonuses; its leaving me slightly on edge.

I've taken to sorting my afternoon Chex Mix snack into neat categories to calm my nerves. And, despite all the weirdness, it's insanely busy.

Taking a week and a half of PTO at the end of the year has caught up with me in a tremendous way. I've made the decisions eat lunch at my desk more than once since coming back. I'm seriously wondering if time off is work the hassle once its over? The flooded inbox, the mountain of sticky-note tagged items in my chair, the multitude of voicemails that must be returned though I know that half of them probably don't remember calling in the first place. (*sigh*) But alas, I have work, which is more than can be said for 10.2% of Georgians, so really I shouldn't complain. Somehow, holiday gifts are still trickling in Mid-January and there's nothing like an unexpected jar of individually-wrapped Rice Krispie Treats to brighten up a day!

And the weather has been miserably cold. Yes, I know its January but us southerners are accustomed to mild winters with the occasional two or three day "wintry mix" thrown in just to remind us why we choose not live in colder climates. But this frigid weather descended upon the Southeast over a week ago with temps dipping into the teens. At one point, Atlanta was colder than Alaska. . . Alaska, people! No one has time to be courteous now. Southern hospitality fades at 17 degrees. It even snowed, once, and only a few inches fell but since we were below-freezing, it hung around for days. Ice slick roadways made driving, even walking, hazardous. I actually made it across the frozen parking lot at work only to step in the door and slip. The fall was legendary. Think Home Alone. I was on the ground before I realized I was falling.

No, there is not a lawsuit pending but it did get me to thinking about a very real disorder, post-holiday blues, as I lay there wondering if anyone had witness the fall. PHD is a living, breathing, palpable funk that usually hits hard this time of year after the intense excitement of the end of the year holidays, especially if there's craziness at work. The lack of energy and motivation, sticker shock from overextending on must-have Black Friday deals, the fact that the next paid holiday may not be until May and just overall bad mood can strike even the most focused Working Girls so I googled these tips for getting back into the groove:

• Exercise! Okay, you’ve probably heard this a million times but exercising does make you feel good! Start working some form of exercise into your daily routine—you don’t have to buy a gym membership; going on walks or a 20 minute run three or four times a week is good enough, as long as it gets the heart pumping. Exercising will make you feel more alert and awake, which will help you perform well at work, even if you don’t want to be there. It will also help you get to bed at a reasonable hour, which will help your sleeping schedule get back in order. And of course, it will make you look good as well as feel good!

• Clean up. Get organized and put away all holiday decorations. This will help you mentally move on and get into a better mindset to get back to work. It will also take some stress off, knowing that you get to come home to a clean environment will give you some peace of mind.

• Take time to reflect on the wonderful things you did during your vacation. You may realize that, although the holiday is sadly over, you made the most of your time off and had a lot of fun. This will make it easier to accept that it’s time to get back to normalcy.

• Don’t forget about the little ones! Adults are not the only ones that don’t like going back to the old routine—your kids feel it too! Help establish the old routines by getting them to bed early and limiting how much TV they watch. Encourage them by reminding them that school is fun and how all their friends are excited to see them again. Have a positive attitude about going back, so that your children will mirror this positivity.

• Start thinking about the next fun thing you want to do, or the next vacation you want to take, so that you have something else look forward to.
  

Antiquated Notions of Women in the Workplace

My feathers were officially flustered when I read in a Wall Street Journal article that last month, Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, stood up at a human resources conference to declare that, "There's no such thing as a work-life balance." He went on to say that there are work-life choices and that these choices have consequences and then explained that a woman's choice to have a family makes career advancement a near impossibility.

This kind of thinking makes me want to scream. As a young girl who grew up being taught that I can have it all, I want it all. And I know people who have had successful careers and raised a family. One being my mother.

Coming from an upper-middle class family in a affluent suburb of Chicago, having a working mother wasn't something I saw a lot growing up. Most of my friend's mothers stayed at home and raised their children, but I lived in a different household. My mother and father both worked and I know for a fact my mother loved what she did. She was a writer and editor and was lucky enough later on in her career (when me and my sister were in middle school) to be able to work from home or sometimes just part-time so she was around more, but she still managed to work for some very high profile companies and raise us. And no, I don't recall her ever really being absent. In my eyes she was a superwoman - someone who worked in an office, made my dinner, helped me with my homework, and planned charity events in her spare time. But I know she always made time for us first and foremost.

And while my mother was never a CEO, there are women out there today who are wonderful role models to us women who do want it all in life - including a corner office. Julie Menin wrote an article for the Huffington Post, citing strong women such as Liz Lange, who started a maternity clothing line while raising two children and fighting cervical cancer, and Campbell Brown who hosts a national cable news show while raising her children. And to use examples of working mothers in my own life: I've had two females bosses, one the CEO of a private company and the other the Editor-in-Chief of a magazine, both of whom had children and successful careers.

I agree with Welch in that yes, we have to make sacrifices to have both career and family. Maybe you will have to put your kids in day care, or maybe you will have to tele-commute one day a week to make it work. But it can be done! I disagree that it is something that we women can't have both. I do believe we can have it all.

So thank you to Welch for putting another roadblock in our way. Much appreciated. But really, it just makes me more motivated to prove him wrong. Sure it's a tricky balancing act, but it's something I am willing to try. (Don't worry Dad! I don't plan on cranking any kids out soon! I mean in the future...the verrrrry far future!).

The Honeymoon is Over

Things have changed drastically since my old boss quit and moved on to greener pastures, and I can't decide if I'm happy about it or not.

On paper everything sounds great. I had a sit down talk with my new boss, who I have heard horror stories about but has been nothing but kind to me, and she pretty much told me that she didn't need an assistant nor did she want one in the future. Which is when I began to panic because in addition to helping with special projects and running the events, I was an assistant to my old boss and without being an assistant, it seemed like my job would be axed.

Turns out I was wrong. My new boss told me that instead of getting rid of me, they wanted to have me start training to be a Project Manager. Under this new title, I would be working on projects internally such as the launch of our new consumer website and I would still get to manage the events we have throughout the year.

While this sounds picture perfect (aka I get a semi-promotion, possibly more money, a better title, etc.), I still can't help feeling a little weary about the whole thing. True, it's a great opportunity, but a little bit of me inside keeps saying, "Is this really what you want to do with your life?"

With events, it's like I've finally found something besides writing that I enjoy and am good at. And now with all this extra work I'm going to be doing managing projects and slotting emails and making collateral, I won't have nearly as much time to focus on what I really like about my job. I made this clear to my new boss - that events is what I love - and she responded that she had no intention of taking them away. I just worry about her expectations down the line and if this statement will remain true. These other projects will obviously take precedence over events because they need to get done.

I suppose what I'm really worrying about is not being happy anymore. For the past seven months, I've been really happy doing my job. I have liked planning the events, scouting locations, and picking themes. I really enjoyed working with my old boss. Things were going really well and then this little kink happened.

I'm worried that I'm going to start resent work - that I won't want to wake up in the mornings and that I'll start hating coming to work which is what started to happen to me in New York and I started to lose all motivation.

I guess what I'm starting to realize is that the honeymoon phase of liking my job in Chicago is coming to an end. I know I could start looking for a new job, but I haven't even been here a year yet, and I would really like to be able to have more events under my belt before I leave.

So the conclusion I've come to is that I'm going to try and stick it out until February when our largest event is, and in the meantime I have polished up my resume and if I ever start to feel like my job is moving in the wrong direction or events get taken away from me, then I can start looking around.

But until then, I'm going to see where this road takes me.

I'm a Big Loser

It seems I have entered myself into a new 'lose weight to build camaraderie with my co-workers' program. Maybe one or two of you readers remember my days competing in the Biggest Loser competition at my old job (memory jogger: whoever won got a week away at a spa). 

Those days were stupendous. I just remember being really motivated (because I had to be weighed in front of my teammates) and really trying to be healthy (because I wanted the spa trip so badly). Sadly, I did not win...or make it to the final four and therefore did not get to lounge around blissfully pool-side while getting my feet massaged.

My new company announced a few weeks ago that they would be hosting a similar competition with a few differences. There are no weigh-ins and everything is measured in "Life Points". Overall, it is way less competitive and barely anyone gets all up in my business about how many "Life Points" I have earned in a day.

Essentially, to win, you have to exercise or participate in some sort of physical activity and for however many minutes you did said exercise is how many points you get for the day. And exercise is quite a loose term because upon reading the rules online, I realized that if I vacuumed my apartment I could record 15 "Life Points" for the day. And all of this is recorded on an honor system.

At my old company, we taunted each other mercilessly and to stay in the game you had to lose weight or you were finito my friend. We played legitimately by the rules of the TV show. 

I have to admit, I do like the fact that I have a bigger chance of making it to the final rounds of this new competition since I do a fair share of walking to work everyday. And my team captain sends us out emails on a daily basis motivating us to do better and drink more water (because for every 8 glasses you drink a day you earn "Bonus Life Points"). 

But I can't help but wish this competition was a little more fierce to pump me up. I have like zero motivation to be active since they aren't telling us what the prize is yet and I'm scared it's going to be like a $25 Target gift card and a membership to our building's lame-o gym (which I wouldn't hate, but really motivate me with something great people!). 

So here is my plea. What are some things that motivate you to lose weight? And do any of you workout at work (like running around the building at lunch type of thing)? Because my team captain would love it if we power-walked everywhere and anywhere.

Might be a Quarter Life Crisis

Last week, I said to WG2: "Is it bad that sometimes I think 'I wonder if I'd be happier if I lost my job and could figure out my dream and then follow it?'"

To which she replied: "That was like when I would walk down the street be like 'Hmmm, I think I would rather work at this Chinese restaurant than go to my job today."

I know that my statement is an awful thing to say in this economy when people are losing jobs everyday but it's honestly something that's crossed my mind and I feel it has for valid reasons.

I truly have no idea what I want I really want to do with my life. In college, I wanted to be a psychologist, then a journalist, I wanted to study sociology or french. I landed in publishing by way of journalism. As a marketing intern for a women's magazine, I thought I found what I loved, what I wanted to do for my career. I began setting goals to make that happen and I eventually landed my sales assistant job and eventually my marketing assistant job.

My boyfriend has known what he's wanted to do since he was five. Both of his parents are journalists and he's been preparing to go into the family business since he was a munchkin. He has late hours, works on the weekends, doesn't get paid nearly half as much as he should for the work he puts into his job and works with some grumpy old men, but he loves being a sports writer. I don't know anyone with the dedication and love for their job that he has. So you can imagine my frustration being around someone who knows exactly what they want to do, is doing it and loves it.

For a while, I thought I had found that when I moved to the marketing department at work. It was creative and fun. I thought that I was on my way to starting a long and successful career in publishing. But I'm growing more and more frustrated with this industry everyday. Because business is slow there is less for me to do and the projects I that I do have are unfulfilling. I could go on for quite a while explaining these projects and every frustration I have with them, but I'll bore you with that another day.

These days, the smallest issue or slightest jab from a client sets me off. I used to be excited and inspired by the marketing department's weekly status meeting, these days I'm bored and don't contribute. I want out but there isn't a chance I'd find a job and having no clue what I want to do next doesn't help. The economy is somewhat of a blessing in disguise; I have a job and I can try to take this time to figure out what's next for me. But I find it difficult to be inspired by anything else when I'm completely drained by work every night and weekend.

While one part of me wants to figure out my dream, another part of me thinks the practical thing to do is stick with what I'm doing and suck it up. I know what I'm doing here and I think I'm good at it. If I'm dedicated I can make my way up the ladder and be successful in the monetary sense. This practical part of me is strongly influenced by the fact that my boyfriend (who I'm pretty much in it for the long haul with) has his dream and it's not exactly the most lucrative one. Let me just say that I'm by no means "all about money" but I do know what I would like for my future and that requires some money.

I feel like I'm in limbo with no direction and zero motivation...

Training the Newbie

I spent the majority of last week making a to-do list for training the new "me". Fine, ok, I spent about half a day making the list and most of the rest of the time reading this, and this, and this (what!? I like reading blogs so sue me). 

So today was the newbie's first day. And what a day it was.

First of all, that document I made for the newbie's training was 5 pages long. I am unfortunately not exaggerating. It is only Monday and we have just gotten onto page 2. Which made me realize that I didn't think I did much at my company until I made this training sheet. Events all year long, numerous newsletters, agendas, scheduling meetings, answering phones, not to mention the other 400 things I do. Whew. A mouthful. I mean really, how did I manage to do all that and be on Gchat all day? And read blogs? And be addicted to Perez? Yea, I don't get it either.

The amount I manage to get done is apparently overwhelming. And I could see that in the newbie's face as 6 o'clock rolled around and we were still focusing on how to throw an office party. I guess I'm really making sure she knows everything. It's all in the details and unfortunately for me most of those details are up in my brain. And I really wish that we could take my brain and filter all those minute details into her brain. Don't you just wish life was that easy? 

This training day not only made me realize that I had a lot of work to do on a daily basis, but it also got me worried. In just a week I will be starting my new job in Chicago. And I think it has finally hit me. I'm leaving. I'm outta here. See ya! 

And I'm scared. In a few days, I will be the newbie in a new town, in a new city, in a new job with new responsibilities. I'll be learning the ropes from a girl who knows it all. I will be devoid of knowledge and I won't have any work friends. It's scary! 

But mixed in somewhere with all those butterflies is the excitement. I'm so ready to be the newbie. 

Color My World

Can the colors that appeal to you the most tell you what you should do with your life?

Maybe my recent pre quarter-life crisis (aka liking events and realizing maybe journalism/magazines aren't the only thing I like in this life) has made me eager for someone, anyone to tell me that I was destined for marketing or event planning. Or that I was a great creative mind in a past life. 

Enter CareerPath.com. The other day I was browsing around some of my fave blogs and I happened upon CareerPath's "Color Career Counselor". The point of the test is for the test taker to keep picking the colors that most appeal to them and eventually this will tell you what profession you are most suited for. 


The results were creepily accurate. 

Apparently I'm a "Creator" - non-conforming, expressive, sensitive and emotional.  A person who needs creative workspaces and a job as an English teacher or author (aka my childhood dreams). I think I could get used to the title "Creator". Think I could put that on my business cards? 

So unfortunately this doesn't exactly involve event planning and marketing. But my runner-up personality did include the businesswoman in me. It seem my love of teals and magentas means I'm an overemotional hard ass. 

What do your color preferences say your true profession should be? 

GOAL! ! ! ! ! !

Doing the same thing day-in and day-out can take it's toll on a Working Girl. It can cause her to lose ambition and motivation; to give into boredom and not use her time wisely; to just do a bad job.

Lately, I've been bored. I've given into the daily routine of checking e-mail, making phone calls and working quietly on my projects. I'm not being proactive and showing my superiors that I can excel in my position. There is a small chance I could receive a promotion from assistant to coordinator in the fall. So, that needs to change.

I work well with planned out goals that result in a reward for myself. In this case, the ultimate reward is a promotion. Not only would the raise involved be nice but I have go to get the Ass(istant) out of my title.

Goal: Flawlessly execute my projects.
The Deal: It's the nature of the business for advertisers to make several changes and therefore pushback the timelines of projects. Just once I'd like to do everything on time.

Goal: Successfully execute next week's west-coast event on my own.
The Deal: I'll be heading westward next Wednesday to manage a reader and advertiser event. According to our events manager, it'll be a turn-key event. I'm nervous as hell. I'll be the only representative from the magazine. It's all on me.

Goal: Develop a big idea for a big anniversary the magazine will be having in a year or two.
The Deal: I've yet to bring my own flushed out big idea to the table in my department. I've sat in on brainstorms and added to the ideas of others. Now, I want to come up with my own big idea and see how it goes.

This is just the beginning. I should probably also stop gchatting so much and not work on Working Girl posts at work. We'll see how that goes.