Made it to work today only about 2 hours later than when I would normally go into the office--officially, I'm blaming it on changing time zones during my vacation and having some difficulty getting going in the morning. Or it could just be the dread of the semester ahead.... I'm not starting out with my "clean slate" like usual--I'm behind on projects and have several deadlines already looming. I want to throw a tantrum and scream "it's not fair!" However, I dug myself into this hole and I will eventually crawl out.
I'm starting to feel like I am gaining a bit of ground. I handed off the book chapter to second author today --aka DA--with the realization that I can't continue to depend on her to save me when I'm in a time crunch. However, in this situation I'm not feeling very much guilt because I don't really think I should have taken this project on. Yes, I'm a big girl and I can say 'no' to people but it's hard sometimes when you don't have warning and the next thing you know you have a project on your hands. As I recall, this one arrived on my plate over lunch (with no warning--I thought it was just a friendly take a break, walk to lunch, and then 'poof' I had an outline and a mission). In hindsight I really think I should have chosen not to accept it; however, at the time that didn't appear to be an option. Well, I have lived and learned. Next time will be different. (I better bookmark this post for future reference.)
I also have all my laundry done and I went grocery shopping today on my way home from the office--isn't it weird how sometimes these little things are really what makes your day????
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5 comments:
If my laundry was done, it would TOTALLY make my day. :)
One of the hardest things about academic life for me is (was? Am I ever going to get a job?) working out to what I *could* say no.
I think it is wise and admirable (and utterly unsurprising, knowing you) that you are reflecting on what was a stressful experience and asking yourself "what was MY role in this" and "what could I do differently in the future that would give me a better outcome." Good for you.
However.
Let us not forget that sometimes it is career suicide to decline a project. Even more important, it really isn't always clear which "opportunities" are obligations and which ones really are opportunities that one can freely decline.
All to say, good for you for taking responsibility AND don't be too hard on yourself. You made the best decision you could in the situation.
Monday mornin' quarterbackin' is a bitch.
SuperSoonToBeUnemployedB
SuperB--Snap out of it!!! Stop being so hard on yourself--good things come to good people. The perfect job is out there for you.
Oh yeah, it's accomplishing the simple tasks that make me feel like I have some control over my life. It's all an illusion of course, but shhh, don't tell me that.
And I think I have you beat. In my two days since coming back from vacation I haven't made it in before noon. Tomorrow's not looking promising since it's 2:30 in the morning, and I'm sitting around catching up on blogs.
Great post, thanks.
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