Tag: MLwork

Hi friends I’m alive and well, just buried under a mountain of work during the week or having too much fun enjoying life on the weekends.

After a period/post friend’s bachelorette blip
last week: 191.3
yesterday: 190.2

I’m still on the Weight Watchers train. As of the last week or so I’ve missed some days of tracking for the first time in like 10 weeks, but I also know what choices to make. I’m trying to get back on the tracking train because it helps keep me accountable and mindful.

The real reason for this post is the NSV pictured above!

Removing this closure link from my watch was really gratifying. This is the lowest weight I think I’ve been in the ~2 years that I’ve owned this watch (a 1st anniversary gift from T – which fun fact – got me interested in rose gold and ultimately made me want rose gold to be incorporated into my engagement ring).

I miss you all, I’m coming back I swear. If I’ve missed anything super awesome in your life in the past 2 weeks send me a message and I will catch back up on ya!

Ragged

It’s the final stretch, but I am spent after nearly 3 months of running my office solo. So many competing priorities and deadlines in an environment still “new” to me. 

It’s mile 22 of a marathon. There isn’t that much further to go, but what’s left is going to hurt and take sheer willpower. 

I’ll go from the only full time person and 3 10/hr week students to 2 full time people, 3 full time grad students, and 3 full time students come May 15th. 

Telework Tuesdays!

Today is my first telework day since starting my new job 7 months ago. Yes, I’m reporting live from my living room in my pjs, comfy robe, and NO BRA!

Telework is “new” to my employer as of September and I also knew I needed to “prove” myself for a few months before making the request. I put in the request in early January and it was quickly approved with today as the start date. My plan to telework on Tuesdays this whole semester with two exceptions in which I will need to come to campus on Tuesday, but may do a half day telework when I’m needed on campus. 

I was able to telework 1-2 a month at my old job and I really enjoyed it. It was so lovely sleeping in an extra hour (and not commute ~50min each way). I’ll be able to start my Shred DVD right at 4:30 (last day of 30 day Shred) before heading to the gym for some intervals on the treadmill. Then to the season opener of my barsports league (cornhole/skeeball/shuffleboard).

I bring lunch to work 95% of time time to work, but still it was nice just grabbing it right from the kitchen. 

I got SO much done today without the regular work environment distractions. I’m really looking forward how telework Tuesdays will contribute to my overall  work/life balance!

Work/Life Balance

I just submitted all the HR paperwork to my supervisor, which he already signed off on for me to TELEWORK 1x a week starting at the end of the month! 

I AM SO EXCITED! 

My old job allowed for telework and I usually teleworked 2x a month, but it was more informal because it was sporadic. With this I will get to update my calendar with “working elsewhere” and will be supported in calling into meetings that may pop up. I picked my telework day as Tuesday all last semester I rarely had meetings that day and also to break up my grueling commute. 

I know some people like teleworking on Monday or Friday, but Monday I want to hit the ground running and also prep for my telework day and Fridays are usually “fun” days at work and the commute is significantly better. Plus my cornhole league is on Tuesdays so I won’t have to rush home to made a game.

With teleworking, I’ll be easily getting 2 hours BACK in my life from not commuting on Tuesdays and I can get in a midday workout (which because when cornhole is in season I don’t usually get in a workout) and I can do laundry or get my car serviced and telework from the dealership or a coffee shop. So much of this will give me an ease I didn’t have last semester. I know I needed to “earn” this privilege and I’ve been plotting it (haha). I just passed my 6 month mark at work and my boss is very pleased with me. I gave some great examples of how telework will help my productivity and add some nice work/life balance. 

My summers at work are always busy so my request is only through mid-May for right now, but then I hope to pick back up the telework option again in September if it works out this semester or even a compressed work week in the fall since under normal (I won’t be new and we won’t be launching a new software system) circumstances fall is quieter. We shall see. 

Priorities

For most of last semester it was “hard” to make a 5:30 fitness class ~30-40 minutes away. This would involve me dressed and out the door around 4:45pm. My work is by no means strict about getting in/leaving work so long as you don’t have a meeting at that time, plus it’s not uncommon for us to have peak workloads – like for me it’s generally in the summer. 

So last Tuesday and yesterday I was successful in making it to 5:30pm classes because I MADE IT A PRIORITY. Work and emails will always be there for me, but the class to is going to happen with or without me. The plan is to get to 5:30pm class today too. Tuesdays is Body Combat – which is a freakin’ hard and sweaty workout!

I’ve been able to workout daily since 12/29 (I had one rest day on Friday), but even before the few days off over the holidays I’ve been great with doing Shred since after Thanksgiving. A 30 minute DVD workout is still a workout and I’m making the choice that 30 min DVD and/30 min brisk walks on the treadmill are better than nothing on days when I can’t make a class or don’t have time for something longer than 30 min. 

Cheers to 30 AhealthyU stickers! 

One full board means I get $30 in campus bucks! Since the game is through December 23, I am hoping to score a 10 point or even a 20 point prize too. I would be going to yoga classes, cooking demos, workshops etc anyway- but I do like the visual of collecting stickers to mark my effort!

A little incentive goes a long way! 

At work HR sponsors a Health and Wellness program with fitness classes, workshops, cooking demos, etc. This year they started a sticker program and HELL YEAH I jumped on (they said they were inspired by the Pokemon go craze and people vying to earn points). 

I get 1 sticker for every fitness class/workshop I go to. I got 6 stickers for doing an online health assessment related to my insurance and today kicks off the “Move Challenge” challenge in which I will get 4 stickers for participating in with chances to win weekly prizes! 

The best part is one of my coworkers is pretty into wellness too, so we’ve been accountability buddies to get to class and we’re competitive about stickers (I’m one ahead of her at the moment).

Metro Madness

I took the metro to work this morning since T took off and is picking me up in a little while to head to the beach (Ocean City, MD). I’ve never been on the metro during rush hour and thankfully today was Friday so it wasn’t as bad as I imagined it to be. I only had my lunch bag and purse with me, but I still felt cramped or like I was taking up too much room. 

After like 11 stops I got off to take a bus, except I couldn’t find the bus stop – not true I found it, but no buses came for like 30 min. So I went back on the metro to a different line and took it 5 stops and then took a campus shuttle to work. It took me almost 2 hours AKA double my drive time to get to work. 

The good news is that I logged like 1.5 miles and 15 flights of stairs during the mayhem. Plus today most of my office is out and I didn’t have any meetings, so me rolling in hideously late wasn’t unbearable.

Today made me realize I don’t hate my ~55min commute as much as I thought I did.