The Ten-Minute Time-out

It’s been, perhaps, the longest winter we’ve seen in our lifetime. 6 months, half a year of holidays, a new year and the innocent ground hog that woke up on the wrong side of the hole.

But then we had one beautiful day.

There I was, this past Tuesday, sitting at my desk beside my co-workers, longingly staring out a window that was too small to capture the big earth. The boss came inside and said, take a ten-minute time-out and take a walk around the block, enjoy this beautiful weather. I was trying to earn a paycheck doing what I loved and my boss, Laura Wallace, just dictates we take a moment from the busyness of making a living to make a life? Unbelievable!

What kind of ethically responsible human does that kind of thing, who just encourages others to stop, take a time-out and smell the scent of deceased snow? One who took Dolly Parton’s words to heart, that’s who: Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

Brilliant violet rays seeped through my skin, making me feel all mushy inside even as I squinted against its power. 12 hours made us forget about all that discomfort of long johns and lacing up boots every. Single. Morning. The clouds didn’t just have a silver lining, so did the mud and the potholes eaten away like slugs under a bucket of salt.  Yes, when the weather radar forewarned a 50% chance of precipitation I was so high on the magic of March and spring I thought, should any showers hinder us from saluting the sun, I’ll just pull a Gene Kelley and sing in the rain. That is what dryers are for, are they not?

Maybe it’s not a hall pass from your cubicle, casual Friday, or an early dismissal but take the weekend and make it worthwhile. Make a life; make it come alive. Be a Goldilocks in a world of possibilities. Try everything until you find something that is just right.  And hold those 12 hours close. No matter where or when they happened, let your ultra violet rays resurface on the days that just need a little life.

P.S. It wasn’t long after that walk that fried ice-cream appeared on our desks. Ah, so that’s where the snow rests in peace. 

A Bulging & Brawny Brain

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: The prequel to the New Year’s ball dropping, it’s the much anticipated revealing of how many urban dictionary words have made it to the big leagues: The Oxford Dictionary.

And, yet, even the picture-perfect new word of the year Selfie doesn’t adjust the wise words of football coach Vince Lombardi, “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” Oh Vine, what great timing to appear as a Pinterest quote full of sassy wisdom. Just in time to be on a waiting list for our resolution list.

I suppose Lombardi understood and experienced the glorious after effects of an intense, successful workout. When muscles acknowledge that you put in the work and effort.

Try to workout your brain; challenge yourself daily and stretch the boundaries with a curiosity of whom you can grow into. Embrace the new tasks that find their way in your to-do file. Not only does it signify the promise that your employer or your client has newfound trust in your capabilities, but it’s a great way for you to elevate a job into a career you are passionate about. Set yourself time related goals, track your progress on your smart phone and then beat your record.

Just as the 20 curling reps can tone your body, so can reps of mental exercise at work tone your outlook, creating a driven mindset to better yourself and the lives around you.  And so, Vine, we accept the underlying challenge, to workout our mind. We’ll stretch and we’ll push one more paper into a complete file. We’ll stick to our mental exercise regime to buff up, to achieve a bulging and brawny brain. Through this we’ll find glorious success in the repetitions of work.

And who knows, maybe we can capture a flexing Selfie of the moment, too!

Mr. Happy Pants

It’s always been a struggle for me to not take work home with me. Pulling out a document I had been working on several hours ago at the office: it’s a giddy, rush-of-adrenaline moment. Now, in a new environment, it’s a more intense battle. I really love what I do!

Being the new girl at work, however, I’m the outsider looking in over shoulders. Or so I thought. I’ve found it’s a safety zone for sharing. Even if I wrapped my emotional baggage in designer bags, it’s baggage nonetheless. When I noticed that the level of communication at work was essential to the momentum of the team, I realized how the empathy and wisdom they gave and gained made taking work home an even more positive thing. That baggage I carried in? It’s been lightened and can now be refilled with encouragement.

I’m learning to listen; I’ve been listened to. Now I feel like an insider.

I thought I was alone in some of my quirks and hang-ups. I told myself to shut up if the urge to speak arose. But as I listened, they listened in return and turns out, we aren’t as unique as we think when it comes to mishaps of life.

And Mr. Happy Pants? He’s the gentleman who inspired me, long ago, to smile, laugh at oneself and move on. Every time he came into my old store, he wore his ripped pants; a big L-shaped tear that created a flap right over the seat of his pants. If only his boxers had smiley faces: ) He was aware of this clothing defect, but he always smiled through the recounting of his stories… even when the things in his life were ripping him apart.

The next time I go into work I can be Mr. Happy Pants, because I work with a group of Happy Pants. They too have been ripped, but when they brought their home into work, they slipped on Happy Pants, and could take that renewed work energy home with them. Today, especially, I saw how my co-workers and boss take those Happy Pants everywhere, and I see sharing -tears, rips and all- really is caring.

Clear the Mind Clutter to Increase Productivity

Clear the Mind Clutter to Increase Productivity.

Like many of us, you may have a large workload that may seem overwhelming at times. Whether you are trying to complete a simple task or complex project, you will need to organize your thoughts to be efficient. A good way to begin is to assess where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Being aware of these can help you to strategize how to overcome where you may fail at completing a task.

Consider breaking down your process, even if you do it in your mind. A large project is much more manageable if it is broken down into smaller tasks. A favorite method of mine is to create a to-do list that prioritizes the tasks in order of importance. Determine realistic expectations of how much you can accomplish, and consider if one task will facilitate the completion of another.

By categorizing your duties, you can group similar tasks together that could be completed at the same time or sequentially. This can save time from having to go back and forth between different categories, increasing the chance of making an error.

Being a team player is a great thing. However, if it means saying no to taking on additional tasks (no matter how small) so you can complete your work, I would highly recommend it. Prioritize your own duties first, and if there is time left over, you can help out with extras.

Commit your time to producing the best quality of work possible, and avoid time spent correcting mistakes later on. This will help you to manage your time and to be seen as a dependable, valuable asset to your organization.