Monday, July 04, 2005

Working longer hours to clear work

Please cheer me on. There's lots of work to be cleared after I was out for training last Thursday and Friday.

There will be more work coming in because for every session that I conduct with my clients, I will write need to write at least one case recording. Not to mention, I still have yet to write several reports which should be due soon. I am just trying to avoid the nagging thought of having more work on my way. I shall just take each assignment as an opportunity to learn, while being mindful that I may not be able to finish things as fast as I would like to. So prioritise. I have been.

Then again, how would you prioritise when there is just too much work? I shall put my sanity and the basic quality of service that my clients do deserve as priority. So maybe JY was right that I needed to voice out my need to find my pace. I am just concerned how to put things across without being seen as lazy or inefficient.

I doubt I am lazy. I don't think I have poor time-management. But if I don't set things right before things get beyond my control, I may really become inefficient because there is just too much that I could bear.

Anyway, I am relieved that I got to start on a work that would be due by end of this month. I actually had to stay till 9.40 p.m. in my office today to work on this thing (and I think I would need another day before I could complete it). This was not the night for me to be on duty. In fact, there was only me in the office after 6 p.m. The official office hours end at 5.35 p.m. today. By the way, there will be no time-off that I could claim for staying so late in office tonight. This is because I was not meeting any client, but was doing paperwork.

I am curious why I would bother to stay up so late. Then I realise that I needed to live up to a basic standard of work that I have set for myself. Having to live up to that standard gives me a sense of satisfaction and achievement. Failing which, I would get rather upset. I have reviewed my previous standards to make them more realistic to the working context, yet I fear if I review further, and lower my standards, I may not provide good enough service to the people that I serve. So I guess, I am still trying to find that balance. So maybe I should be my own boss since I am disciplined enough to strive to do work well?

Anyway, for your information, I have learnt to act as if I am my own boss. Afterall, it would be a sad affair to just do things because a superior tells me to. I rather be the one who chooses to do a piece of work because I want to. If I don't feel inclined to do something, I would think of myself as my own boss and ask if those things are the essential things to do. If they are, either I find ways to get it done by other people (not necessary delegation) or I would just do it because I decided that I am my own boss and it is something necessary to be done. This entire paragraph's content may sound a weird concept since I haven't found a good way to express it. If you have ideas to help me express it better, please leave your comments.

So I ended up working in office till 9.40 p.m. tonight. I played music in my office (music from the radio station 92.4 FM), so that I have nice music to keep me going. Not too bad. I survived. I think it must be because there are many people who are out there cheering for me? So here is saying thanks to you.

Today, my cough was not as bad as the previous three days. The antibiotics must have helped the pain in the ribs go away. Thank you for your well-wishes.

I have no idea how to track who has read my blog, but I suppose there are more readers than I had thought of. I could only guage the traffic from the number of comments I get, but I am beginning to realise that there are people who do read my blog regularly but prefer to be selective with putting up their comments. Whoever you are, thank you for your readership. May you have a pleasant week ahead.

4 comments:

mistipurple said...

it's a relief to know your ribs are hurting less and your cough is better.
please do not take on more than you can humanly do. it is truly alright to tell them that the work has gone way too out of proportion, and they cannot expect efficiency at this rate.
in fact, i would think it would be wrong not to tell them. it is not a sign of weakness to bring this up. it is also your responsibility to alert them i should think. please do not be upset with this tone. i do not mean to upset you if i did.
you could tell them that if they kept this up, you will not be held responsible for the outcome of delayed reports, etc.

Lora said...

I'm glad to hear that your cough is improving.

Balance is something I strive for too, but seldom seem to achieve. It's taken me a long time to realize that so many people don't feel the need to do this. I don't have any words of advice because you seem to be on the right track.

As for knowning who reads your blog, don't you have a site meter? It doesn't tell you exactly, but the good information it provides gives you a good clue. I recommend StatCounter their link is near the bottom of my side bar if you which to check it out.

pinkie said...

jia you!

goldilocks said...

hi, you also deserve a basic standard of living, if you have a basic standard of work. know what i mean?