It's not every day that I leave the house in the morning and don't make it back for another 15 hours.... and especially not on a week-day. Yesterday was a doozie.
I crunched a day's worth of work into half a day so that I could head out early for some off-site Professional Development - a "Time Management" workshop with Cliff Jones at the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (formerly TACS, the training and tech assistance consulting firm that my employers have been working with for years). Ironically (or not) I was concerned that I'd spend my entire time there feeling like I was getting behind at work, and that I might have to skip out early due to the rest of my evening's commitments, but not so! And I only had one near-sleep moment! This workshop went beyond organizational techniques and ways-to-manage-your-inbox (though at the end the participants started rambling off about their various email management systemszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz). In fact, it even managed to balance successfully between that extreme and the other: completely vague, non-actionable, philosophical approaches to time management: what is my life's purpose? Will this task help me reach my full human potential? Why do I have trouble saying "no"?
Sure, this took me another step toward further defining my own priorities. It also allowed me the opportunity to sit back and thank the Multiverse that I am in such a great place: I do say no. I am meeting deadlines. I'm not super-stressed all the time. I get to sleep. The time I have trouble managing is my social-professional life and only recently has my work pace begun to pick up to the point of needing some extra attention. And the number one time-drain I am grateful not to juggle: children.
So as much as I appreciate family, and juggling, my personal conclusion is that the most effective time management tool is Birth Control.
I crunched a day's worth of work into half a day so that I could head out early for some off-site Professional Development - a "Time Management" workshop with Cliff Jones at the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (formerly TACS, the training and tech assistance consulting firm that my employers have been working with for years). Ironically (or not) I was concerned that I'd spend my entire time there feeling like I was getting behind at work, and that I might have to skip out early due to the rest of my evening's commitments, but not so! And I only had one near-sleep moment! This workshop went beyond organizational techniques and ways-to-manage-your-inbox (though at the end the participants started rambling off about their various email management systemszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz). In fact, it even managed to balance successfully between that extreme and the other: completely vague, non-actionable, philosophical approaches to time management: what is my life's purpose? Will this task help me reach my full human potential? Why do I have trouble saying "no"?
Sure, this took me another step toward further defining my own priorities. It also allowed me the opportunity to sit back and thank the Multiverse that I am in such a great place: I do say no. I am meeting deadlines. I'm not super-stressed all the time. I get to sleep. The time I have trouble managing is my social-professional life and only recently has my work pace begun to pick up to the point of needing some extra attention. And the number one time-drain I am grateful not to juggle: children.
So as much as I appreciate family, and juggling, my personal conclusion is that the most effective time management tool is Birth Control.
thanks to marc for once saying "you'd look sexy in a burlap sack" It's quite possible that, after a full day of work and professional development, I spent the next six hours at the Analog Cafe where I did a burlesque number at the Mad Marquis' Hump Day Happy Hour Sip n' Strip. I might have stripped out of a burlap sack. It's probable that the entire thing was incredibly awesome.
After an hour of downtime it was time for the next show, Artemis Chase's PEEP SHOW! I love these queens. If you haven't gone to a drag show, I highly recommend it, regardless of the reason. You love glitter? Go. You like karaoke? Go. You like seeing people play dress-up? Go. Interested in anthropology? Sociology? Psychology? Socializing? Inspiration? Bright colors? Go go go go go. ....and that's just the folks paying to be there! Imagine how lucky I am to be back stage!
Thanks to everyone's support at the show! I may have been the only person there with a vagina, but I still felt appreciated and welcome. =)
Thanks to everyone's support at the show! I may have been the only person there with a vagina, but I still felt appreciated and welcome. =)
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