As jobs go, mine is a pretty good one. Nice working environment, decent people, mostly reasonable expectations. I do sales and operations planning, which is something I do well. Pay is mediocre and benefits are below average, but they\u2019re enough. We\u2019ve had several rounds of layoffs due to the recession and (as far as I know, anyway) I\u2019ve never been in any real danger.<\/p>\n
But the last four months in general and the last six weeks in particular have been rather hectic. We\u2019re in the middle of several transitions (facilities moves, new product introductions, new software implementations). And now business is starting to come back \u2013 much of it driven by the federal stimulus package. When you plan to be down 50% and you\u2019re only down 30%, you start to run out of stuff. Sales people, who are paid mostly on commission, don\u2019t care why \u2013 they just know you\u2019re costing them money. And they aren\u2019t shy about letting you know what an idiot they think you are (sales people are evil \u2013 a necessary evil, but evil nonetheless\u2026 but that\u2019s another topic for another time\u2026).<\/p>\n
The point of all this is that I came back from the Druid retreat with some wonderful insights and some great ideas about expanding my spiritual practice \u2013 just at the time when I\u2019m having to work more hours than I\u2019ve worked in about ten years. It\u2019s so easy to drag in from work, grab some food, crash in front of the TV or computer for an hour or so, then fall into bed \u2013 and forget all about meditation and prayer and study and all the \u201cgood stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can\u2019t do everything, but especially in stressful times, you have to make time for those things that keep you grounded, keep you sane, and help you focus on what will get you through the difficult times.<\/p>\n
First priority has to be to do what I have to do. My job pays for everything else I do \u2013 until groves start paying Druids, this is how I make my living. If I have to work 10-12 hours a day, then I have to do it. If I thought things would be like this forever, I\u2019d be looking for another job (been there, done that, about went nuts in the process). But this should be over by October\u2026 December at the latest. I can last that long.<\/p>\n
Second priority has to be to do what I said I\u2019d do. I\u2019ve made some commitments to DUUF and to CUUPS and I have to keep them. Besides, I made those commitments because I wanted to \u2013 I\u2019d be hurting myself more than the organizations if I let things slide.<\/p>\n
Third priority has to be to take care of myself. Physically (get enough sleep \u2013 and enough exercise), mentally (keep things in perspective, especially when dealing with irate sales people), and spiritually (keep up the practice).<\/p>\n
Anything else (entertainment, projects, additional requests from organizations\u2026 and blogging) has to come only if and when time is available.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As jobs go, mine is a pretty good one. Nice working environment, decent people, mostly reasonable expectations. I do sales and operations planning, which is something I do well. Pay is mediocre and benefits are below average, but they\u2019re enough. We\u2019ve had several rounds of layoffs due to the recession and (as far as I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n