I have a very unpredictable job as I really cannot tell you from one day to the next what I will be working on. Such is the life of the office technology goddess. It's rather appropriate and fits quite well with my ADD. Most people shudder at the thought of the constant stream of interruptions but I welcome most of them, there are a few I could do without.
I've developed a theory concerning work days:
Monday - NO CLUE what I'm walking into. Frequently I'm met at the door with some frantic emergency. My weekly report that is due by 9am usually isn't turned in until after lunch. My supervisors have stopped fighting it, many times because they are the source of the emergencies.
Tuesday - Mopping up Monday. Fortunately, I'm well aware of my workload before I ever walk into the office because it's whatever I didn't finish the previous day. Unless, of course, it's the monthly staff meeting. I cross off all hope of accomplishing anything at all on meeting days. That's just hopeless. Once I realized the futility of trying to finish any project on meeting days I suddenly felt a load lift off my shoulders.
Wednesday - Catch Up. Finally I can attack lingering projects from the previous week, spend a few minutes dangling over a cubicle to hear the latest gossip, linger over lunch. We've been busted a few times discussing inappropriate material, usually sexual in nature, in the lunch room. So we call it "Inappropriate Wednesday." Invariably the day we start one of those conversations (menstruation, penis sizes, fun positions, strip clubs, stripper names...) that is the point Ned Flanders walks into the kitchen. We try to tone it down in his presence, but we always end up saying something that makes him turn a thousand shades of red.
Thursday - Normal. As much as "normal" could ever be used around here, there is a calmness to Thursdays. I could never predict my projects from one week to the next, but I'm usually running reports and tending to computers with non-emergency issues. There's a quiet rhythm that hovers over the entire office.
Friday - Crazy. It's not crazy busy, just crazy, like lunatic insane crazy. These are the days the CEO will burst into song, the chocolate fairy will leave gifts in the kitchen, we will stand outside catching snowflakes on our tongues, or I will cram every office plant into one cubicle. These are fun days, ones where we laugh so hard our bellies hurt. Not every Friday is like this, but enough of them are and they sure do make up for Monday!
So today is Tuesday and true to course, I'm mopping up yesterday, knee-deep in a project I couldn't have predicted yesterday morning.
What's work like in your world?
It's been years since I've worked in an office. On one hand, I miss the interaction with other adults that aren't related to me but the one thing I do not miss in any way, shape or form is Office Politics. Oh, and the office panhandling because it's someone's mother's birthday and everyone is expected to cough up a monetary contribution.
ReplyDeleteNope, I like being own boss.
We're fairly politic free, just a little drama every now and then. And we never do monetary collections which is really nice.
ReplyDeleteBeing the government drone I am, I tend to have my own schedule of stuff that I do. Occasionally, when the machine breaks down, and/or they need some paperwork that requires my attention-its pretty much the same.
ReplyDeleteAn egg is an egg, unless if its a bad egg! ;) And God help us all if I do my job and hold back bad product.