I am SO busy at work! Most of us are. Due to the nature of our business (insurance software), we have a lot of additional work right now. We have a huge project in progress now. Originally I was assigned the same tasks as my coworkers – looking over insurance plan descriptions (in Japanese, which I can’t read – or write – or speak), setting them up in our software, and reviewing the results. I struggled with it. We all did.
Thankfully, about a month into the project, the project leaders discovered I am pretty good at setting things up to automate creating files and reviewing results. So, they decided to have me focus solely on generating files and automating tasks that would help everyone to do their work faster. I LOVE those sort of projects. I will literally stand up and do a happy dance when I figure out how to modify my code so I can generate hundreds of files in 43 minutes instead of eight hours.
The president of the company has stopped by my office numerous times. The first time, it was to ask if I could help with the project. I wasn’t sure how to respond – I COULD, but I AM, but I can’t any more than I am already… so that’s basically what I told him. Since then, he’s discovered how much I’m doing – so the next time he stopped by and told me he heard how much I was doing – and “not to stress about it”. DON’T STRESS ABOUT IT???
I think he now knows “not stressing” is not an option. The other times he’s stopped by, he’s knocked on the door and I’ve yelled “YEAH!” without looking up from my coding. He starts talking and it takes a minute or two before I realize just WHO has stopped by and stop typing and look up to acknowledge his presence. Yeah, I’m stressing about it.
I admire those people that are calm and collected despite how busy we are. I have never been described as “cool as a cucumber”. While they sit at their desks working calmly, I dash about the office in a panic. For example, a coworker emailed me Friday afternoon to let me know the (critical) files I generated for him were BLANK. Blank was obviously not what they wanted, he wrote. (Ha ha.) I was dealing with another critical situation raised by another coworker, and didn’t look at his issue. Around 7 pm, he stopped by my office to tell me (calmly) that while his email was humorous, they did need those files ASAP. I blurted “ARE YOU PEOPLE INSANE??!?!? There is only ONE of me!!! I have to get these other revised files done! I haven’t replied to your email because I haven’t had time to look at it yet!”
He chuckled, calmly, and left. He returned around 9 pm, and I told him I would TRY to have something to him by morning. He said he’d look at it then (and thankfully, he thought they looked fine.)
I’ve never learned to deal well with stress. When I volunteered at the cat shelter, I was infamous for (more than once) dashing into the clinic in a panic yelling… and I was told (more than once) that I needed to remember in those situations to PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON. But, I always panicked, and forgot to press the panic button.
So I worked late every night last week, and I worked this weekend (both days). Thank goodness I can work from home (thanks to the Internet), so I got to work and do laundry this weekend. However, I didn’t really have the time or energy to come up with a great idea for my column.
Submitted for publication in The Greeley Citizen.
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