Beyond 254

The Dangers of Fun Times

I like this time of year at work. Co-workers tend to be in a better mood and people are out of the office due to vacation. Also, due to the holidays and time off, the amount of work decreases and the stress level lowers. Even though I enjoy this lull, this is not the time to slack off from achieving your goals. During this time, people who dream of leaving Corporate America might start to falsely believe that the corporate environment is not so bad and put their dreams on hold. This is not the time to become complacent and believe that these "fun times" will last.

During this time of less work and stress, you should load up on the duties and responsibilities for achieving your goals. As for me, I will be taking off an entire week. While I will be spending time with family, I will have plenty of extra time to work on growing my business.

Tip of the Day: Take this time to create a schedule or task list geared toward achieving your goals and dreams. Once the holidays are over, you will feel good about what you have accomplished and you will be closer to achieving your goals.

Is High School Really Over?

Sorry I have been so behind on my blog postings. I am working on some new changes for Beyond254 that I will be unveiling within the next couple of months, so I have been really busy. But, I wanted to take time to comment on an article I just read today on a Wall Street Journal Blog called "The Juggle." The title of the article was Meritocracy or "Mean Girls." How Important is Office Popularity? The article really spoke volumes to me, because this explains the environment at my current workplace. As I was reading this article, it felt like I was reading about my company. Also, I read some of the readers' comments and it mirrors what I am going through. The gossiping,  jealousy, back-biting and back-stabbing is very common where I work. Also, swearing is commonplace. The management team in my department does not even try to hide the fact that they play favorites. I remember after working at my current company a few months, we had a team dinner with one of the clients we were working with. I do not drink, so naturally I did not order a drink with my dinner. After the dinner, I went to the restroom and a female manager followed me. While we were in the restroom, she questioned my choice of not drinking and then she said something that totally shocked me. She said, "You do not drink, how are you going to fit in with the group?" I was so stunned I could not even come back with one of my sarcastic one liners. I was literally speechless!

I really feel that high school is never over. It is amazing to me that some adults can be so immature and let pettiness cloud their judgment. I guess that is why starting my own company is so important to me, because I want to be free of these toxic environments. So, what are your thoughts? Does this sound like your office environment? Let me know, I would love to hear from you.

Tip of the day - To cope with my toxic environment, I have found a few good, like-minded people on my job that I interact with. Also, whenever I feel that someone is trying to pull me into a toxic conversation, I try to change the subject or find an excuse to walk away. Until you can escape, just bear with it, try out these tips and just know that one day you will be free of this environment.

Being Tested

During these last few weeks, I have been stating how things are getting better since I had a shift in attitude. The books I have been reading have helped me change my outlook on things and taught me how to handle tough situations. Well these last couple of days, I have gone through a testing period to see how my new attitude can stand up to difficult situations.

Yesterday, I had a major disagreement with one of my colleagues on a conference call. The stress on this particular project was building up for the last couple of weeks and it finally came to a boiling point yesterday. After the call, I was "totally done" and I had enough. We had another call later that afternoon and I was still frustrated after the call earlier that day, that I kept quiet. When I went home yesterday, it was very hard for me to get my mind off of work, but I did not complain about the situation to family and friends. Later that night, I prayed and went to bed thinking that this was behind me. Well today, early this morning, I got hit with more bad news, our company announced pay cuts for all employees. All I could do was chuckle to myself and just be thankful that we did not get laid off. Just when I thought it was all over, I heard that the colleague that I "butted heads" with was still complaining (behind my back of course). Due to all the stress from yesterday and today, I decided to have a long lunch. After I ate, I noticed that my stomach felt queasy. So to top this day off, I became ill later this afternoon. Even though I went home early, I still managed to attend all my meetings. On the way home, something happened, it seemed like that negative energy was broken. It feels like it literally broke off in small pieces and flew off my body. I felt free. I was able to forget about all the problems from work. Yesterday I had a hard time shaking things off, but today, after all these troubles, I started to feel a sense of peace. Even now, as I write this, the anger and fear are gone. I am not angry at my co-workers and I do not feel a sense of fear about the upcoming pay cuts. I know that better days are ahead and God has a wonderful plan for my life.

I feel these troubles came in order to "test" me and apply all the knowledge that I have learned. How can you have a testimony without a test? Also, these situations help push and propel me to my destiny. Now I have an even stronger desire to escape Corporate America. One of my goals is to do some freelance writing. I intend to start doing some freelance writing; in addition I plan on looking for contract work. These are small steps to help me move toward my goal of escaping Corporate America.

Tip of the day: When you go through troubles and stress, you will experience some anger and discomfort at first, but do not wallow in it. Negative energy will hinder you from seeing things clearly. If your mind is clouded, how will you know what direction to take to reach your goals and dreams?

Can’t You People Read: Part 2

It seems as if people never learn. Today, I spent all morning putting out fires. My managers kept asking questions about a high priority project. All of their questions and concerns were addressed in earlier status reports that are sent daily. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt and understand that they are probably bombarded by all kinds of information each day. But to me, I would think that you would try to remember the information about an important project. I went through this same scenario a few months ago, when managers did not take the time to read about critical project status. It is frustrating, because it seems like I am wasting my time going over things that were already discussed and mentioned in previous reports. So many times today I wanted to say, “If you would read your status reports, you would know better than to ask these questions” (sorry, that was my ego talking!). But of course, I stayed polite and responded to their questions. In the midst of the frustration, I am thankful that I had the information to respond. It gives me some sense of peace in the center of all this chaos.

Tip of the Day:  Make sure you save all correspondence. If someone ever tries to claim that they did not receive an e-mail from you about a certain topic, just forward the original e-mail that was sent to them. Once they see that the original e-mail was addressed to them, it usually keeps them quiet for the rest of the day. At least they know that they cannot use that excuse anymore.

Adverse to Change

Today, I was talking to a co-worker after she had a conversation with one of the HR payroll clerks. She stated that this clerk was complaining about the new payroll system, we implemented for the HR department. This new system is a better tool, but the clerk did not like the fact that she had to learn a new system and process.

 

Change and learning new things is what helps people and organizations grow and develop. Without change, people can become complacent and get stuck in a rut. Also by staying the same, you can fall behind the times in relation to trends and technology. Can you imagine someone wearing the same hairstyle or clothes for the last 30 years? It starts to become boring and predictable. Your mind is not being energized, because you are not learning and trying new things. Lastly, resisting change can cause you to get left behind. Sometimes change is not comfortable, but understand that it will eventually be for your own good. As for the HR payroll clerk, she will come to realize in time that this new system is better and the growing pains that come with change are only temporary. In the end, it will make her job a lot easier.

 

Tip of the day: Try or learn something new each day. This might include trying a new food, taking a different route home or reading a new book. Watch and see how you will benefit from this new experience.

Every Storm Has An Assignment

Lately, I have been hearing how every storm, trial or adversity in your life has a purpose. I heard this message at church recently and also on shows and reading other blogs. I am a firm believer in this, because I look at the lessons learned from the trials I have experienced in my life.

 

The trials I experienced on my job earlier this year caused me to make some changes in my life.

• It caused me to look within myself and change characteristics within my personality that have been hindering me. Some changes I made were: stop taking things too personally, gain control of my emotions and stop blaming others.
• I now have a closer relationship with God and my Faith has grown stronger.
• I started digging deeper to discover my life’s purpose.
• I started to become more organized on the job.

In addition to the items above, I started writing this blog due to the frustrations I was experiencing on the job. I wanted others who were going through the same thing to know that they are not alone and could learn from my experience. As I stated earlier this month, things are getting better, but it is still a work in progress. One more thing I plan on starting is a gratitude journal. Every night, I verbalize the things that I am grateful for, but I heard that writing it down is more powerful. I will keep you posted on the power of the gratitude journal and what changes take place in my life.

 

Tip of the day: If you are experiencing problems on the job, look at yourself first and work on changing you, instead of blaming others around you. Once you do that, you will notice a dramatic shift in how you view things and see the purpose God has for your life.

How to Stay Alert Without Caffeine

I do not drink any beverages that contain caffeine, so I try to stay away from sodas, energy drinks, coffee or any other caffeinated drink. Because of this, I tend to hit a slump during the midday that causes me to become real drowsy. The following tips help combat that midday slump.

• Take a walk around the office
• Step outside for some fresh air and take a brisk walk around the office property
• Chat with fellow co-workers
• Listen to some upbeat music (please use your headsets)
• Light stretching exercises. Try to reach over and touch your toes. This will help energize you and get the blood flowing
• Eat a healthy snack

After trying one or several of these things, I notice the energy returns and I can get through the rest of the day.

Watch Your Back!

You have always been told to watch your back when walking alone at night or in a dark parking garage. If you don’t, a stranger can come from behind and attack you. But, it is worse, when we have to watch our back at work. To protect ourselves, from people we know, who could cause us harm.

During the last couple of months, I have been working on a very important project. The sponsor of this project is one of our department directors. From the beginning of this project, the completion date was listed as the beginning of the month. While on a conference call, I discovered that the deadline was actually the end of the month. In order to obtain some clarification, I sent an e-mail to the Director asking her the proper end date; she e-mailed me back a response detailing the reason for the different dates. I assumed all was good and did not give this much thought any more. But a few days later, my assumption that “all was good” turned out to be wrong and revealed a more sinister turn of events. Unbeknownst to me, a simple e-mail about a date clarification was used by this person to somehow sabotage me. This woman went behind my back to my director stating that I was not serious about this project, because of this question I asked. The only reason I found out, was because my manager told me. When I found out, I was livid. I thought this person was one of the few decent people working at this company. She went straight to my department director (she did not even go to my manager, she went straight to the higher level) about an assumption that was not even true. In order to follow proper protocol, I told my manager my side and sent her a copy of the e-mail. No where in the e-mail did it state that I would “slow-up” on this project because of the later end date. Nor did my actions suggest that I was not taking this project seriously. Now, someone looking at this from the outside could say that I was doing something else that helped her draw this conclusion. But, I was talking to her on an almost daily basis and holding conference calls with the team weekly concerning the status of this project. So, I do not know how she came to the conclusion that I was not serious. But, I did learn some things from this experience:

• Save all your e-mails – You never know when a situation will arise where you will need proof of your actions.
• After a verbal conversation, follow up with an e-mail to summarize what was discussed.
• Make sure to document and date all incidences. Also, during meetings of any kind, take notes and make sure to include the date.
• Once a backstabber has been identified, make sure to copy your manager on all correspondence to this person.
• Keep all your personal and private matters to yourself, you never know if you are confiding with a decent person or a backstabber/gossiper.