Conference insights

My conference this past week was phenomenal and I can say that my cup of new knowledge/ideas runneth over - I'm just hoping that I was able to capture everything that I wanted to in my notes.  Not only did I learn things that I can implement into my work but I can also apply these thoughts into my life.  One of the guest speakers really resonated with me and it's stuff I've heard before but hearing it this last week has stuck with me (or it hopefully will once I go back to work).  Something that the guest speaker said that I really want to put into motion is finding a mentor that tells me not what I want to hear but what I need to hear (i.e. "what the hell are you doing working 60 hours a week - knock it off!").  He also talked about stress vs. burnout and this was something else that struck me - people who stress tend to be very passionate and feel things intensely (sound like me??) and being passionate can lead to burnout; burnout is where passionate people have given all they can (and then some) and that leads to feeling numb/no longer caring (hmmm... also sound like me??).

Another session I was in was a panel discussion with senior leaders and people were able to ask questions - one of the last questions that was asked was if they could recommend a book to junior leaders, what would they recommend.  I wrote down the list of books and actually ordered two of the ones that they listed (and I bought two books written by the gust speaker that resonated with me).  So, going into a new workweek, I have notes from the sessions I attended, four new books to read and catch up on everything I missed in the last week.  Bring it on...

I'm learning that I definitely need to prioritize and delegate when I can and work to the best of my ability and realize that's good enough.  I am one that takes on too much and wants it all to be perfect - however, I'm learning that this is only going to push me to burnout even more quickly.  Before attending this conference, I would say that I was a day or two away from hitting that point of burnout and that worries me.  I have been to that point several times over the last (almost) two years of being the director of my building and I need to change that.  I don't want to get to the point of losing my fight...

Being at the conference allowed me to network both with people who I've met before in one setting or another and with new individuals.  It was so much fun to see my friend who I haven't seen in 5 years and there was another individual who used to have my job and moved cross country about 3.5 years ago and he was at the conference too.  It was nice to sit in the evenings and talk with them to see what types of things they're doing in their programs and to share with them what I'm doing in mine.  There were several people who asked for my business card because they said they wanted to reach out to me as they go back to their buildings and I think that was pretty cool.  I even had a couple of people who were trying to recruit me to their program/buildings and that shocked me a little bit (but made me feel pretty awesome, too!).  We'll see who contacts me in the upcoming weeks...

Traveling back after my conference wasn't nearly as adventurous as traveling to the conference so I'm thankful for that.  I wasn't able to check in online but the gentleman at the ticket counter was phenomenal and even though it took him about 20-30 minutes to figure out what was going on, he talked with me the entire time and even went to the other airline ticket counter for me since I switched airlines during my connecting flight (other counter agents made the customer go wait in the other line and he just went for me which was awesome).  Even though there was a small country worth of people attempting to get through security all at the same time, they had a very efficient system and got people through fairly quickly so I'll take it.

Well my dear readers, since I have to go back to work in the AM and I'm still dealing with my body thinking I'm on the 3-hour time difference, I should probably bring this to a close for tonight and think about heading to bed (after I get things together for work tomorrow).  I hope you have a fabulous week and don't get to stress or burnout point...  Thanks for joining me!  =)

Travel insanity

Well, as you can probably tell from the title, I am traveling again (for work) and needless to say, this travel experience will be one for the books...  It started last night with receiving an email saying that my AM flight (for this morning) was cancelled and that I needed to call the airline.  I called the airline, the agent didn't know that there were any flights cancelled, kept putting me on hold, and then 20 minutes later told me that I would have to travel to another airport (about an hour away) to start my travel.  I was able to book a seat on the airline shuttle van to get me to the airport since I didn't want to take my car because theoretically I'll be flying into the airport I was originally supposed to fly out of.  Luckily the shuttle van picked me up at home but I now have to find out if I'll get reimbursed through work since I had to alter my travel plans...

With this change in schedule, I ended up having to wake up at the same time (3:45 am) but it ended up being a much longer day than anticipated.  I was on the shuttle for about an hour and a half (we had a couple of pick up stops), got to the airport and was thankfully able to check in right away and it only took me about 20 minutes to get through security.  On the plane, I had an aisle seat and across the aisle was a screaming child who every time the mom got up with her, kicked me in the arm.  My connection was tight but I made it no problem.  On the second plane, I got settled into my seat (another aisle seat) when a mom carrying a one year old pretty much demanded that I sit in her seat (middle seat) so grandma across the aisle could help with the little one.  For whatever reason, I gave in and moved (never again!) and the child screamed/kicked me the entire flight....  Ugh!  These experiences make me petrified to think about what's in store at the end of the week when I fly back at the end of my conference...

Luckily my luggage arrived at my destination (which I wondered about with the tight connection) and I didn't have to wait long for the airport/hotel shuttle.  The hotel is AMAZING and I have my own mini-suite so I can't really complain.  Another thing that I really can't complain about is a very dear friend of mine who I haven't seen in 5 years will be at this conference and she arrives tomorrow!  I always get a little nervous with work travel because I'm never sure if the clothes that I've brought are what I should've done but it's too late now since I'm here...  The only thing that I already wish I would've brought is a bathing suit since the pool is gorgeous but mine didn't fit.  =(

One of the things I'm not excited about is as I write, I am hearing thunder boom outside and I am NOT a thunderstorm lover...  I know that I should be thankful that I'm not traveling in this weather (which I am SO thankful for) but that still doesn't make me like listening to thunder...  A huge thunderstorm happened one of the last times I travelled for work - is it a sign?!

Oh, well.  I suppose I should be thankful that I have this opportunity to travel for work and that I arrived at my destination (mostly) unscathed.  Even though my day started super early, where I traveled is a three hour time difference, so even though the clock shows a late hour, my body isn't feeling it so much.  But, that being said, day one of the conference is going to be a slightly long one (I do get to sleep in a little bit though!) so I should probably bring this to a close for this week.

I didn't get everything done at work or my apartment before my travel but I have come to terms with that and have decided not to worry about any of it while I'm here - we'll see how well that goes for me...  Have a GREAT week my dear readers filled with muchness!  =)

Plans

Well, I survived our accreditation site visit and we did pretty well.  We won't know the finalized results for 30 - 45 days (although we can know as fast as 10 - 15 days) but the person who conducted the site visit seemed pretty impressed with the program and she even said that she would have her grandkids attend our program.  When we learned about her commendations, she actually presented them in front of my boss, the boss of my boss, and two additional "higher-ups."  One of the things that impressed me is that my boss actually gave me credit for taking over this process and making it what it was - she's one, that in the past, has taken all of the credit even when other people do all of the work.

Now that this chapter can close at work, I can move on to one of the next big projects I'm trying to complete at work - creating a break room space for the staff.  When the building was created, there was no space created for the staff to have an opportunity to "get away from it all."  We're taking one of the side rooms, cleaning out the kid furniture and moving in their lockers, bistro tables, fridge, microwave, coffee maker, a conference table, etc. to create such a space for them.  Some of the items have already gone into the room and they used it this past Friday to enjoy lunch (I bought lunch for everyone to thank them for their hard work during our site visit).  I'm hoping to have it up and running for them before I go to my training in Florida next week but we'll see....

Speaking of my training next week, I'm both ready and so not ready at the same time.  At work, I have the staff room to finish, two weeks work of scheduling to create/post, interviews one morning, a staff meeting after work on Tuesday, and the "normal" day-to-day of the week (and the insanity that is often the "normal").  On the home-front, I still have lots of cleaning/straightening to do, laundry, dishes (ugh!), vacuum, give two little dogs baths, get a haircut myself, pack, etc.  I know that I'll get done what I get done but it's a little daunting trying to make the list of things to accomplish and know that I have a week to said things accomplished...

I am proud of myself for two of my accomplishments yesterday since they took me outside of my comfort zone.  I started my day yesterday by going through my closet and got rid of six garbage bags of clothes and I donated them to people less fortunate.  I will probably need to go through my closet again before too much longer but I'm really hoping it's because the clothes in there are too big but that is going to take a lot of work on my part...  The other thing I am proud of myself for doing is I went to the "good-bye" celebration one of my "dance mamas" held.  Granted, I didn't stay for more than a few minutes, but I went, got last hugs, and said goodbye.  Goodbyes are something that I have never been comfortable with so I impressed myself by going.

One of the goals I have set for myself as I pack for my conference this upcoming week is to dress for the business side of things but I also want to make sure that I don't lose my muchness in the process.  I have blazers but some of my favorites aren't typical colors - I have a fuchsia one that I love as well as a red one that I love wearing, too.  I know those aren't conventional blazer colors but they make me feel good when I wear them so I don't care.  I take that back - I do care but they help make me feel good/confident so I'm going to keep wearing them.

On that note, I'm going to bring this to a close for tonight so I can begin to make a list of what clothing items I'm going to pack for my trip next week and come up with a game plan for the week ahead.  Wishing you muchness wherever your path takes you this week, my dear readers, and thank you for joining me along my path (even if/when things don't go according to plan).  =)

Enough is enough

I can't believe that tomorrow is the start of another work week already...  It probably doesn't help that on Friday, I worked from 6:20 am - 9:30 pm and then was in the building yesterday from 9:30 am - 4:00 pm.  Why was I in the building yesterday you may ask?  Tomorrow is the culmination of all of my hard work over the last several months and the inspector/assessor for our accreditation arrives at 9:00 am to begin the process.  I'm pretty sure that all of the paperwork is in order but I'm not 100% confident about that - I think part of that comes from not being through this process before (I've been through the similar process when I worked in the other building but not this particular inspection or as a manager).  Along with her looking through the paperwork (in addition to looking through the 92 pieces of documentation I had to upload to their website), she has to interview some of the staff (including me), and then observe how the staff interact with the kids after school.  Tomorrow is only the 4th day of school so we'll see how that goes...

I am just so ready to be done with this whole process and be able to move on from it at work.  This accreditation has been what's consuming me for the last six months+ and I'm ready for it to all be over.  I know that there is always something else that will take the place of this project but I'm hoping it doesn't become as monopolizing.  The only downside to not knowing what's coming next is it makes it difficult to attempt to take some time off (and I desperately need to take some time off of work - and going to my conference in two weeks doesn't count since I'll be in classes all day).  We'll see what happens and if my boss agrees or not.

I am looking forward to attending the conference I'm headed to two weeks from today even though I have at least 1001 things to do around my apartment and at work before I leave.  It all always seems to come together in the end so I'm trying not to worry about it...  I just checked my work email and we got an email in regards to the conference - they want the week to be "business casual" dress and I'm not exactly sure what that means.  I tried looking it up online (yes, I'm a nerd like that) but what I was finding didn't necessarily help since there were many different interpretations of what "business casual" looks like.  I don't want to be the one in attendance who's either way over/under dressed...  (Mom & Dad, any thoughts/insight would be greatly appreciated!)

One of the things that I'm not looking forward to this week is saying goodbye to one of the women I consider to be one of my "dance mamas."  She gave me the opportunity to dance my first belly dance solo outside of the troupe's studio and I have danced at her show often since then (she is also the one I have been her substitute instructor when she's been out of town).  I'm not one who handles goodbyes well and this goodbye is going to be a difficult one for me since she's moving to the other side of the country.  She's having a goodbye get together this upcoming Saturday and while I don't always do well in group situations such as this, I'm going to at least swing by to say goodbye and give last hugs.

I came across something that I really needed to read tonight:

I AM ENOUGH

-Molly Mahar

I am full of sparkle and compassion.  I genuinely want to make the world a better place.  I love hard.  I practice kindness.  I'm not afraid of the truth.  I am loyal, adventurous, supportive, and surprising.  I am a woman.  I am enough.  I make mistakes but I own them and learn from them.  Sometimes I make a lot of mistakes.

There are definitely times where I need to remind myself that I am enough (even when I'm stressing over the accreditation process tomorrow).  On that note, I am going to bring this to a close for tonight in the hopes that I'll be able to get some decent sleep tonight (I turn into a bit of an insomniac when I'm stressed).  My plan is to make sure to embrace my muchness for the process of accreditation tomorrow and I hope that will help with my confidence.  I hope you embrace your muchness this week, my dear readers!  =)

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

It has been a very long week and am thankful that I had today "off."  Because it was a long work week and yesterday was an all day dance performance out of town, I had told the church choir director that I wouldn't be there today.  I spent a lazy morning in bed, talked to my Mom and Dad on the phone, started to clean my apartment (still have lots more to do but I started), ran a few errands and am now taking some time to write.

Why was it such a long week you might ask?  I had an intense meeting with my boss and some coworkers (followed up by a meeting between my boss, her assistant director and myself) and then the next day, one of the individuals involved in the meeting put in her two week notice.  During the meeting, we had come up with a plan for the next month or so and all of that is getting tossed out the window based on her announcement.  I think she expected me to have more of a reaction to her news but  I responded that it is what it is and we'll make it work - beyond that, there wasn't much more for me to say.  This upcoming week, we have the last two days of summer programming, roll into after school and have our reaccreditation process visit the next week (10th and 11th).

One of the things I'm definitely not looking forward to this upcoming week is my boss wants to give my staff the opportunity to come together and basically tell me everything that went wrong with summer programming.  While I'm all for constructive criticism and learning from mistakes; what I'm not all for is the opportunity to be placed in front of what has the potential to be a firing squad and allowing the staff to open fire.  When I was talking with Mom and Dad on the phone, they gave me some thoughts/options going into this firing squad so hopefully I'll remember it all in the heat of the moment.

Now that summer programming is over, I do have some things to look forward to in the next several months.  In a few weeks, I get to go to a week-long out of state training and see a good friend of mine who I haven't had the opportunity to see in 5 years (life has taken us to different coasts).  After that, my parents are taking a trip out here to see me (YAY!!) and then in December I have a three week vacation with family.  I am definitely grateful to have some breaks in sight and that they involve friends and family (even if one of them is a work trip, we're going to have some opportunities for fun as well).  With the amount of hours I put into work this summer (as well as my stress levels), I am looking forward to taking some time away from the building.

I know that I need to trust my staff to take care of things when I'm gone and I also need to get them to the point where they miss me.  As of right now, they just expect me to always be there and be the one to take care of things.  I think some of the staffing changes will assist in me feeling as if I can take some time off and time away from the building (even if it's just taking time out of the building to take a lunch break) but time will tell.  Some of this is going to force me to change my way of thinking when it comes to work but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  For me, I know that I need to change some things so I don't stress myself sick or to death.

Well, my dear readers, I am going to try and get a couple of things accomplished before the week ahead.  Even though I have another busy week, I'm going to try my best to remember my sparkle and my muchness and not to lose "me" in the midst of everything else (something I've been feeling lately).  Thank you for joining me again and I hope you have a muchness filled week!  =)