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!  =)