Tag Archives: work

Work ethic

I sent my daughters a meme recently on instagram. It’s a guy buckled into the driver’s seat of a parked car and he’s hitting the passenger seat headrest with a side-fist. The caption reads:

“When your parents gave you work ethic instead of generational wealth.”

Both my kids have it. They are praised at work for doing an excellent job. They have always been that kid who gets asked to train someone coming up even though others have been at the job longer than them. And they take pride in doing an excellent job. It’s great to see them excel both at work and in the things they love to do.

With respect to my own job, education certainly is one of those fields where many people come into the profession with a solid work ethic. I see it time and again. My team really has some dedicated educators and support staff who show what a good work ethic looks like, and that has an incredible impact on the work and learning environment. It shines through in the pride people take in their work, and the praise they get for what they do.

I don’t think a good work ethic is innate. I think it is fostered and developed. I think it can be learned. I also think it can be contagious. Equally so, laziness can also be contagious. Years ago I worked on a factory floor for a soft drink company. My job was to feed a conveyor belt with crates of 12 used 750ml glass bottles to be washed and refilled. (You need to be a certain age to remember these bottles that out-date the plastic 2-litre ones.) This was a labour intensive job, with a fork lift driver bringing pallets of crates for two of us to unload.

When it was break time, another worker would relieve us one at a time, but this one guy, whose name I no longer remember, would send us both on break at the same time. It was a 15 minute break and he’d say, “take 20”, then he’d do the job of two people. I did this a couple times for my partner to take a quick washroom break, but I’d be huffing and puffing if I had to do it for 20.

This guy relieved us like this for almost a week, then our boss saw him and told him to stop. Not because he was going to hurt himself, but rather because he didn’t want the higher-ups to see that one person could do the job. The whole culture in the factory was ‘do the minimum’, ‘don’t show off’, ‘don’t do anything extra’. It wasn’t an environment I would have wanted to stay in any longer than the summer between school semesters. In fact, I didn’t go back the next year.

A good work ethic is often overlooked. It’s only when you come up against a bad work ethic in comparison that you begin to value what a good work ethic means to the culture of an organization. Remember to show value and appreciation to those around you with a good work ethic.

Persistence and Patience

I like images and graphics that make you think, and especially ones that are motivating. But sometimes for the sake of an image trying to tell a story, another narrative can either be missed or take over from the intended message. That’s something that immediately occurred to me when I saw this ‘inspirational’ image.

To me, the intended message is that we always need to keep learning, but it suggests a uniformity of practice and process that’s just plain wrong. To the person who posted it, Steven Bartlett, the message was about relentless consistency. He said,

For anyone frustrated with how long something is taking you right now…

Remind yourself of this.

Relentless consistency is usually the answer. I’m not talking about a sprint, I’m talking multi-decade.

What’s one thing you do to remain consistent?

But that uniformity between LEARN and APPLY in the image really bugs me no matter what the intended message. While other commenters mentioned positive interpretations like, ‘Consistency is key’, and ‘Focus on the long game’, I commented:

I think my greatest learning is that application always takes longer than you think. Persistence needs to be tempered with patience.

I wish learning was that easy. I wish I could apply everything I learned so consistently and effortlessly. I can’t. And I don’t think anyone can. There are hours of practice, there are mistakes made, detours and distractions. There is never the consistency and uniformity off application of learning seen in the image.

Is the message of relentless consistency over a long period of time important? Absolutely! But I really think this image misses the mark in sharing what relentless consistency looks like. The hardest part of relentless consistency is when application of learning does not go smoothly and application of what you’ve learned takes months to accomplish. And yes, sure that also often means more learning, but the grunt work of making things work can often be the times when consistency really matters, and isn’t so evenly worked through as suggested in the image.

Persistence needs to be tempered with patience. If constant results and application of learning are expected, this will lead to disappointment and frustration… neither of which inspires consistency.

Go, go, go

The year has come to an end. Almost. Our grad is tonight night, I have a second grad to attend tomorrow night, as well as a couple luncheons… and the ‘To Do’ list seems endless.

There is always so much to do at the end of the year, but there are also celebrations and gatherings that need your full attention. That’s the trick, how do you squeeze everything in, and still give everything the time and commitment it all deserves?

You’d think I’d have it all figured out by now but I don’t. I’ll just put my head down and make the most of it. Friday afternoon will be here soon enough, and I’ll pick up all the pieces after the long weekend. The most important thing this week is fully committing to the task at hand and to the events I attend. Worrying about the next thing robs us of the joy and celebration of the end of the year. Go, go, go doesn’t work unless you spend time at each place you go to.

Second monitor

At work I just updated and replaced computer monitors for my staff. It was time, especially for my online teachers and secretaries, who spend the vast majority of their day looking at screens. Two of my secretaries use 3 monitors, and many teachers and myself use 2. My setup is that I use my laptop as my keyboard and usually have my calendar on that screen, then my two monitors are on the raised platform of a desktop stand-up desk behind my laptop. A couple of my teachers have the same setup, while others put their laptop between the monitors on a flat desk.

No matter what the setup, all but two teachers see great value in having additional monitors. I like having additional monitors so much that I’m considering a second monitor at home. The reality is that more screen real estate means better productivity. Some people might think it means more distractions, but that’s not the case. If you are going to choose a distraction, more monitors won’t add to the distraction. If that’s what you are choosing, one screen is enough.

However, for productivity a second or third screen is invaluable. Almost nothing I end up doing requires just one screen. If I’m dealing with an email about a student, I have email open, and then I might also have our student management system open to see what courses they have with us, and I might also have the ministry data system up to see their transcript of courses. That’s just one of many examples where 3 screens are far better than either jumping from one online system to another or splitting your screen to see different tabs or systems that then require scrolling.

If you spend a lot of time on a screen, do yourself a favour and add at least one more monitor, then watch your speed at tasks and overall productivity increase… but a fair warning to you that once you do it, you can never go back.

PS. And even if it isn’t something that works for you, don’t let that stop you from providing it to others in your organization… it will increase productivity!

Thinking about Retirement

Tonight I’m going to the Principal’s retirement dinner. A good friend has asked me to do his introduction before he does his retirement speech. I enjoy going to this event and seeing the past retirees. And in all honesty I’ve thought of my own retirement a fair bit recently. While I haven’t picked a date yet, it’s less than five years away… and could be as soon as two.

Whenever I talk to retirees, they always share how busy they are. There is so much to do, places to go, people to see. They are not bored and if they want, there is always work they can get. In fact there are quite a few who end up going back to work for the school district. With the retirement bubble that’s happening and a shortage of teachers, opportunities abound.

And then there is the chance to travel more. I don’t have many regrets in life, but I do wish I travelled more when I was younger, and to me retirement opens up an opportunity to make up for that. I could easily list off 10 countries I’d like to visit sooner rather than later.

The thing that I think about most when it comes to retirement is what my routine will look like. I won’t be waking up at 5am to get my workout and writing in. I will be working out for longer, I will spend more time writing. I will also be cooking more meals and eating a bit more healthy. And I’ll probably work to some extent, although I don’t yet know what that will look like? With my retirement date approaching, you might think I’d have a better handle on what I’d be doing after this, but I think enough opportunities will present themselves.

I’m not someone who gets bored. I don’t spend time wondering what to do next. Retirement for me is about creating more options for myself. I’m not running away from my job, nor am I counting the days to the transition. Rather I’m seeing it as an opportunity to do more and different things.

It’s hard not to think of retirement as I head to this dinner to celebrate the retirement of my colleagues. I look to the future and I see myself enjoying that next phase of my life. But day-to-day I try not to think about it too much. There is still work to be done and joy to be found in my work. I’m grateful to have a job that feels purposeful and meaningful, and one that doesn’t have me counting the days until the next phase of my life.

The Reality of the Job

I just did a meditation that led to a short nap, and now I’m reflecting on my day ‘off’.

There are some jobs that you never have to take home with you. A Starbucks barista doesn’t have to think about their job when they aren’t working. Even when I was a Starbucks manager, there were many days when my shift was over and I didn’t think much about work until I returned for my next shift… although there were times I ended up working much more than an 8 hour day. However, I didn’t enjoy being a Starbucks manager nearly as much as being a teacher or principal of a school… but those are two very different jobs than the ones at Starbucks. The reality of being in education is that you take the job home with you.

I’ve been sick and away from work most of this week. And for a lot of it, I was truly off. A low-grade but persistent headache, flu symptoms and unpleasant coughing kept me from work, both physically and mentally. But it’s hiring time for next year and a couple positions I posted closed last night. And so today I spent most of the day coughing my way through interviews, catching up  on emails, and making some phone calls. I worked a 6+ hour day, despite it being a sick day. That’s the nature of work sometimes. I’m not complaining. I really rested yesterday and feel a lot better (though I sound a lot worse) today. It would have been nice to take today fully off too, but the reality is that some jobs just aren’t like that… and I chose a job that’s just not like that.

It’s pretty awesome being in a job with so many caring and thoughtful people that are dedicated to their jobs. It inspires me and makes days like this, days where I’m off, but not really off, to appreciate the dedication of others who do the same, don’t complain, and do a fantastic job. Whenever I hear someone complain about teachers having it easy, and having summers off, or any talk like that, it usually comes from one of two places: Either it’s from someone who doesn’t take their work home with them, or it’s from someone who does, but also benefits financially from doing so (working towards commission, a bonus, or getting paid overtime). Meanwhile teachers and principals work many extra unpaid hours and even when not well, despite having hundreds of sick days accumulated… And they put time in on weekends marking, and stay after school to prepare lessons, coach, and run events well into the evenings.

It’s the reality of the job, and it’s done for the love of serving others… Even when we aren’t at 100%.

The good news is that my headache has subsided, and I’m on the mend. I’m going to spend my weekend catching up on some shows I’ve neglected and getting a bit more sleep. I need to give myself the time I need to fully recover, to ensure that I stay healthy for the crazy month ahead.

 

Empty Cup

The timing was perfect. I was not feeling well and took the day off. Then I saw this later in the day:

There was a bit of work that still had to be done, but I needed this day… and I took it. I think now of all the times I didn’t. I’m not sure I was my best, and it probably showed. We can’t be at our best when our own cup is empty.

Block and Move to Junk

I might have shared a similar rant before, but I had to deal with this a few times last week and I hope at least one person in sales will learn from this.

If you cold email me with a product or service when we have had no relationship beforehand, that’s a cold call, it’s a virtual knock on a strangers email door. I find it annoying. I understand it’s hard to get your product in front of people and while I don’t like it much, I tolerate it.

However, when you then follow up with an email saying, “I haven’t heard back from you…” Well now that’s just rude. I don’t owe you anything for taking my unsolicited time to look at and maybe even read your first message. You didn’t hear from me because I’m not interested. How many thousands of ‘I haven’t heard back from you’ emails do you have to send to get a positive response? I bet it’s astronomically low. I bet your time would have been better used elsewhere.

On Friday, I got a call from someone who had sent me an email and a follow up. The only reason it got through my secretary is because the product name had the word ‘class’ in it, my secretary thought the voice sounded like a student, and I said to put it through instead of asking her to take a message like I usually do. When he started in with, “Hi, I’m [Name] from [Company], I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to look at my last 2 emails…” I was already done. I was actually politer than I needed to be and started into a routine I’ve gotten pretty good at. I start with ‘We’ve gone through a lot of changes in the last while and I’m not interested in adding anything new at this time… and I go on for about 10 more seconds on double speed and end with, ‘I wish you all the best but we really are not interested, thanks, bye’. And I hang up even if the person has time to respond.

No, if I didn’t respond to your first email then I’m not interested in your product or even a free trial. A follow up email won’t help. A follow up email then phone call is doubly obnoxious. In fact, you can be sure of two things. First, I don’t want to work with you even if your product is great. And second, I won’t see a third email from you because I’ve blocked you and moved your email to junk. If enough of us did that after second unsolicited cold-call emails, that company email address might even find itself on the wrong side of spam filters… and I’m ok with that because if their first email wasn’t spam to begin with, their second email was definitely was.

Barometric Pressure Headaches

Yesterday there was a drop in barometric pressure. I know this because I felt it in my head. Since I was a teenager I’ve been susceptible to getting headaches due to barometric pressure changes. That said, they really don’t happen often, and I am still surprised by them. I don’t think to blame the weather for the low grade headache that I develop from a drop in atmospheric pressure.

Yesterday morning I was at my desk and the pain grew as I tried to look at my computer screen. I needed to give my eyes a break and as I walked out of my office I mentioned to my secretaries that I had a headache. One of my secretaries instantly replied, “I feel it too, it’s the weather.” And only hearing this and looking out the window at the grey skies helped me realize what I was dealing with. Even though I don’t get a lot of headaches, it just seems odd to me that this happens and so I don’t draw conclusions or throw blame on a weather change for how I feel.

Looking at the historical data now, there was indeed a big drop in pressure yesterday.

Of all the skills and abilities I could possibly have, detecting atmospheric pressure drops with a headache is not one I can say I’m grateful for. I felt ‘off’ the whole day, and left work not convinced I’d be up to going to work today.

But it’s a new day, there is a rising barometer in the forecast, and I am headache free after a good night’s sleep. Yesterday was a blip, (or perhaps a better word is dip), and I will be blissfully ignorant of the barometer until the next big drop. And if I’m true to form, I’ll draw the conclusion that the weather is the cause of my headache well after I should have made the connection. It just seems like a really weird place to throw blame.

Being vs Doing

I was listening to a guided meditation, and it mentioned that how we live in the world is more focused on doing rather than being.

This made me think about the multitude of tasks we do on autopilot, and how we aren’t always fully present when we do them. It made me think about my work day and how much of it is spent focused on tasks, and not at all on the experience.

Doing is an external experience focused on productivity and achievement. Being is intrinsic, it emphasizes awareness, mindfulness, and the value of life. Doing is all about chasing goals and getting stuff done, it’s what moves us ahead and lets us make things happen. But being… That’s about soaking in the moment, really living it up, and savoring life’s journey as it happens.

This isn’t an either/or thing, but I feel like we, I feel like I, could benefit from being more… More present, more aware, more in the moment. Whole days can go by where I’m task oriented, focused on what needs to be done, and not aware or appreciative of my experience. It’s really about valuing the life we have as it unfolds, rather than just checking off boxes of tasks and achievements mindlessly.

If we are too busy only doing, are we allowing ourselves the opportunity to value and appreciate this wonderful life we are living? Are we living at all, or just moving from task to task, like mindless robots. I laugh a lot more when I’m being and not just doing. I connect with people more meaningfully. I find joy in the tasks that I do. Being is an awareness that sits above the things we do, and it changes a life of activity for the sake of activity, to one where we can find meaning, and joy, throughout our day, and on days yet to come.