Assuming all is in order (and as of this writing, I have no reason not to assume so) there is every chance that this coming Wednesday, I will start my new "main" job (to Eaton Rapids Joe's kind point earlier, I do have a second job, but right now that could not pay the bulk of the proverbial bills).
The whole thing strikes me as a bit odd.
Technically (if you are a calendar counter) it will have been 98 days between when I was officially notified that my job was disappearing and when I go into an office to start a new one. And of that time, I think it would be fair to say that 60 days of it (the WARN act period) was not precisely a high amount of effort or activity - I did what I needed to do and no more and consumed 3 weeks of vacation in an eight week period.
Suffice it to say, I have not really been "working hard in my field of choice" for almost a quarter.
I do not have any concerns about getting back on the proverbial bike - yes, Medical Device is different from Biopharmaceutical in regulations a bit (for those of you that like inside baseball), but not too terribly so, and I have done this sort of work before for 7 years so really it will just be realigning my focus. Also, remembering what "going to the office" is like.
The other thing this event has made me do is re-examine my goals and my scheduling.
Simply put, I am adding in approximately 40 minutes a day in commuting. While in my life of work that is by far not the worst commute I have had, I have not had a commute in three years. I will try to fill the time accordingly - about 20 minutes each way is the length of a single podcast from A History of Byzantium that I am listening to, so I can fill the time usefully (in all fairness, I struggle to listen to anything for more than 15 or 20 minutes at a time. For some reason, the medium does not work for me). But that subtracts from the overall time I have.
Another factor is my second job, which at this point I fully intend to keep. My boss has been kind in adapting my schedule to what my availability is and if the next two weeks is any indication, it looks like I will close two nights and work a full shift to close on Saturdays (around 18 hours or so). This would allow my Iaijutsu attendance on the two weeknights and Saturday morning classes and give a full free day on Sunday (which, to be fair, has church and the rabbit shelter on it).
Bottom line: my evenings excluding Sunday will be filled with one thing or another and the evening closes will be me transporting directly from one job to the other. Which means my major, reliable time for my goals and tasks is mornings until 0800.
If you have followed this blog for any period of time, you no doubt have already suspected I have all of this scheduled. I do. Fortunately for "I like linearity" me, the times all more or less line up so that I can keep the same rising and going to bed schedule every day.
All of this means, oddly enough, that I have new appreciation of time.
Time was a thing I had wilds amount of in the last three months. Now - almost all at once - time has become exceedingly precious.
This was a development I had not anticipated.
This is certainly not a bad thing - no, I should have had always had an appreciation of time in this manner. It just becomes easy to ignore, especially when one gets caught up in the day to day tasks of living and a schedule which does not significantly modify itself periodically.
It has focused my mind wonderfully. So in a meaningful way, Wednesday's start may really be a methodology to a sort of life examination rebirth and refocusing.
Pretty heady stuff for a job change.
Well… we here in the Peanut Gallery approve, TB! As long as you have time for sword swingin’ and the odd hike and trip, it’s all good. I wish I had your energy…
ReplyDeleteThanks Glen! One thing I have learned is that it is easier to stay in motion than it is to restart from a resting position. That, and not allowing myself to have "pity" on myself in the sense that there is too much to do. There is a finite limit to be sure; I have not reached it. We are always more capable than we think we are.
DeleteBrush those teeth! Shine those shoes! Comb that hair! (Er...if you're like me less of that) Was lucky enough to have had a short commute, never had to drive freeways, could always make a move on side streets. Indeed, Time is a good focuser.
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - my single biggest time investment in the morning is moustache grooming. Most people, alas, do not understand the price of beauty...
DeleteHonestly, I am shocked at how focused my life seems to have become. It is if a lens suddenly snapped into alignment.
Good news friend!
ReplyDeleteThanks! (I say that; still officially waiting for confirmation that in fact I have a job on Wednesday. No reason not to think so, but...)
DeleteTime management and retirement.
ReplyDeleteAs you said, work and work related things such as the commute, do take up a large part of our time.
Retirement has brought a different appreciation of time management, and although I sometimes feel I am not utilizing my/our retirement time as effectively as I could be, I also realize that it was never as much about the work, as it was being on somebody else's schedule.
And much like what you said about refocusing and rebirth, Samuel Johnson said, “Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”
Will there be anxiety as you start Day #1 in a new job?
Of course!
Best of luck.
John - You have the right of retirement time management. My father effectively said and lived the same thing. It is not that he did not have part time jobs after he retired; it was just that he got to choose which jobs and how hard he wanted to work. And what he spent his other time on.
DeleteThanks for the Johnson quote and the good wishes!
Enjoy, be safe and God bless, TB. :)
ReplyDeleteI will try Linda!
DeleteYou're going to have a very busy schedule! I think, though, you're organized and self-disciplined enough to work with it comfortably. Although I'm sure it will take some getting used to.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, it is going to be very busy. I am comforting myself with the ideas that 1) I will have some tangible outcomes that will make the effort worthwhile (such as being able to train in Japan next year); 2) It is only for a relatively short period of time; and 3) Better to burn out than fade away (Highlander).
DeleteBest wishes in your new adventures, TB. To everything there is a season!
ReplyDelete