SMPS SERC – Day 2 & 3 Tue. and Wed.

It’s Tuesday….ok it’s really Sunday but I’m gonna take us back to Tuesday to talk about day 2 of the SMPS SERC Conference. Then we’ll get into Day 3, AKA Wednesday. I’ll admit once the conference started it was a whirl wind. It was sessions, then more sessions, then lunch and afternoon sessions before a meet and greet and the nights activities. I will also add I didn’t sleep well Tuesday which didn’t help with my not feeling like I’m in a whirl wind throughout this conference. So let’s take it day by day. 

 

Day 2 Tuesday: 
Day 2 started early, after a very easy going Monday Tuesday hit the ground running. The Opening Keynote/Breakfast was very interesting … Breakfast was kind of blah. It was basically granola, bagels, and some fruit in this weird sauce. I didn’t partake. I did drink some juice while the Keynote speaker was talking but by lunch I was very hungry. I hadn’t run into my group from the Emerald Coast chapter yet this morning, I knew they were in the room but I didn’t know where. I was one of the last in the room so I just grabbed a seat near the front so I could see and hear what was being said.

The Opening Keynote if I had really been paying attention set the tone for not only the day but the next few days as this conference seemed to be about keeping emotions in check, finding creativity and using it, and setting yourself and message apart from the pack. Lots of what I call Cheerleading sessions in which it sounds good and is very inspirational but not so practical. Then again I’m a pessimist so there’s that.

The worst part of this conference was the overlapping sessions that I wanted to attend and having to choose between one vs the other. For the most part I chose well, I think. Only once did I feel that I chose wrong. They had a session about how to read Construction Documents for use in proposals, but the description made it sound like they were going to focus on architectural construction documents, which isn’t at all what I do. However for 2 days all I heard was how amazing and awesome that session was. I can’t wait to download that session. That’s the coolest part of this entire conference, sometime next week SMPS will put all of the presentations and handouts online for us to download.

One session I really enjoyed was about Thematic Interpretation. In which they focused on developing a theme for the proposal and allowing it to take over every piece of the submittal. I wish I had been to this session two weeks ago cause my last submittal could have really used a theme or well anything to make it better than what it was. My issue with these plans is that they assume you have the time to actually build these things into the submittal. I guess one day I will but so far I haven’t see that happen yet.

In the afternoon session I’ll be honest I’m still surprised I didn’t fall asleep. I don’t know if it was a combination of being hot, and not being able to sleep The topic was really interesting it talked to things I think I really need to know but I think it was over my head. I did also enjoy the one about Branding. Our company recently went through kind of an overhaul and it talked about how you can take those elements and use them as a way to make your proposal really pop as opposed to being boxed into something. 

That night we had a social at a local Brewery called New Belgium Brewery. It also happened to be the birthday of one of the girls in our Chapter. So we joined everyone for dinner and drinks at the Brewery. I’m not a beer drinker so I had a glass, and everyone else had 2 then we were told the Bus was going back early if anyone was interested. We jumped on the buss and hit the hotel bar for shots and chatting with others who headed home. I thought for sure I’d sleep great that night but I went back to my room, packed up everything for leaving the next day and then laid there for far too many hours with an Advil PM in my belly. 

Day 3 Wednesday: 
First off let me say if you are hosting a conference at your hotel for a group of people, most of whom had flown in for the conference….how about you allow for late checkouts? I mean the check out time for the hotel was 11 am … the conference didn’t end until nearly 2 so the Wednesday sessions were filled with people lugging around luggage and just made and already packed room even more packed. Just a thought for next year. Which btw will be in Tampa next year! We have an office in Tampa …. Just saying! :D

So first thing first was packing the car since i'd have to checkout after the breakfast/announcements. I really almost skipped breakfast after yesterday’s lame breakfast but was soooooo happy I didn’t when I got there to bacon, eggs, biscuits … everything was yummy. My first session was about mentorships. My boss is definitely a mentor to me, I’d like to be that for my team, or the ladies who work with me. I like to think I am but some days I think I’m just a crutch for them. Often they come to be for advise but sometimes I worry that I’m giving them the answers instead of showing them the process to get the answers. This session was especially interesting to me but I wish it had gone more into how we can be mentors to others as opposed to determining who your mentors are. Then again that’s exactly what was advertised.

My last session of the conference was about infusing creativity into your pursuits which was frankly just fun. The ladies were all dressed like Bob Ross (with a big afro wig on – it was red so it was more Annie than Bob Ross but they were fun, informative, and entertaining so I wasn’t going to split hairs with them). This one also gave me some things to think about for upcoming proposals. I think this was my favorite session of the entire event. I almost went to a different session but went to this one at the last minute instead and that was the greatest decision I made during the entire conference. 

 

Then we had lunch and the close out of the conference with the closing keynote with Danielle Gray talking about how to ignite and sustain passion. I could sit at the feed of Ms. Gray for the rest of my life and live only on the soaking up of her being and be forever fulfilled. She was definitely perfect for the closing keynote. Apparently she’s also an SMPS member and is featured in their new branding that was rolled out late last year. I know a good number of people skipped the closing keynote and those guys really did themselves a disservice cause it was fantastic. After that I took off to Charlotte for a few days of R&R before heading home. However that’s another post.

Have a great week ahead!

Marcy 
@beaslma

SMPS SERC – Day 1

Day 1 was fun, relaxing but fun. Registration started at 9 but the first session wasn’t until 1. So I slept in a bit and took a little extra time getting ready just cause I could. Then I registered for the conference then went and got some lunch. At that point I ran into some of the ladies from my chapter but they weren’t planning to go to any of the events this afternoon so they went left and I went right. It was nice to not have to rush ...rush...rush. 


The first session was about obtaining certification known as CPSM. There’s a test that has to be taken to get it. I was hoping that the course would spend more time talking about the actual test not just why getting the certification was important. The two giving the course were very knowledgeable about the process and the reasons behind getting the certification. It was a nice first event don’t get me wrong but it wasn’t really what I was expecting. 


From there I came back to the room for a bit then decided to go to the 2^nd session which was about how you can get more involved in SMPS and in your own chapter. That was a spur of the moment decision but I'm glad I went. It was very interesting to see the time, effort, and thought that has gone into this organization. It was given by the CEO of SMPS so that was cool. All of the speakers were from Headquarters and they spent a lot of time about how HQ could benefit the various chapters. 


My office is hosting a webinar next week for possible members to attend and they gave me some good ideas and conversation starters to use. Our chapter is considered a “developing chapter” cause we don’t meet the member requirements yet. We are about 10 shy but hope to get there within the next month or so. Five other members are attending the SERC so that’s been fun getting to know them a little better. We all went to dinner tonight and swapped stories and networked a bit with others there. I have so many business cards but can’t put a name with the card at the moment. It’s crazy how many people you can meet in the span of 5 minutes. 


Tomorrow is the first full day of the conference and starts up at 7:45 with a breakfast and the opening key note speaker then a full day of sessions. Several I’m very excited about others that I’m interested in but would be ok with if it were full and I had to bail. Ha! I’m glad I got to come to this event, I think it will be very beneficial and it’s definitely giving me the break I needed.

Marcy 
@beaslma

SMPS SERC – Travel Day

 

So on Sunday I woke up earlier than normal, grabbed my bag, and headed to the airport for my first ever SMPS SERC (Society for Marketing Professional Services Southeast Regional Conference). Last year my boss got to go in Atlanta and this year is my turn. As I walked out the door the handle on my bag broke and I thought well aint that a bitch. I hoped it was not an omen for the trip. I soldiered on cause I wasn’t repacking that bag into another bag at that point. I mean come on bag that wasn’t cool at all. 

The plane ride was uneventful which is just how I like em. It was my first time traveling American Airlines and no I wasn’t in the 737, I checked that last week. The plane however seemed really really really small. Like stupid small.  I’m usually a Delta girl, I like the brand, the people are always friendly and I just feel comfortable in their planes. However upon booking this flight I realized that my connection in Atlanta to Charlotte (cause you can’t do anything with Delta without it involving Atlanta) would have been taking off in Atlanta at the same thing that American would have been putting my luggage on the carousel for me to pick it up in Charlotte. AKA this time a direct flight won.

Upon arriving in Charlotte I went to find my rental car, another first for me, I chose Avis instead of Hurts my usual go to. Why did I choose Avis …. Cause one that’s what American Airlines was affiliated with, two I was able to get the car I wanted. See dear reader I’m in the process of thinking about my next car. My current Sonata is about 6 years old and while I’m like it to last a few more years I’m starting the process of thinking about it now. I’m ready for something different. I’m thinking Hyundai Kona (cause I love the look of it and the fact it’s kind of a newer car), but have also looked at the Santa Fe (I’d like to stay in the Hyundai family. I’ve also thought about the Honda CRV as an option. So I’m using this trip as a “test drive” of a vehicle of this type. I ended up renting a Hyundai Santa Fe. I do like the car, I liked the way it drove. I spend 90% of my time in my car alone so it’s hard for me to justify a car like this but I think I’m past just having a sedan. I do need to make sure mom could climb into it.  My conference is in Asheville, NC but I have friends who live in Charlotte, NC. So I’m going to spend a few days after the conference ends hanging out with them. I do kind of hate having to rent a car on Sunday so that I can use it Thursday and Friday it’s just chilling in the parking lot for a few days which seems like a waste. Oh well ….that’s adulting.

Upon arrival in Asheville, NC (about an hour and a half from Charlotte) I drove into the hotel resort and was blown away cause it’s kind of tucked away and like crossing a portal to another kind of world. The resort lobby was beautiful, the detail they put into the place was amazing. Walking up to the front desk the guy could have ben a little nicer but whatever maybe he was near the end of his shift ….whatever. He definitely could have told me how to get to my room with a little more detail but I’m sure he’s giving that speech a billion times and just doesn’t think the complex is very hard to navigate cause he does it daily. This resort has different areas that you could be staying it each with a fun different kind of name. However there are ZERO signs, I take that back there are signs but they are very hard to see. I finally found my room and realized that they spent the majority of their money on the lobby. The room is nice don’t get me wrong but this room could have been at any hotel. None of the charm or love that the lobby has was also utilized in the rooms.

At this point I was starving, it was after all close to 3pm and I hadn’t eaten anything yet. So I decided to jump back into the Santa Fe and drive around the area. I was disappointed. As beautiful as the complex around the resort is the area around it left some to be desired. I did make a stop at a local convenience store for some snacks and drinks for the next few days.

Day 1 was just a travel day. The actual conference starts Monday am with registration and some events in the afternoon. So I worked some on Sunday just to put my mind at ease. A few things I needed to get done so that others could do their part while I was around. This made me feel better about sleeping in Monday morning and just chilling a little bit. I think I might need professional help.

This is my first conference I’m looking forward to how it goes, I’m also looking forward to meeting some new people.

I’ll check in a few times this week to tell you how this is going for me …. Giving up Social Media and Soda for lent has been hard. I love getting an Icee on road trips, couldn’t. Just about every drink I like has soda in it. So no drinking. Every event talks to sharing this or that on Social Media. If you are interested they are asking people to use #SMPSSERC in any of their posts.

Marcy  @beaslma

AUBURN GYMNASTICS

Before I shut down my Social Media for Lent I have to give a shout out to my Auburn Gymnastics team and let them know that while I’m not going to be cheering them on online I’ll be thinking about them daily, sending them positive vibes, watching from the sidelines and wishing them the best SEC Championship ever cause this team deserves all of it.

It’s been a fantastic season for the Auburn Tigers …. 4-0 at home … 3-2 away … 7-2 overall. Their only losses in the SEC coming at the hands of Florida (the eventual SEC Champions) and Alabama, whom they came within like 3 toe point points and a stuck landing of taking down in Tuscaloosa. Read that again .. I’ll wait. As a matter of fact if Auburn had gotten the score they put up against Florida in Tuscaloosa they would have tied the meet with Alabama. It was their second highest road score of the season and gave them a 2^nd place finish in the SEC Regular Season. Just saying this team is capable of taking the entire tournament. 

This does not come as a surprise to me. I have seen this coming. As I think I have said before on this Blog, my dorm for all 4 years at Auburn was the closest dorm (at that time) to their practice facility so they would put the Freshman Gymnast in our dorm. In an effort to support these ladies we formed a group that would go to all the home meets and cheer the girls on. We'd put up things in their hallway with positive thoughts and encouragement for the weeks they had away meets. Heck I often drove them to practice so they wouldn't have to walk it. Gotta save those legs, they might have also been running late ha! During my 2nd or third year the group of girls in our dorm (cause I lived in the dorm all 4 years at Auburn (my last two years in a room by myself) since I had a job in the dorm that basically paid me to do my homework) came to the front desk one day while I was working and said that they really appreciated my support and loved that I came to the meets but politely asked that I go to get a drink or a snack during beam cause I could be distracting.  

Jeff Graba, pictured, and his staff have been building to this for years. He joined this program in 2010, I believe, and had a vision from his first day in the gym with these ladies. They have been planning for it, recruiting for it, and preparing these ladies for this shot, this chance and now they are going to grab it and hold it high. Graba has given them the tools, the coaches, the drive, the determination and the belief that they can win it all. Or completely fall on their faces … that’s how Gymnastics works. It’s not what you have done it’s what you are doing right this second that counts. No matter what happens this year has been so much fun to watch and this team can only build on this moving forward. I've said it before and will say it again. The FUTURE of Auburn Gymnastics is strong. 

There are 6 freshmen on this team, several that have already made their mark on the events this season including the amazing Derrian Gobourne who is so much fun to watch. If you haven’t seen her perform yet you really need to treat yourself and look her up, she’s won several all-around titles this year and I can’t wait to watch her evolve over the next few years. She can only get better which should scare the rest of the teams out there.  She’s powerful, talented and just a joy to watch work. Then you have 5 Sophomores on the team ready to take over leadership roles when asked including my home town favorite Allie Riddle an excellent Beam walker who does the other events pretty well too. I can't wait to watch her over the next few years too. She's from my hometown so I have a special place in my heart for her. GO UMS Bulldogs.  

Our Seniors include Sam Cerio (Engineering), Taylor Krippner (Human Sciences), A’Miracal Phillips (Science and Mathematics), and the always consistent Abby Milliet (business). I’m gonna miss these ladies but look forward to seeing what’s in store from them off the mats. Each of these ladies have served as leaders on this team and are a large reason why this team is in the place they are in right this second. They have helped build the foundation that the rest will build upon moving forward. 

Auburn has two more meets before the SEC Championships (in New Orleans March 23^rd BTW). One with Alabama, this weekend March 9^th in Birmingham and another with Air Force Academy in the Auburn Arena on the 15^th. Both events are great and fun events and allow Auburn to get that Bama monkey off their back before the SEC Championship which sets you up for the NCAA Championships which will be in Texas in April. I have no doubt in my mind that they can and will beat BAMA before this season ends. It's gonna happen. 

I tell you all of this because these young ladies deserve your love, support and respect. They put in the hours in the gym, more so during the off season. Their hard work is definitely paying off and it’s showing. Now we as fans need to continue to show up for them. 

War Eagle Ladies …. FINISH STONG!!!!!

Marcy (@beaslma)

Lent - 2019 Social Media Break for Lent

It’s Lent people. 

Well ok not yet, but starting Ash Wednesday, Lent will be in full effect and I'll be back at work so I'm posting this today on my day off for Mardi Gras. You guys I actually went to a parade this year … it was fun ….. the weather wasn't so great but the floats were fun …. 

Now I don’t consider myself a wholly religious person. Yes I go to church, yes I participate in various events (vacation bible school, Easter egg hunts, anything really dealing with the kiddos etc.) but this is a practice I've really gotten into for the last several years cause it allows me to shift my focus from me to the world around me. What is Lent you might be asking me . . . well not me cause I’m not there but likely the person you are with... I'll answer since that person seems preoccupied to do so ….. rude....  

Well according to dictionary.com it’s …. 

According to Wikipedia it’s ….

Lent is a solemn religious observance in the Christian Calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and self-denial. In Lent, many Christians commit to fasting, as well as giving up certain luxuries in order to replicate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's journey into the desert for 40 days. Many Christians also add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional or praying through a Lenten calendar, to draw themselves near to God.

However, Lent isn't only about "giving up" things you could ADD prayer to your day, ADD reading the bible, Add Meditation about what your spiritual journey means to you. I also found this list of things you can "give up" that can have a positive impact on your life and those around you …. enjoy.

Golden used to do a 40-acts Lent event ….. a British movement that uses the 40 days of Lent to focus on the religious principle of giving to others from a Christian perspective. 40 days of giving back, doing good, and living generously. 

Basically it’s 40 random acts of kindness while expecting nothing in return. That by the way is the very definition of a Golden but with extra profanity and diet coke thrown in for flavor. I don’t know if Golden still does the 40acts but I’m sure she does something similar if not. She’s the most giving person that I know and I know like enough people to count them without having to use my toes too. 

As I have done the last few years, 2018, 2017, I’m shutting down my social media for 40 days to regroup, live in the moment, and step away from the negativity that social media has become. Granted it’s not as “BAD” as it has been for me lately cause after my first year doing this, I got rid of a good chunk of negativity on my feeds. As I have said before I’m a huge believer in a block button, in the unfollow button and in the hide button. I think sometimes people have views that don’t align with yours and that’s ok but I don’t need to see it.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to shut down views that don’t align with mine. However what most on social media users fail to realize is that a CONVERSATION about different views is good, heck one of us might even learn something from that conversation. ATTACKING one another for your different views however is NOT. People are stupid brave behind a keyboard and it’s insane. I’ll never understand it. You know what I do when I see a post I don’t like, I keep scrolling. If it’s a post that’s just really unnecessarily awful or attacking I might report them to Twitter and block said person, but I don’t give it more thought than that. I especially block and report when I see someone pretending to be someone else. That’s just wrong on so many levels. Don’t try and contact me like you are Bryan White when I know the REAL Bryan White and you aint him! Trust me I've been to the man's house, I've played with his boys, he's awesome people and that guy aint him. Just saying. That’s oddly specific but a thing that happens more often than you’d guess. PS if the blue check aint there, it’s not him. Same could be said for nearly every other “celebrity” on earth but back to the task at hand.

This post is about Lent not the breakdown of social media and ways to make it better. Maybe that’s a post for another day. For Lent I have also decided to give up SODA in addition to Social Media this year. No I didn’t suddenly move North, let me explain. For those that know me …. Coke is my downfall. I LOVE a good COLD Coca Cola, a fresh coke is like my crack cocaine, a Cherry Pepsi is my meth. Last year I gave up Coke/Pepsi but allowed myself to drink “Sprite” so I’d still have that carbonated drink in my life. However, this year …. SODA in general is out. Nothing but water, sweet tea or juice for me for the next 40 days. Lord help the people I work with. 

So I’ll see you guys on the other side, cause as you know I get real involved with this blog when I can’t do much of anything else during Lent. It’s not social media if you aren’t interacting with people so hit me up in the comments and let's use this forum as it was intended ….  

Are you guys giving anything up or adding anything to your life during this Lent season?!

Marcy (@beaslma)

Venting - Work Edition

It’s the weekend!!!!!!! Which means what … nothing ….. well nothing to me. I worked last weekend so this weekend I’m being more lazy than normal. I woke up this morning and realized it’s nearly time for my social media break (March 6 - April 20^th). It’s a rough time to go on a social media break to be honest. In March alone I’m going to North Carolina for a SMPS conference (Ashville) and then going to spend a few days afterwards with my cousin and a friend who just moved to the area. Other interesting things of note for the lent season: my Auburn Tigers will join the rest of the SEC for the Gymnastics Championship in New Orleans (the weekend after my trip or I’d be there); my boss is planning an employee appreciation night at our local college’s baseball game which was really fun last year; my SIL has a birthday; then in April my friend Katie and I are going to see Kiss in Birmingham, and I personally think Baby Sussex will be here sometime in March cause I don’t think Meghan is making it to April, but that’s just my opinion. I’m sure there’s other fun things in the mix I haven’t even thought about yet.

It should be a fun and relaxing month or so, and I can’t begin to tell you how I need it. The last month at work has been beyond insane, and I know I say that a lot but this past month nearly broke Marcy. A submittal I should have had over a month to work on solid, ended up being crammed into a week and a half and in that timeframe, I also had another one to get out the door, and assist with two others. The week to get it done would have been ok but I had a Subconsultant that just wouldn’t send me their information. I finally got it the DAY BEFORE I HAD TO PRINT. That’s not good. That did not make for a happy Marcy. The submittal ended up being 5 pages shy of 200 pages. Not gonna lie almost added some fluff to get me there but I ran out of time. It’s a good submittal. Do we have a snowballs chance in hell of getting the contract? Time will tell. I can honestly say that I did my part. That’s all I can do.

As you know dear reader, I’ll give my job everything I have all week long, I do my best to NOT work a weekend. I think it’s good for me and good for my company for me to have those two days. However, as I recently told a co-worker sometimes you do what you have to do to get it done. Her response to that made my blood boil. She basically told me to my face that I “Shouldn’t be working on Saturdays” then she sent me a link to an article that said “Always leave office on time” saying “you really should read this.” I guess implying that I needed the wisdom of this article in my life. To summarize the article this random dude on Linked In had shared an image of 7 points about why someone should always leave the office on time, then he gave his own 2 cents about each of those points after of course telling everyone how surprised he was that his post nearly went viral, whatever dude.  

Look don’t get me wrong I get it … balancing work and life is a struggle everyone has. Some have kids, husbands, pets, that require their attention at certain times, I myself like my quality time with my TV and adult beverages. I get that I totally do. However, I would argue I’m paid, quite well I should add, to do a job. It’s up to me to get that job done. Literally whatever it takes to get that job done is what I’m going to do. If I need to work a couple extra hours during the week to make that happen then that’s what I’ll do. If a Project Manager isn’t getting back with me the way I think he/she should then I’m going to start putting together pieces and parts knowing that when he does finally engage it may change but at least I’ll have a start of something. . . . anything. The deadline doesn’t change cause she/he isn’t doing his/her part. What my coworker fails to realize is that that PM is usually doing actual work work. Don’t get me wrong our work is important too, but the work HE/SHE does pays my salary which in turn allows me the benefits of enjoying my life away from work. That same PM likely works many a weekend and doesn’t get to complain about it, then again that PM makes way more money than I do for that privilege. Hell last week we had a PM who ended up in the hospital last Friday after spending 3 days walking around unable to breathe. Like for real guys he was not able to take a breath but he did a presentation, had 3 conference calls, visited two offices and then on Friday his coworker drove him to an Urgent Care and the Urgent Care put him in an ambulance. He’s better now but Friday night it was scary wondering if we were ever going to be able to talk to him again. So that’s an extreme that I don’t condone but I can totally understand the mentality behind it. YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET IT DONE! Then you lie down, recharge, and start back up again. If these guys can put that effort into it, then I can sacrifice a couple of hours a week and an occasional weekend for them. It’s only fair.  

However, I was talking about this asshat’sarticle, feel free to read it if you wish. The article is a lot of “feel good comments and clichés that really just justified his ass being able to go home at 5. 

His points are shown below …

•  Work is a never ending process
• Interest of a client is important, so is your family
• If you fall in life neither your client or boss will lend you a helping hand, your family will
• Life is not only about work, office and client
• A person who stays late at the office is not a hard working person
• You did not study hard or struggle in life to become a machine
• If your boss forces you to work late

Then as I said he justifies each of these points with his own bouts of wisdom which frankly sound good on paper but that’s all …. It’s not always practical. I do agree with him that work never ends, if it did we’d all have to find new jobs. However, I’d argue that tasks do. If I can stay an extra 30 minutes or and hour at the end of the day to finish something so I can move on to the next task then I’m going to do that cause it will make my tomorrow better. The best part of my job is that the deadlines are hard. Once that deadline gets here the job is done cause if I haven’t submitted then submitting late isn’t going to get us anywhere. So at some point I get to move on no matter if I am ready or not.

This article stresses time management as the reason most people don’t leave the office on time. I’d argue that is true to an extent. However, is it my lack of time management that I spent say 3 hours of my day helping coworkers get their stuff done then have to cram my stuff into the rest of the day? Is that on me or them? When they are walking out the door at a quarter to 5 after me spending time on their work am I the idiot here? Yeah I guess I am. Again, I’d argue that’s the role I’ve risen to in my 15 years at the company. My boss trust me cause he knows giving me a task means he doesn’t have to worry about that task anymore. I take pride in that. I hate when I have to lean on him during a submittal (that 200 pager required him a lot more than typical and I felt bad about that cause every time I left his office one of my coworkers was walking in behind me). So should I be more selfish of my time so that I can increase my “time management” ? Hold that thought ….

The guys second point was that family enriches your life more than a client ever will. I agree with that too cause clients can be nothing of a headache cause clients rarely call when they are happy. However keeping clients happy is important to. I’d wager a guess that if you aren’t available when a client needs you he will soon stop calling you at all. This asshat also fails to realize you spend far more time with coworkers than family in a given week. What I truly love about my place of business is we rally in times of need and support one another in a way that family does. We are after all one big dysfunctional family. I’d also argue that family often let’s you down, so yeah on this one he can suck it. 

The one I took huge objection to was the person who stays late is not a hard working person, mostly cause he went on to say that person is not working effectively or a benefit to the company and is frankly a fool. See previous statement about helping others with their work while I have to do mine after the “time limit” this guy has established has passed. He states planning your day is a major factor in getting your stuff accomplished on time. I make a to do list daily. Sometimes the day before and it starts with the things I need to accomplish (including tasks left over from the day before) in order to meet my given deadlines. Then throughout the day other things get added to that list in another color. It’s always interesting to me at the end of the day seeing what’s crossed off and what’s not and typically it’s the things that get added to my day that are crossed off first. The ironic thing is when I do blow people off so I can focus on my stuff I’m told I’m not a team player, or called not nice names that often rhymes with witch because for one day … one mfing day I’m not being helpful when someone says jump. Again maybe he’s right maybe I am a fool. A fool for coming in on a Friday when what I really wanted to do was take that day off, and for staying until 4 when what I really wanted to do was leave at 3. What was I doing on this day? I spent half of it creating a section for a coworker and writing an approach for a submittal that wasn’t mine, then I pulled resumes for another office and helped a different office with language for a different submittal. However, that’s right it was my choice to not take that day off but if I had who would have handled all that other stuff … my coworkers?! I doubt it. My boss was on vacay with his family Friday so he couldn’t have done it … .so again I ask who!? So Mr. Go home on time guy … whose doing everyone else’s job when I’m being selfish and working on my stuff? Huh?! Ever think about that?! Maybe I am a fool.

His next point … you didn’t study hard or struggle in life to become a machine. Again he’s correct in theory. No one grows up as a small child thinking man if I could only get a job that requires, I work 40-50 hours a week that’s the dream! Mr. Asshat states you have 24 hours…. 8 hours to sleep (who the hell is he kidding), 8 hours for work, and 8 hours on your own. So he’s stating that essentially there are 16 hours to play with here. Cause let’s face it find me an adult who sleeps 8 hours and I’ll show you an adult who is not adulting at all. Then his 8 hours of “my time” does that include say the hour or so it takes to get ready for work in the morning, for the record I can do it in 30 minutes, it aint pretty but I can. What about life time … groceries, taking kids to various appointments, dr appointments, what about commute time, say that takes an hour a day both ways five days a week that’s 10 hours a week right there. What I’m saying is it’s a cute idea and a cliché premise but it’s not practical. That’s my issue with this entire article. Nothing in this article is practical and it might be what’s wrong with this generation. 

Lastly the comment about a boss forcing someone to work late. I’M SORRY BUT YES SOMETIMES PEOPLE NEED TO WORK LATE. THAT’S CALLED LIFE. However, I can tell you I have the best boss on the planet and he’s often begging me not to. He told me one time he had one employee he couldn’t get to leave the office and one he couldn’t get to stay in said office. The truth is my boss has never once told me to stay. He’s told me to leave but he’s never once said you need to stay. He gets that I have this thing that makes me want to succeed and this thing in my brain that if I leave without finishing something I might as well stay cause I’m not going to enjoy wherever I go. AKA I could leave a task unfinished and pick it back up tomorrow and go home but I’m going to be at home stressing about said task being incomplete so 30 minutes here or there will allow to me 100% be at home unstressed about my work life. Plus I’ll sleep better for the 3-4 hours a night that I do get. I will also add that stress dreams about work suck super hard and I don't reccomend them at all.

My point is this …. I work hard, I am very good at my job, I wish others around me understood and were able to also state those things before they send links to me about how I need to reevaluate how I do said job. 

That is all. 

Marcy (@beaslma)