Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy

Spendywendywoo

@joedenise, yes that's a really good point, I could manage the extra bit of time each day to warrant the day off

@FootyFanDan, I work in the same role and feel the same - each day is full of meetings so there's no real time to do the work, I'm finding that I'm trying to do the work whilst on calls so neither is getting my full attention, which helps no-one.  I block Fridays out to do the actions I have and respond to many of the emails that back up - I already time block emails twice a day (1 hour total but I don't spend all this time on them as I move onto my actions log too) to read and action anything super urgent but anything non urgent waits until Friday, I've even started to move non urgent and non important emails into a folder, and will only respond if I'm chased as often it's a knee-jerk reaction to something or they want my opinion but manage to work it out themselves in the end. The Friday action day worked well the week before last and I finished up for the weekend feeling great that I'd got so much done but last Friday, my day was hi-jacked by an 'urgent' request that took most of the day so nothing I had planned to do was actioned. I worry about when leave lands on a Friday but this will be minimum from what I can see (Good Friday the imminent focus).

I WFH most of the time as the office is very distracting, and there's never any desks free so I end up hunched over my laptop, but then home is distracting sometimes too and I need two screens for most of the work I'm doing as I'm looking at project plans or systems in addition to the task I'm completing so coffee shop working wouldn't be viable. 

So, I'm not a long term complainer, I like to change and help myself in a situation so.... I have done or intend to do the following;

* Any meeting without an agenda or purpose is now being declined
* Any urgent request without a reason as to why it is urgent will be challenged
* Any emails I send out asking for support or requesting information has a clear reason and deadline, I give as much time as possible to action and also add a flagged reminder the day before a response is due
* I've reviewed all the meetings that I attend and have challenged my attendance (I've reduce by at least one weekly meeting from this week)
* I'm currently reviewing the meetings that I lead and ensure that the attendees list is still current and relevant, anyone who declines the series is removed from the attendee list and any meetings which can be reduced in length or occurrence, or can be merged are being addressed

I'd be interested to hear anything you bring in to help the situ too, and I can let you know how I'm getting on? 

I logged on super early this morning, hence the mini break to catch up on MSE F as I didn't get chance earlier. Back to it, with a day of meetings!   

Spendywendywoo

Lunch time... I only had a Soreen and a banana this morning for breakfast so I've made a lovely homemade tuna salad with coleslaw (550 cals) and I have a pack of lentil chips too (72 cals) and an apple for later. I've drunk 1.5l of water already today, which has just been topped up so I'm looking after myself nicely - it's certainly making a difference to how I'm feeling in myself.

Dinner will be paella or JP chilli, dependant on DH and DS though tomorrow will be the other meal and Thursday will be leftovers, nice and easy week. There should be no need to spend today. 

Lots of issues with the work systems today so I've had a couple of meetings cancelled. Going to utilise the time this afternoon to pick up my actions log and work on any that don't require the system. 

This evening DS and DH are heading out so it's a quiet evening... not sure if to read, do some home care, exercise or a bit of them all... will see how I feel later

FootyFanDan

It sounds like you have got some very good steps in place to be honest, what I find frustrating is how other people's lack of preparation means my element of work is now urgent. I like to be very structured in what I do and the way I complete it. Unfortunately due to nature of business and reliance on other contractors I have critical milestones in each project and if I miss that then the whole project can't be fulfilled. The issue is ( and I suspect I am not alone in this) but stuff that isn't in my role is somehow falling on me as well.

I set my colleagues very clear guidelines on what is needed for me to do the task they are asking me to do for them. I feel (maybe wrongly) that if I am doing a risk assessment for example, I should have all the job information, contact stuff presented in a manner that I shouldn't have to go hunting for it! 

My emails are just meh, I hate them coz they just cause a back and forth that could be solved with a quick 5 minute call (in most cases) however I tend to categorise my inbox and anything flagged as urgent goes to the top, as does anything from my manager. Everything else goes in a queue, I think issue I have is some people think there task is the most urgent thing. I would say at present I have 30 different maintenance projects I am trying to sort as well as a bundle of other stuff

I have my task manager (to do-ist) set up with filters that contain my upcoming projects and the tasks within them that need to be done (generally in order) and I then review these weekly, flag each first task with next action and then I work through them in order ( some tasks can be batched like admin request) I also have a two minutes, 5 minutes and high energy tag that I use. In theory its great but nature of my work throws it out at times.

Meetings just seem to be a constant, meetings about meetings haa. My issue with them is its a bunch of people all trying to talk over each other to get their works prioritised.

I don't know, I came into this role brand new (ish) to the type of work and have had very little training. I got landed with 40 projects within two weeks and cracked on and its been mental since. My salary is the reason I'm there and I know that is sad but that is the reality. It pays very well, my issue is there is very little consistency in how the role is, some days I wonder what the heck I am doing here, others run smooth.
I have been offered a route back into my background (facilities) but then leap of faith to drop salary is a risk.

I never got the whole two screens things until I started doing it and now I could never go back 🤣. I prefer to be just left to get on with stuff, which sounds so anti social I know lol, but if I stop my task it takes ages to refocus. 

Spendywendywoo

@FootyFanDan, wow! As you said previously, I could have written that… exactly the same here. I’ve come to the conclusion this week that it would be the same anywhere I work and I need to accept that this is work and do what I can to help myself whilst enjoying the pay and benefits. 

I also tag my emails with categories, that’s what I do in my time block if the email doesn’t get immediately responded to. If it’s a bigger piece of work it also goes on my action log. I give my actions a target completion and tend to work on earliest to latest but I like your energy scoring system, think I’m going to implement that so I can do the quick hit items when I have a quick 5-10 mins, though rule of thumb is if it takes less than a couple of mins I just do it there and then. 

I’m WFH today, then in the office tomorrow, and most of next week due to new projects kicking off, so I need to utilise the time well today. I always think I don’t have enough time in a day then the odd office day reminds me I have a lot more if I don’t have a commute too! lol. 

Sounds like you have great systems in place too… thanks for sharing. 

Here’s to a productive day! 😀

Spendywendywoo

Early start this morning as I naturally woke up at half 5 (alarm set for half 6 with today being a WFH day). So far I’ve read 6 chapters of my new book (15th book of the year… quite a miracle really as I can’t remember the last time I read more than one or two books in a year…). I’ve also led and felt guilty that I haven’t exercised much recently, though weight is maintaining as I’ve watched my food intake more closely recently. 

WFH today with some meetings through the day so the plan is to time block and work through a few ‘frogs’ that I keep putting off but know it will feel great when the tasks are completed (and probably won’t take me longer than an hour or two if I really focus). 

Meals are all from stores;
porridge and banana
ham pasta salad
chilli jacket potatoes 
apple and soreen bar for mid morning snack
small chocolate biscuit for after dinner

May attempt a walk tonight, knee and Achilles pain puts me off as I’m in agony for days after but I need to exercise, it makes me feel good. I’m 19lb from target weight and that will put me at the lower end of my range I should be in for my height. 

Should be another no spend day, I should also update the budget tonight if there is time as there are a couple of spends from Sunday and Monday to add in. 

Have a great day, all
Wendy x

FootyFanDan

Spendywendywoo said:

@FootyFanDan, wow! As you said previously, I could have written that… exactly the same here. I’ve come to the conclusion this week that it would be the same anywhere I work and I need to accept that this is work and do what I can to help myself whilst enjoying the pay and benefits. 

I also tag my emails with categories, that’s what I do in my time block if the email doesn’t get immediately responded to. If it’s a bigger piece of work it also goes on my action log. I give my actions a target completion and tend to work on earliest to latest but I like your energy scoring system, think I’m going to implement that so I can do the quick hit items when I have a quick 5-10 mins, though rule of thumb is if it takes less than a couple of mins I just do it there and then. 

I’m WFH today, then in the office tomorrow, and most of next week due to new projects kicking off, so I need to utilise the time well today. I always think I don’t have enough time in a day then the odd office day reminds me I have a lot more if I don’t have a commute too! lol. 

Sounds like you have great systems in place too… thanks for sharing. 

Here’s to a productive day! 😀

Yeah, I think I am kind of the same. It's really difficult as I really do take things to heart more than I potentially should and this causes me to have more anxieties than needed. I also know that I am not as experienced as some others and I question / second guess myself a lot. I am really starting to get into it I just am a lot more critical of myself than others probably are. When I did my 6 month probation review my manager was really impressed and happy but I know theres area's I am lacking (not through lack of trying).

I try to do one long task from my to-doist lists. I think its harder as I don't just have to manage my own projects, I am more office based than the other project managers so I tend to end up with everyones admin as well...and I don't handle saying no that well 😂

I think it's always easier to be critical of a job when you are in it and then when you leave or go somewhere else and find that its the same it can be tough. I think I need to decide can I just suck up the issues and handle it the best way I can and enjoy the pay or do I somewhere for considerably less, with less work load.

ah target completions is a really good idea. I like that. This could work well for me. Thank you

Sun_Addict

Reading all this work talk and I can totally relate. I’m constantly bombarded with random stuff. I’m a PA working to two very busy directors in a government department and also seem to have become the go to person who knows the answer to everything for random people. On top of that I have a voluntary work role as a D&I lead which can be very time consuming although very rewarding. 

Oh and I have 2 screens at home and 3 in the office - how I ever used to manage with just the one I don’t know 😆

On the plus side I’m never bored 🤣

Spendywendywoo

@FootyFanDan, it sounds like you are dealing with things very well - saying no is hard for most people until it becomes a necessity (i.e. that was burn out a few years ago for me). If it's not aligned to my goals but my manager has asked, if I'm not able to take more on, then I tend to say I've a lot on atm, I'm happy to do it of course but what does it take priority over? Usually the response I get is, oh actually it's not as urgent as x, y, z so I usually offer up a target completion date, which is well into the future - and I usually complete before then as I set expectations low and then exceed them rather than say l'll do it and then don't get round to it (as I then feel the pressure and anxiety sets in).
If it's a colleague who is asking then I tend to say I can't action that atm, due to capacity, but if you raise it at the next team meeting we can discuss priorities and work out who can support or if I can drop any of my workload to help - more often than not the colleague then actions the task as it's their task to action and they don't want to show our manager that they can't manage. It's taken many years to adopt this approach but it's serving me well now (though I am in my mid-40s and I think my tolerance is much lower than it used to be...). Remember that everyone has development points, they are there to embrace and work on, with support of your manager, colleagues and training etc. My only critical feedback every year (other than last year) has always been, you need to say no and stop taking so much on...lol. I'm looking forward to my quarterly discussion this year as I am hoping there is something else that I can work on

@Sun_Addict, ah you are a font of all knowledge?! You are a legend! I have to admit, I have a few colleagues across the business who I draw on if I need help and don't know what to do or where to go. I always say to them though, please tell me to go away if you're unable to help. I also ALWAYS provide feedback to them / their manager at review times, and also at times that they have really helped me out with a task as I think it's right that it's noted where a job is done well (particularly where it's not necessarily their role).  That said, if I do ask for help from anyone, where I could have actioned myself, or I am given information, I make a note of it and ensure that this is cascaded to my team as it is helpful to share information and may avoid having to ask colleagues outside of the team for help (though it's good to network too). I have often been a font of knowledge in other roles I've been in, and outside of work too, I'm happy to help too but know that it's incredibly time consuming so it's all about hitting that balance. 

Haha, I too keep thinking that being busy is good as it keeps us out of mischief

Have a great day, all

Suffolk_lass

I am also retired but used to work F/T in 9 days, with every Friday at home so that I got a bit of thinking time, and nobody expected to see me on a Friday, as they never knew if I was off or WFH. It was my most productive time, and let me spend much of the rest of the week on the less impactful; talking to others, being in meetings, chasing unproductive colleagues, managing staff, etc activities.

My other hack was to set an email rule that placed all email to which I was CC'd in a folder I only looked at occasionally. If it was a copy; why?

Spendywendywoo

@Suffolk_lass, oooo that email rule sounds amazing.... I may give it a go and see how I go on with that - thank you