Tag: Work Life Balance

I just want to do my job…

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There is a lot more to doing your job than just doing your job.

If you were to mull over the specifics in your job description and not deviate, you’d probably struggle to legitimise a lot of the activity you’re involved it.

Like people, companies, jobs and requirements are always evolving.

Mindset is crucial. The Growth vs. Fixed mindset and how you react or view things that are happening to you is everything.

People often scoff at childish antics or allude that behaving in such a way is unacceptable, however the greatest games I’ve ever encountered were in my professional life. What you say, what you do, the way you say it and to who. It can be quite tiring, but the bottom line for me and something I always lead with is being kind. It’s absolutely free not to be an ass.

If someone writes to you in an abrupt manner or even steals your idea, that’s fine. Be graceful. There is absolutely no need to match energy with energy. Don’t ever allow the way someone treats you to change you. That would be devastating. Be kind always and a good example in the way you react to and treat others.

So yes, you may just want to do your job, but what does that even mean nowadays?

A career break shouldn’t break your career.

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Do childbearing career breaks stunt your growth?

We’re in the thick of Q2… Are you still gyming or have you given up the 6am wake ups already? Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice. If you haven’t already guessed, this months instalment is all things career growth and parenthood. Circling back to my initial point, I don’t have much say in the time I wake up in the mornings as my beautiful gifts in child form are completely unpredictable.

I am a wife, mum of 2 under the age of 3, and a manager in the financial space. I spin a lot of plates in my personal life doing a plethora of roles that I am not paid for, but that’s parenting for you, no days off!

If you’ve been a follower of TellMeElleCee and the “Things they didn’t teach us at school” journey, you’ll know that I am an avid 5 Year Plan advocate.

You need to know where you’re going in order to get there. If you know, you can rope in others and seek the relevant support as and when needed.

Back on topic, the lovely career break. Sigh… Unfortunately the first thing that sprung to mind when I fell pregnant last year was my 5 Year Plan, career and what I was going to do. With that being said I worked right up until my due date and returned to work when my princess was only 4 months (madness, I know!).

So… Do childbearing career breaks stunt your growth?

Yes – It’s simple maths. If you break whilst others are still accelerating it is simple math. Those still moving whilst others have stopped will move further ahead.

No – Although you stop for a period of time, it’s not what you haven’t been able to do that matters, but what you do when you put your foot back on the gas that does. Jump in with both feet, use those transferable skills to your advantage.

I once read that parents are the best hires as they simply cannot fail; they have too much riding on them to give up, are epic multitaskers and simply get the job done!

To all my Parents. Culture, flexibility and diversity is everything! Keep this in mind when you make your next career move…

Life is extremely short. I often speak to colleagues and friends in the industry that suffer severe parental guilt because of a lack of work-life balance. Our children are not going to be this age ever again and by the time you get to a place of “calm” or your desired pinnacle point of success, it may be too late. Your children will get older, lose interest or even worse; choose to continue the vicious cycle clinging on to the example you set.

There’s a lot to think about, mouths to be fed and job satisfaction to be had.

Ultimately do what is right for you because you will never get this time back and if growing in your career means neglect or mental harm, then maybe it’s not all it’s cracked out to be…

Work Life Balance: I can’t sleep if any stone is left unturned!

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This week I noticed a quality and simultaneous negative trait in myself that I was able to overcome!

I was talking to a colleague and giving them advice when it dawned on me that I’ve overcome one of my greatest struggles in my working life.

I was once upon a time unable to leave any stone unturned!

That doesn’t mean that I now leave a load of unturned stones nor does it mean that my quality of work has dipped. This just means that I have a better balance and although I sometimes relapse, for the most part, I am getting it right.

Problem:

I couldn’t log off work or sleep if I didn’t finish a task. I would dream about that email, look visibly uncomfortable if I didn’t see to that review and hide in the corners of my home (outside of working hours) to go back to others on queries. One could argue that this attitude is why I was able to grow in my career, but this attitude is also why one weekend I was in bed with severe migraines absolutely run down!

Impact:

I found that I was literally working every hour that God sent and not having any break up between work, home life, the weekend or quality couple time. I would pull out my laptop or work apps on my phone anywhere I could to get the job done! This wound up my husband and made me feel like I was being a bad mum.

Solution:

It’s a process. Prioritisation is key as is boundaries! What needs to get done right now, what can wait and what can I delegate? These are 3 questions I ask myself and deal with tasks accordingly. I’m also very clear with my boundaries and availability – if I can’t get to something you’ve asked me to do, I will let you know or explicitly express how long it will be before what you’ve asked will be done (always giving myself buffer space to breathe). It’s not always about working hard, sometimes it’s about working smart and sharing the load.

Commitment to delivering excellence is amazing, being a good employee/colleague is admirable, but all of this is pointless if you keep popping out the golden eggs, but are forgetting to take care of the goose.

Work life balance.

NEW SERIES: Work-Life Balance

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Introduction

Welcome back! 

We’ve been knees deep in a pandemic, my property woes came to an abrupt end, whilst I navigated my career/a remote promotion. I think it’s safe to say that I get a free pass for my impromptu TellMeElleCee hiatus.

Something that has been a hot topic amongst my peers, and I is work-life balance. I’ve had a few interesting conversations and they have inspired me to write this series. 

In this series, we will discuss bringing about boundaries, input vs. output and debate whether people leave companies or managers – juicy!

Feel free to engage, contact me directly and give me your point of view. Let’s keep the conversation going and hopefully bring about a better balance.

You can expect a new post every Wednesday for a mid week boost. Happy Hump Day!