I'm generally feeling pretty happy these days (although restless as usual...ants ants ants in my pants - not sure if that will ever really go away). What's not to be happy about? The latter end of 2012 was filled with happy happy events: wedding, multiple honeymoons, traveling and spending lots of precious time with friends and family, new job.
In the beginning, my new job was awesome, and then I started working ridiculous hours because I tried to be responsive all the time to my various stakeholders all over the world. And while a lot of my stress in the first few months was indeed real and caused by external factors out of my control (WAY too many deals in the pipeline, business teams all trying to push their agenda forward...right this minute!), at least some of it was also caused by me - my obsessive need to check and reply to emails, my treating everything as urgent and critical, my setting expectations that I will respond quickly and urgently no matter what time it is.
But in 2013, one of my resolutions is to lead a more balanced life, and to be able to WAIT to respond to emails unless they are actually urgent. It's something my boss has actually advised me to do because he wants me to stay on the job for the long-term. And with my new resolution, I feel much happier and already more balanced! I spent my first few months on the job trying to make a good impression and I think I've now proved that I work hard, use good judgment, and know how to manage the business teams while protecting the interests of the corporation. Which means that now...I can kinda relax. That's kind of my MO. When I start a new job, I always work super hard to make a good first impression because I've learned that really, the first impression makes up about 95% of people's perception of you on the job...forever. After that impression is made, you can sit back and relax a bit. So I've been learning to let go a bit - I don't NEED to have control over every minutiae of a deal, that's what we have external advisors for. I don't NEED to respond to every single email within a couple minutes of receiving it, because the world is not going to stop (although my fingers might twitch, but that's my own problem).
And I love the new work Deb! I'm much more relaxed and happy at work and in life. I don't work through my lunches anymore and try to make time to spend lunch eating lunch and socializing. I make happy hour and dinner dates. I work from home whenever I don't need to be in the office. I try to schedule international conference calls to suit my schedule rather than theirs. I set boundaries, and abide by them (and in doing so, force others to abide by them). And so far, it's all working.
I also feel much more settled into married life. I love having El Hombre as my hubby. And even though we lived together before and our day to day didn't really change that much, marriage just FEELS different, in a good way.
I love the cool/cold weather in HK right now ("cold" in HK is about 55-60 degrees). It feels like Bay Area weather - sunny, cool and dry. Even the air seems a bit cleaner.
I love that it's the start of the new year - new resolutions, new plans, new beginnings, new slate. And for my very anal self, a new planner/calendar that I love obsessively filling up with new plans. I would die if I ever lost my planner.
So my new year's resolutions (which I don't usually make, but want to write down here so I keep myself accountable) don't involve any weight loss plans or quitting habits or setting any goals that I know I will not be able to attain (such as running a marathon). My resolutions are simple: live a balanced life, delegate more work (which requires letting go of control), and maximize happiness. Actually, maximizing happiness is not really a new year's resolution since it's my life motto in general, but always good to have a reminder!
In the beginning, my new job was awesome, and then I started working ridiculous hours because I tried to be responsive all the time to my various stakeholders all over the world. And while a lot of my stress in the first few months was indeed real and caused by external factors out of my control (WAY too many deals in the pipeline, business teams all trying to push their agenda forward...right this minute!), at least some of it was also caused by me - my obsessive need to check and reply to emails, my treating everything as urgent and critical, my setting expectations that I will respond quickly and urgently no matter what time it is.
But in 2013, one of my resolutions is to lead a more balanced life, and to be able to WAIT to respond to emails unless they are actually urgent. It's something my boss has actually advised me to do because he wants me to stay on the job for the long-term. And with my new resolution, I feel much happier and already more balanced! I spent my first few months on the job trying to make a good impression and I think I've now proved that I work hard, use good judgment, and know how to manage the business teams while protecting the interests of the corporation. Which means that now...I can kinda relax. That's kind of my MO. When I start a new job, I always work super hard to make a good first impression because I've learned that really, the first impression makes up about 95% of people's perception of you on the job...forever. After that impression is made, you can sit back and relax a bit. So I've been learning to let go a bit - I don't NEED to have control over every minutiae of a deal, that's what we have external advisors for. I don't NEED to respond to every single email within a couple minutes of receiving it, because the world is not going to stop (although my fingers might twitch, but that's my own problem).
And I love the new work Deb! I'm much more relaxed and happy at work and in life. I don't work through my lunches anymore and try to make time to spend lunch eating lunch and socializing. I make happy hour and dinner dates. I work from home whenever I don't need to be in the office. I try to schedule international conference calls to suit my schedule rather than theirs. I set boundaries, and abide by them (and in doing so, force others to abide by them). And so far, it's all working.
I also feel much more settled into married life. I love having El Hombre as my hubby. And even though we lived together before and our day to day didn't really change that much, marriage just FEELS different, in a good way.
I love the cool/cold weather in HK right now ("cold" in HK is about 55-60 degrees). It feels like Bay Area weather - sunny, cool and dry. Even the air seems a bit cleaner.
I love that it's the start of the new year - new resolutions, new plans, new beginnings, new slate. And for my very anal self, a new planner/calendar that I love obsessively filling up with new plans. I would die if I ever lost my planner.
So my new year's resolutions (which I don't usually make, but want to write down here so I keep myself accountable) don't involve any weight loss plans or quitting habits or setting any goals that I know I will not be able to attain (such as running a marathon). My resolutions are simple: live a balanced life, delegate more work (which requires letting go of control), and maximize happiness. Actually, maximizing happiness is not really a new year's resolution since it's my life motto in general, but always good to have a reminder!
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