Once you’re in your twenty-somethings, it’s impossible not to talk about work. Here are some of my best work blog posts, hope they offer you some kind of help or hope that you’re not the only one struggling!
A Guide To Quitting Your First Job
Tag: job
I used to never have an issue with a work/life balance until I was promoted and took on more responsibility.
I didn’t spend the hours after work thinking about my day and what my next day would look like. I wasn’t brainstorming ideas for a project. I wasn’t thinking about how I was going to answer those emails, but now work follows me home and it’s extremely exhausting.
If you’re like me and need to disconnect from work, here are some things that have helped me:
Set your hours – unless I have a special event or something, my hours are 8:30 to 5. There is wiggle room, but anything outside of those hours I am not doing work.
Delete email from your phone – I don’t sync up my work email to my phone. I can check it if I log in online, but that’s a much lengthier process than just opening an app. I don’t let myself check email outside my working hours.
Take the PTO – I never had a problem taking my time off until now. Even though I know things will continue just fine without me, there is a level of guilt when taking time off and shirking responsibilities.
Stop talking about work – when I’m not at work, I don’t talk about work. Sometimes my boyfriend and I will exchange complaints. But we don’t harp on the topic of work after work hours.
Unplug in general – after work is a great time to leave your phone in the other room. My work temptation stems from my phone so I try not to stay with it after work is done.
Remember your job is important, but your mental health is more important. Don’t get too caught up in living to work.
When I got the position I work in now, I simply told everyone that I was moving to take a new position. That I was staying with my company and doing a little bit more than I was doing before. I didn’t go around saying I got a promotion, I just didn’t see it like that.
It’s funny how much doubt we have in ourselves and how we truly fail to acknowledge our accomplishments. I always feel like I’ve just gotten lucky. But a promotion is a big deal, I should’ve celebrated with champagne and congratulations. I brushed it all off, though, I didn’t take the time to really appreciate my win.
When people took the time to dig a bit about my new job, I would then mention that it was a promotion. I was greeted with fist bumps, congrats, and kind words. Things I didn’t expect at all and things that truly made me feel good. Other people acknowledged my accomplishment, but I still didn’t see it that way because of all of my self doubt.
Writing this, I realize how little worth I apply to myself. How I made the move to New Hampshire alone and started a new job alone that I’m far from failing at. I actually feel at the end of each week I’m doing well, but I don’t do anything to celebrate that.
This weekend, I’m going to go out to dinner. I’m going to celebrate myself and my accomplishments. I’m going to put my doubts aside for a little bit and really recognize how far I’ve come. There aren’t many people who have done what I do at my age and it’s time I start giving myself more love.
New Hampshire and I didn’t necessarily get off on the right foot. It can seem kind of glamorous to get up and leave the world behind, start somewhere new. But in reality, it’s very very difficult. And I knew that coming into it and I also didn’t set myself up to be in a situation where I would love it right off the bat.
I immediately jumped into a new job when I got here, a job that is much more demanding and requires me to learn a lot in a short period of time. And my boyfriend isn’t moving up with me until the end of the month which means I’ve had a lot of quiet evenings and quiet weekends.
I’m not really one for making friends and I knew that would be my biggest challenge coming up here. It’s too early for me to knock a place because of that. I’ve piled far too much on my plate (as I always do) so my first impression of moving out of state has not been a great one. Especially because we were dumped with snow which put off my boyfriend’s plans to come visit me.
I miss him and my dog and my lizard. I was well-adjusted to living together, to coming home to someone or something every day. Now it’s very very quiet and my apartment is still filled to the brim with boxes and is just a hot mess honestly. I suck at unpacking. I’m kind of just going through the motions in January, knowing that it will be better here in February.
When people start over somewhere new, they make it seem so adventurous and amazing. So I wanted to share my first impressions with you, as that is not always the case.
It can be really really hard to decide when your time is up at a job.
I have only worked at two different companies after graduating college, so my experience is limited. But at my first job, I was there 6 months and knew there was no real growth potential there because I was their only marketer on staff and I was making peanuts. There were some other red flags and even fresh out of college I knew it was time to move on.
It’s easy to start applying to jobs, go on a few casual interviews. It’s hard to say goodbye to the people you work with every day, who you eat lunch with every day, people you’ve grown so close with. And it’s hard to turn your back on a place that gave you a job, a great opportunity, and the skills to move forward.
Now I can easily tell when I need to move on when I feel like I’m not being challenged or I am just generally unhappy from day to day. So I give myself two options: 1. Ask for a change or 2. Find a new job. Once you make the decision to move on, you’re faced with the time consuming work of applications and interviews. It can seem daunting, it can even convince you to stay where you are just a little bit longer because of all the time it takes.
But we all do it, we all move on. And your employer really should be happy for you, their goal should have always been to help you grow and if there is no place for you to go with that growth then it should be clear to them you will move on. If your employer isn’t like that, then it should also be clear to them that you won’t be sticking around.
It’s hard to move on professionally, but the risk is so necessary. For your happiness, your health, and your development.
The stereotypical millennial is lazy, entitled, ruining relationships, and most of the things that were built for us. This stereotype mostly comes from the fact that we do things differently than our parents.
I went to college, got an internship when I graduated, got a job then got a better job. Not exactly what I call lazy. I started paying off my stereotypical millennial student loans and immersed myself into the 9-5 culture.
And it’s not easy for me. It’s not easy to work 5 out of the 7 days a week, to work for most of your life, to make your job your (basically) number one priority. It’s not easy for me to wake up early in the morning then work nonstop until it’s time to go. You don’t go at your own pace, there is a schedule and rules and you are supposed to follow them.
So in some ways, I’m the stereotypical millennial who wants to make their own schedule and work from my bed. Is it realistic? No, but a girl can dream!
Just because we dream, doesn’t mean we’re lazy. And it doesn’t mean all of us have the same dream. I know many people who thrive in a pressured 9-5 environment, but I’m just a stereotypical millennial when it comes to this!
I love change in the sense that I don’t like to stay in the same place for too long and am always looking to move forward. I hate change in the sense where things I like and got comfortable with can’t stay that way.
Sometimes, life gets busy and we have less time for each other. Whether it’s friends, family, or significant others. And you want to support people through those busy times, but only if you feel supported in return. Otherwise it gets lonely, otherwise you feel like you’re heaving in effort but getting left in the dust.
Busy seasons are an adjustment. Sometimes they last forever, sometimes it’s just for a couple of weeks. And you have to take that change and roll with it and hope that you can either assimilate or that it will go back to normal soon.
When others get busy and when you get busy, it gets lonely. There’s a lot of pressure on both sides to either be supportive or get everything done that you need to. You might lose people along the way and that’s okay. Not everyone is meant to be in your life forever, not everyone can handle the stress that comes with busy schedules and making time.
When life gets busy it’s not just one aspect, it’s the whole thing. It’s your thoughts running a mile a minute, it’s your work demand, it’s your friends and family and significant other not having time for you. It’s a heavy lift that not all of us are cut out for.
