Juliana Moves

Happy October, everyone! It’s officially spooky season and I am loving it. Lots of gray and rain here (I think from Hurricane Helene) but nothing major at all. On Monday I worked from home and sat at my desk with the windows open. It was cool out, the light wasn’t too harsh, and I steadily worked to the sound of rain pattering on the windowsill just about all day. It felt relaxed and productive. 

Throughout the day I reflected on how good it feels to be productive but at a sustainable, reasonable pace. And it struck me that I’ve really struggled to find that rhythm in my work lately, so I wanted to write about it!

At my last job, I was constantly working at a million miles a minute. People came to me with questions about anything and everything, I was juggling multiple projects at all times, and it seemed like little issues became emergencies in seconds flat. I would start working at 7:00 am sometimes and not log off until after 5:00 pm (or later because we had evening meetings). I lived in a heightened state of anxiety and could never focus on one thing for too long because something or someone else would almost certainly demand my attention. I was constantly in unnecessary meetings, trying to contribute but also quietly work through my massive stack of work and responsibilities. I felt a strange high from all the multitasking, but my nervous system was completely shot.

Work should not be this way. I wasn’t saving lives, but the pressure I felt was immense and that was the culture of the organization I was in. As we all know, I am thankfully long gone from that place and in a much better spot. Unfortunately, though so much about my situation has improved substantially, I find that I still can’t shake the habit of needing to bounce from task to task.

Since my new workload is truly appropriate and very manageable, I should be able to deeply focus on one task a time. Instead, I find myself struggling to fully commit myself to a project at any given time. I tend to feel the need to check my email, and update some data, and allow myself to be unnecessarily pulled in different directions.

I’m aware of how this affects my mood and my productivity, so I’m working on it. But I’m annoyed that it’s an issue to begin with! I don’t like the dizziness that comes with whipping around from task to task and yet I can’t shake it completely. This week I am focusing on eating the frog and then letting the boost that follows that productivity carry me through less intensive work. Already I can tell that I feel a lot more satisfied and proud of my work when I dedicate to a single task. As they say, multitasking isn’t a real thing anyway.

We’ll see how it goes! If you feel cattywampus at work when you should feel solid, you’re not alone. I’m also so focused on maintaining a healthy balance between work and life, so there’s always that to throw into the mix.

We can do this.

Love,
JN