Skip to main content

Positive thinking wins the day...


I need to practise what I preach.  This week I have felt the full onslaught of being back at work and arrived at Friday feeling very tired and pretty negative about the whole back to work process. I spent the journey home on Friday night (on a hot hot train) wondering whether I've made a big mistake in my choices and generally talking myself into believing my own negativity.  I never expected it to be easy, particularly given the lovely break I've just had, but I'd forgotton how hard any transition is and as usual have set unrealistically high expectations of myself to just slip back into work with barely a ripple.

Anyway, roll on two days, a bit of persepective and time with Glenn and the girls and I'm feeling much better.  Top tips for the next few months:

1. Accept that my diary is not my own for the time being but that it will come into line in due course.
2. Don't set my own expectations too high - I can only do what is feasible in the time I have so beating myself up on the other stuff is a pointess exercise.
3. Remembering how positively I was perceived through the recruitment process - everybody wants me to be a success so I just need to bear that in mind - it's ok to ask for help and push back where I don't have the answers or the context.
4. Build in flexibility - one day working at home a week makes all the difference to reflect, catch up and recharge.  These days are going back in my diary now!

One of the activities that continues to be a massive help is cycling.  It allows time for reflection, but also the physical nature of being on my bike always provides such clear analogies - the importance of setting goals, managing my energy for the long term, mastering the basics so that they become second nature and remembering to celebrate successes.

Of course more important that all of this is Glenn, Abi and Izzys who are as mad and wonderful as ever.  This weekend we have mainly been enjoying the weather - a real mix of thundery storms and bright sunshine.  The girls are loving their new trampoline and even more so the new ride on tractor Glenn bought them on Friday. I got home to shouts of "Mummy, look at this!!!" followed by Izzy telling me how much it cost.  I might have been concerned, other than the price she gave me was a little over inflated and the sheer pleasure on their faces all weekend as they have driven around the garden with babies in the back.  More concerning was watching as Izzy drove full pelt under the tranpoline, both of them ducking at the last moment to avoid taking their heads off. Gulp - I fear the driving lessons in years to come!

This evening we have been putting pictures up in our bedroom and gym - marking the end of the grand transformation for a couple more rooms - hooray! While Glenn and I measured and drilled, Abi dropped to the floor in the gym and started doing sit ups.  Amazingly she did about 20 in a row with us watching open mouthed.  Izzy then had a go - she managed 2 - and complained it's not that easy.  I agree!  Abi followed this with a few press ups and 100 squats.  Any normal person would ache in the morning - we'll she how she fares. 

So, back to work tomorrow and I'm going to repeat my mantra of positive mental attitude.  This was never going to be easy and I just need to give it time and make the most of all that I have as an antidote to the madness of the working week.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas...

I was sure I write the blog last week.... but, it seems another 2 weeks have flown by and now we are staring down the barrel of the Christmas holidays and the end of the year! Currently it's all about Doug and what a star he has proved to be so far. He has now been with us for 3 weeks and he is (so far, I keep thinking at some point it will change) a pretty chilled out puppy. As a second dog he has been thrown in at the deep end and has been to Sunday lunch with Alan & Sarah (which he loved), socialised at home with friends and their dogs, met babies (he loved Elsie) and started to go for walks. The walking has been a bit different to our previous approaches with new dogs. In the past we have ventured out carefully, making sure that our new baby only walks a short distance so they can experience all the new sights and sounds. Doug's first walk was after Sunday lunch last week, just him and 8 other dogs for bout 45 mins - he loved it! In our defence we didn't let him wal...
Post a Comment
Read more

Welcome Albert James!

So this week has been full of new things - Jess and Chris have welcomed Albert James Wilkinson Rayner to the family, a tad early but all doing well apparently (and so cute!!), I started my new job, Abi has her new shed and Dad got sorted on a phone that wasn't invented before the kids were born!! I always knew this week was going to be full on and it certainly has been. The first thing I had to do was try and sort out my diary which had been filled from dawn to dusk by my predecessor with meetings. I decided to set out as I mean to go on and immediately took out those that started before 9am. While I can get into  the office for 8am , it's a pain and requires me to be on the 6:30am train which is just a bit much every day (stating the obvious). I then made it clear that we don't need to be joined at the hip for the next 4 weeks which is a sensitive process - even though he is retiring it's hard to let go and he is understandably keen that the team are looked after. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Diary management!

This part of the summer is definitely typified by me trying to remember who is supposed to be where and when. Abi likes to be off doing something with someone while Izzy is happier to know she's close to home and so for the last week they've gone their separate ways. Abi has been down in Somerset making the most of Ben and Laurie being about. From what I can tell she's having a lovely time. Apart from the covert phone call one evening to tell me she was 'starving'  (Mum was cooking for the hordes and so it had been delayed), I've barely heard from her. The few calls I have had have very quickly ended in "can I go now" like I'm making her speak to me! Today she switches from Mum and Dads to a night or two with Kerrie - not sure who is more excited! Izzy didn't want to be away for that long so she opted not to go. She's very conscious that Abi and Laurie are joined at the hip when together and Ben has his own things he wants to do so she ...
Post a Comment
Read more