Hi! Time to get back into the swing of real-ish time blogging after a bunch of scheduled posts designed to mask the fact that we were in Seattle on vacation. (That lily? Died 3 weeks ago.) I used to liveblog vacations until I realized it’s a big ol’ “ROB ME” invite. We came home on Tuesday, picked up the dogs on Wednesday, pulled stuff together on Thursday and I went back to work yesterday.
I should have the Seattle blog post ready for Monday. I should break it up into smaller posts, but meh. It’s my space.
This morning we had breakfast with 2 of WM’s graduated students. Now I’m sitting outside in the shade of my giant tree. I have the new DMB album playing on my Tap, a bottle of cold water, my Kindle, and some crossword puzzles to conquer.
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It’s past time for the Friday 5. This week’s theme is Performance Evaluations. Let’s get to it!
1. In what way do you maintain a tidy and efficient workstation?
I take the last five minutes of my workday to put crap away so it’s not a fright the next morning. I’m trying really hard to move away from actual paper, so it’s not as hard to keep a clean desk as it was years ago. Home is harder because I have a small table as a desk and it’s a dumping ground for everything.
2. In what way do you maintain positive relationships with others?
By being honest, earnest, and supportive. By trying to believe the best of people until they prove otherwise.
3. What effort do you take to be punctual?
My train runs every 7-8 minutes on weekday mornings, and there are three trains that will get me to work on time. With the first two trains I can take the shuttle and make it to work on time. The last of those trains requires me to take the subway. I aim to take the first of those three trains every day, which not only gets me there on time, but gets me there about 12 minutes early, so I can slowly get settled. And if things go poorly in the morning (dog puke, hating my clothes, train malfunctions I have a cushion.
4. What are your strengths and challenges in communicating effectively?
My challenges all orbit the possibility of looking bad. If I have to say no in an email, I will put that sucker off as long as I can. I also hate having to ask questions that might make me look stupid. Many times I’ll make “WRITE THE EMAIL TO XYZ ALREADY” on my task list so when I finally do it I can have the thrill of crossing it out.
My weakness is the word “so.” I use it all of the time. I also abuse commas.
My communication strength is taking something that others would create a meeting to talk about, and bullet-pointing the crap out of it so it can be an email instead. Avoiding this mug…
5. What will be your focus for growth in the coming year?
I’m continuing to grow my SQL and Crystal Reports skills, and I’m learning Microsoft Power BI. At home, I want to learn to sew my own clothes. Currently, I’m failing on making reusable coffee cup sleeves. I have a LONG way to go.
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And now my dear cookie crumbs, I have some summer reading to do. 🙂
