Tag: work

New job, too!

Lindsay Chamberlin1 Comment

It’s been about a month since I started my new day job. I’m back in the industry I love, doing what I love to do. I’m so happy! But, I haven’t gotten to this point without a struggle.

If you didn’t know, about ten months ago, I had also accepted a new position, leaving an organization I had been with for seven years. It was a hard decision, but in order to keep developing my skills and move up in the world, it had to be done. I just wish I would have listened to my gut.

I had to make the move for my own professional development, but man, I wish I would have skipped that organization, and just come straight to my new job. I know it was a stepping stone that led me to where I am now, but it has been an interesting year, to say the least.

Now, I’m in my new organization with the previous just a distant memory. I’m happy to be training on software and building the cloud based infrastructure for a large division. It’s great to be back in the industry I love!

All this to say, sometimes you have to choose to go through hell to get to paradise.

If I had listened to my intuition those many months ago, I may never have gotten to where I am now. I could feel it in my soul that my previous organization wasn’t right for me, but I did it anyway. I chose to go there, even with red flags flying, because I knew I had to gain momentum. I had to start the process of moving, even though I was sure it wasn’t going to be a forever home.

I’m glad to have had the experience because now I know exactly what I don’t want and how to get back to everything I do.

Next Adventure: New Job

Lindsay Chamberlin1 Comment

About eight months ago, I left an organization that I had been with for seven years. For a day job, it was a great place to work, but I was hungry for more that I knew I wouldn’t find there. I was offered a new opportunity at an extremely fast growing company, and was ready for the challenge.

The company I had been with for so long was in the water/wastewater industry. It’s considered quasi government, so to me, it felt like a community service organization. I hated to leave the industry, especially for a government contracting gig, but the new industry sounded interesting, too (aerospace)! I was happy to move up in the world of titles, responsibility, and, let’s face it, compensation, but it didn’t take me long to feel like something was missing.

The aerospace organization I joined has a mission to “change the world”. It is admirable and achievable based on the direction and projects the company is working on. I sincerely believe, one day, they will, but I have found myself wanting.

I miss the feeling of service. I miss the understanding that without the water/wastewater industry a community, or even broader, civilization, would crumble. The feeling that I am doing something to help my neighbors had given me such peace, and I miss it!

Thus, after eight fast paced months, I have found my way back. I accepted a position at a new-to-me organization in the water/wastewater industry, and I am over the moon to be rejoining the public sector! I cannot wait to start to feel the gratification of service again!

While I have made many friends and colleagues at the aerospace company, I finally feel like I am going back where I belong! Today marks the end of the chapter of self-realization in my day job attribute, and Monday begins my gratitude that I finally feel like I understand myself in this small way. I love the water/wastewater industry! #Waterislife

Engineer Your Life

Lindsay ChamberlinLeave a comment

I’m feeling a little drained and dry recently. I just can’t get motivated for anything. Work has been hectic. I’m making my final push toward an October graduation. And the past two weeks, my daughter has had a cold. She’s doing a lot better now, and will finally be going to school for the first time in a week. Overall, life is happening, and I’m trying to keep up, but I don’t feel like I’m getting ahead. It’s more like I’m treading water or stuck on my hamster wheel.7kkqg0eb_ti-ankush-minda

I know I have absolutely nothing to worry about. My daughter, husband, friends and family brighten my days, and I am generally in a decent mood based on my coffee intake. I just feel like I’m holding on to the caboose of my life rather than engineering the front car.

I’ve said multiple times that I’m a glutton for punishment. I can’t help it. I like being busy, but this is one of those times I think I need to pull back, evaluate my commitments, and find my direct path rather than this haphazard road.

My advice to you, my friends: Be the engineer in your own life. Steer the train as directly as you can toward your goals and leave the rest behind.

Easier said than done, I’m finding, but as with anything, it’ll just take time, and a few more I think I can’s. Choo choo!

Thank you. May I have another?

Lindsay ChamberlinLeave a comment

Story of my life right now, and not anyone’s fault but my own. I literally cannot stop. I wonder if there is a medical word for it. Like, could I seriously be diagnosed for this chronic issue I have? Or would it fall under more of an addiction type illness? 

Oh, it really is nothing serious, but I’m sure it could lead to me being burned out which my Human Relations in Administration course showed could cause undesirable emotional and physical strain in all aspects of life. Boy, do I know it! I take on way too much in my life, and it is always all at once. I can’t help it. I don’t know why I do it. I add on one thing, then another, and suddenly I’m looking around at my life and realize I have taken on way too much for one person.

But, I do it anyways. I honestly don’t know what I would do if I didn’t constantly find new and interesting things to fill my time. Maybe on some unconscious level I enjoy the feeling of being busy.

You’ll never find your limits until you’ve gone too far. – Aron Ralston

Take my current situation as an example. I am a wife, a new mother (how much longer can I say that before it is untrue? Two years? Three?), a full time student, a full time administrative professional, an active member of my local area network of professional administrators, writer and reader when possible, and now, I have joined UpWork.

UpWork is an online community for agencies and contractors to connect. Agencies post jobs, and contractors submit proposals to be hired for them. I originally stumbled upon it because I was looking for opportunities to work from home while still maintaining a decent salary. I was looking through job listings in the usual big-name websites and happened upon UpWork. I researched the company and was relieved to find that it is not a scam, although, there are reports of scammers prowling the forums. I read tips on how to avoid such scammers, and how to bid against verified agencies and create a lucrative profile.

I’ve done the research and am now selecting very specific agencies to work with. I have not had any of my five proposals accepted, yet (one was denied because they hired someone else with a lower rate). I really can’t say if I like it or not as of now because I haven’t worked with an agency, but it is kind of like Facebook. You look through the app when you’re bored and happen upon interesting tid-bits as you scroll through the feed. I’m not sure whether this will be a worthwhile venture, but it never hurts to try, right?

I’ll keep you posted on this endeavor!

“Want to” and “Have to”

Lindsay ChamberlinLeave a comment

As an Independent Author, I have come to find a piece of very important information about how to maintain this status. Let me share! 

I am an Indie Author because I love to write; it is my greatest passion. When I write a story, I find myself lost in the world I am creating. One of the best parts about being an Independent Author is never having to worry about the stress of demands on your writing. Some people work well with deadlines, and I do not disagree that they are useful, but as a self published author, you can set your own pace without putting yourself under extreme distress. And if you happen to go over on your time limit, there is no one but yourself to answer to. 

As an author of two novels now, I find my greatest writing moments come out of no where. I start writing when the mood, or Muse, strikes, and I stop whenever the Muse has left. I like having a quota of how many words I should write in one sitting, and a round about deadline of when I would like the novel to be finished, but I never feel the pressure like I normally do at my full time job when a project has a fast turnaround time. In my mind, there is a huge difference between these two scenarios.

On one hand you have work, which its very definition is “1. the physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something.”. You are doing something for an end result. Thus, making work a “have to”. A “have to” is a necessary action like cleaning, or laundry, and even, going to a full time job. These are not necessarily things you want to do, but in order to make it through life, they are what you “have to” do.

On the other hand you have a passion. Let’s define this as well: “6. the object of an intense desire, ardent affection, or enthusiasm; 7. an outburst expressing intense emotion”. Most writers are enthusiastic about their novels; we love what we do! We “want to” write because we desire the world we have formed in our heads and have grown a great amount of affection for the characters we have created which then comes out in an intense expression in the form of an outburst on paper! 

To sum it up, as an Indie Author, you are part of a group of talented writers who “want to” write. We all love creating these worlds and sharing them with our readers. But as an Independent Author, just remember, you are the creator. There is no one else you have to answer to, so it is just fine to go at your own pace, and if you have to take a break, there is nothing wrong with that. 

Taking a break keeps your “want to’s” as passions, and your  “have to’s” at work. Let your writing flow!

Definitions from Free Dictionary