Welcome to the working week
Not much went right this week. It was a lesson on how not to deal with circumstances beyond your control. The troubles started at 7:55AM on Monday. Every so often, word will come down to try and schedule pickups for the next day as was the case last Friday. This is what I call “The short game”. 99.5% of the time, it doesn’t work. But this was the .5% of the time it did. The first possible donation said yes, only after closing time and after I printed out the day’s manifest. But I was able to find space for this donation later in the week. The second donation slipped my mind entirely. That was until the next day when I was reminded of my promise of a pickup that didn’t happen. I tried to fix the mess created but couldn’t salvage the situation.
The next day brought the next obstacle to maneuver. I’m in charge of processing all of the insurance documents for the department. Without these documents, the pickups don’t get past the front door. It didn’t help that the site that helps me get these documents done quickly and efficiently wasn’t working properly for the middle of the week. The paperwork began to pile up and the fix was slow to come. I stake my pride on being able to help when asked and the fact that I was delayed in doing so, frustrated me to no end. I felt a great sense of relief to be able to return to my normal routine and being able to help my co-workers.
As the week came to its end, it was still raining. The glaring weakness that I have comes in handling phone calls. I start my workday listening to the messages and entering them in the system, if they aren’t in there already. Of the ones left, i call them so there’s not such a backlog. When put on the spot, I crumble quickly. It’s the ability to be graceful under pressure I lack and listen in awe of my co-workers when they are on the phone. I wish i could wave my magic wand to help everyone immediately but I’m only human.
It’s weeks like these that make me wonder how everyone can handle the constant pressure, yet I fall apart every time. Granted, things aren’t as bad as they’ve been but I still feel stuck in this pattern. I brought this over from the last place I volunteered at and the bitter end that came from it. I’m so determined to convince myself that I can break this cycle of frustration and anger. But previous attempts to try and do so don’t last very long. A friend of mine told me that i haven’t committed to change and she’s right. I get so caught up in the present moment that I lose sight of everything else in life. I need all the help I can get to navigate these rough seas. As this week will become part of history, I’m hoping for smoother sailing in the days and weeks ahead.
