Nearly the end of another week

Another day back at the grindstone but nothing too painful to report, thankfully.

Am sticking to my good/bad exchange, so today I can report that I:

- Took up walking in the mornings from Waterloo to the office;
- Gave up deferring tasks to another day.

The added time on my commute (as I already walked from Charing X) is a measly 15 minutes which equals 30mins extra exercise per day (if I also walk home in the eve) for very little effort. I’m a fast walker and can clear my head en route crossing the Thames. Sure, if it’s chucking it down with rain I won’t be a martyr, but if nothing impedes my journey, Waterloo it is for now.

As for deferring, I could have won an Olympic medal in putting off tomorrow what could be done today, if only someone would start that category! In some ways, this might come as a surprise to people who’ve worked with me, as I give all the outward appearances of a person who gets on with it without any fuss and doesn’t procrastinate much. That said, anything remotely tedious was added to an ever growing 'to do' list, which haunted me of a night and stressed me of a morning. Yet there’s absolutely no need. Even when I’ve been quiet I’ve been inclined to stick stuff to the bottom of the pile rather than simply grabbing the bull by the horns.

I am fed up hearing others telling me how busy they are, to such an extent that they can’t possibly spare a minute, even to reply to an email with a ‘can’t write now, but will do later’. It’s just courtesy after all, but in a city where being constantly on the go and never at your desk is an indication of how successful you are, it comes as no surprise that people compete to be seen as the busiest. Never mind that other bad habit, presenteeism, whereby being in the office for a massive amount of hours per week is viewed as productive. Let’s neglect to mention how much time most people fritter away on needless meetings, long senseless conference calls and their own personal stuff (internet surfing, emails to friends, office water-cooler style banter). If you broke most people’s jobs down into the work they need/ought to do, it would make up a fraction of their actual working day. Hanging out in an office is a sad way to prove you are wanted after all, but who am I to criticise? I could weep at the hours I have spent at work, simply because I felt a need to be there and be seen. You never want to be the first to put your coat on at the end of the day, nor the last to slope in every morning. Your ‘marker’ is your boss, so if you have an early bird, you need the precious time before they get there to prepare yourself. If they hang around at night you can find yourself caught up with stuff to do at 5.30/6.00 that could have been done much earlier in the day but which you now feel obliged to stick around for.

I know if I did what I needed to do every day as efficiently as possible, I’d sleep easier and feel quite content to leave on time, safe in the knowledge that everything needing done had indeed been completed. The ever-growing, never-ending 'to do' list is one of the things that keeps me here, as I can hardly head off when there is a thing or two that I could actually finalise. So today, I am leaving on time (ish! After all I need some time to write this!!) safe in the knowledge that my inbox is as empty as it can be and it feels refreshing. I’m actually all lightheaded at the thought – ha ha.

Today I am thankful for:

- My friends. I’ve been chuckling at texts and emails from some L’Oreal girls and realising how reassuring it is that there are decent, honourable, kind and funny people out there;
- My health. My colleague has had sick grandparents recently and I forget what a stress it must be when you have elderly relatives. K’s dad is none too clever right now, neither, which saddens me quite a bit. I know how much it stresses K out to see him like this and it only adds to the pressure on him. I can at least (touch wood etc) be thankful that I am spared that myself, though am only too aware it can change at the drop of a hat;
- The Sanctuary body cream, which smells heavenly and actually lifts my mood in the mornings now. Serenity in a pot!