I’m already into my 3rd month now in my new job, and I have to say, I’m learning a whole lot more than I did in my previous job, and I’m not just focusing on the elements that I have been learning from my new job, rather I’m learning more about life. Up until 3 months ago, I have to admit, I had it easy for myself ; I had a job which paid extremely well (in my own view, although my ex-colleagues begged to differ), my workwas just a 10-15 minute drive from home. I had the luxury of having flexi work hours, meaning I could work from home in the mornings and only drive to work in the afternoon if I wanted. I had more disrection and autonomy in what I did, I could choose to run things and perform my duties based on my own schedule. Of course there were the occasional late nights and early morning crises which I had to handle, but I would always be compensated with time off. And because work only started at around 9.30 for me, I could afford to sleep in and wake up around 8ish or so and still make it time for work.
My new job on the other hand has demanded more of me. It takes me a good 45 minutes JUST to commute to work, and workstarts at 8.30, which means I need to begin the day 2 hours earlier, which has proved to be quite a difficult adjustment for me. On Top of that, the commuting ride is not a pleasent one, as I take the train to work. The morning mundane jostling and sardine-packed train rides make it unbearable sometimes, and it’s worse when you wake up with a runny nose or headache and have to spend 45 minutes struggling with your morning symptoms in a an extremely uncomfortable manner (I usually stand during the whole journey). There are times where by the time I reach work at 8.30 or 8.45 am, half my body is drained out! And situation gets no better at rush hour. Once again I have to relive my “commuting ordeal”.
But there’s a positive upside to all of this ; FIrst of all, I get to learn first hand how difficult life really is. As I mentioned earlier, up until 3 months ago, life was really comfortable for me. Now, I’m forcred to stretch myself, to demand more of myself, to take more responsibility in looking after myself, to manage my time more carefully and plan ahead.
Case in point, on Thursday, I actually wrote down what I was going to do over the weekend, so that I actually get some important things done… Something that I had never done in my previous job-life. I’m also taking more proactive and simple measures to see to my health such as going to bed earlier, making sure I’m taking my daily vitamins, again something which was unheard of in my previous job-life. I’m also learning to prioritize my time, it’s funny how with this new job, I am force to make better time-investing decisions. For example, I have cut down significantly on computer games (something which I used to do frequently in the past) and going to the movies, and I’m spending more time on watching documentaries on Discovery and National geographic and reading books. In fact I reward myself by making a 1 hour time slot to watch 1 documentary per night. It’s my new found way of relaxing and at the same time learning something interesting. Before the lights go off, I spend another 30 minutes reading a book.
I never would have thought that my new job would dramtically force me to alter my lifestyle, but in some ways I’m glad it has, even though at times it has been quite painful and unbearing. I’m glad I am learning the realities of life at a young age.
