Facing ahead, looking back

I recently heard an interesting take on defining multitasking: Screwing up multiple things at once. The ability to multitask gets a lot of weight in the corporate world. I'm not particularly good at it unless, of course, it involves multiple things that I just happen to really enjoy. Even still, I've often wondered if constant multi-tasking often leads to a lot of work done half-a**ed.

Our family is less than two weeks away from undergoing a major transition. I'll be taking a much-needed and anticipated leave of absence for three months. Following some pretty significant reorganization and job-shifting at work, I've experienced a lot of stress and burnout that has started to negatively impact my 'job performance' as a parent. Before my parental annual review gets chiseled in stone I've decided to take some time off to focus on my kids and pay them some quality attention. While teaching them some life lessons (i.e. socks before shoes, manners, why the sky is blue), I hope to keep my own behaviors and attitude in check so that when I return to work in 2012 I'll know what works as far as my interaction with them.

I'm a human fueled and energized by my personal time, spent doing creative projects. Talking and public events tire me out. So while I fully expect to be exhausted after spending an entire day with the kids, at least I will have given them my good energy for more than just a couple of hours in a day.

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Corporate Misfit

I've pretty much made up my mind that I'm not a fit for the business consulting world. Two years and seven months has been plenty for me. My work is important, and I'd like to think I'm doing my part to help keep health care affordable. But I need to work in an environment where I can see the direct result of my work. My job is so hard to explain to anyone, and I don't like that. I create a lot of reports, analyze many data sets, write a lot of requirements for computer systems, and spend a lot of time in meetings.

Being a reflective person is a tough thing because I'm always analyzing my place at work and trying to find meaning in the things I do. I'm lucky to have other creative outlets that keep me sane and prevent me from up and quitting. I am a dedicated worker, and don't intend on burning any bridges, but at this point I don't feel bad looking for new work. I've given my first job out of college a fair swing, and I know that I don't belong here. I just have to figure out where I belong next.