Biking, Hiking and BBQs Oh My! But What About the Job Search?

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Beach pic

June is finally here and you know what that means: summer vacation!

As Pink Floyd so famously sang, “No more pencils, no more books! No more teachers dirty looks!”

I remember that euphoric feeling as the last bell rang for the year or in college when I finished my last final exam.  It was awesome knowing I had at least two months of relaxation without school responsibilities.

Too bad that all ends when we start our careers and enter the “real world”.

No more summer vacations.  If we’re lucky, we can bookend the summer with long weekends at Memorial Day and Labor Day. Depending on how the calendar falls we may get a third long weekend at Fourth of July.

Hardly the freedom-fest summers of our youth.

It’s been ages since I was in school yet for some reason at this time of year I still find myself wanting to slow down from work and take a step back.   With the sun finally shining I guess I’m ready to come out of hibernation.

Or more appropriately, I’m ready to get up from my desk, longing for a respite from the busy go-go-go lifestyle that has taken over.

Yes, I want to run away from it all. Even if only for a little while.

My mind plays tricks on me, suddenly forgetting all the things on my to-do list.  Knowing that we have a couple of trips planned, Vacation Brain tries to push Work Brain out of the way weeks before it’s time to leave.

I play all sorts of games to remain focused on career, networking, finding my next opportunity and the like, yet it seems in vain. There are simply too many distractions.

The swimming pool is calling me to come outside.  Friends in the teaching profession have free time to play.  Family wants to come to visit. Tons of summer festivals and events.  Biking, hiking, and BBQ’s, oh my!

Even the news is conspiring against me, telling me summer is a terrible time to look for a new job, that hiring tends to decrease over the summer as managers take vacations and a slew of other reasons.  My mind says this sounds reasonable.

Vacation Brain says, “Go ahead and give in; don’t do any work for the next couple of months”.

Work Brain knows I’m responsible and forces me back to reality saying “You know better.”   Sometimes I really hate being responsible.

Work Brain is right. We should not give in to the temptation to relax our standards just because it’s summer and vacation is right around the corner.

Especially anyone who is looking for a new job.  Don’t lose your momentum!  Let others drop out of the job search race if they want; that gives you the edge.  Besides, you never know when there might be a new opportunity and you could be the first to see it.

Should you enjoy summer and plan a vacation? Of course! It’s always good to take a short break to rejuvenate.   Just make sure you have a plan for staying on top of your job search strategy rather than dropping out completely.

Balancing Act: My Love-Hate Relationship With Technology

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This year I succumbed to peer pressure and got an iPad.  Actually, Hubby bought me the iPad as a gift. He probably thought he would get to use it too, and actually loaded the connection to his email on the device. LOL! As if he would be able to pry it from my hands.

Truthfully, I wanted to be part of the “in” crowd, with the latest technology, even though I really wasn’t sure why I needed this device when my laptop and iPhone were always close at hand.

The benefits of this device?

–          I look cool and super-important while I surf the net at Starbucks

–          Shopping – of course I just had to get an awesome case for it – but I discovered that I can online shop just about anywhere now. Sweet!

–          My shoulder loves it! No need to struggle to carry the brick that’s my laptop when I travel, since my iPad allows me to stay connected, read attachments, etc.

–          Multi-tasking: watch TV, chat with Hubby and keep up with FB all from the comfort of the couch

The downside:

–          I. Am. Always. Connected.

How did I fall for this trap?  Wasn’t it enough to own a smart phone, that’s almost surgically attached to my hand?

This wonderful, yet wicked, device with its awesome technology added another layer of complexity to my already action-packed life.  While I’m not a true follower of the zodiac, I do believe I have some traits of my sign.  As a Libra (the Scale), I really prefer that things are balanced.   I am passionate about my work as well as my personal life, and I don’t want one getting more attention than the other.  Yes there are times when one is busier.  But that’s OK; I can handle chaos at work if home is calm. Likewise, chaos at home is fine as long as work is calm.   But with all this connectivity, it seems like I’m never able to enjoy the calm.

Work is always on fire. Part of that is my chosen profession and while I love it, I’m making a note to myself: next career, try to pick something that’s not always a fire-drill.    Hubby/family/friends are a top priority at home.  Layer on top of that my passion for writing, including my recently published book, and I find myself always out of balance, running from one project to the next without any down-time.

It’s definitely harder to balance the three-legged stool of work-home-personal projects.  Yet there has to be a way to do it.  I’ve said before that the obvious solution would be to eliminate something.  For me, it’s been more difficult since I experienced being laid off.  The fear of being without a job is still top of mind, so I push myself to do more in the same amount of time.  Definitely a losing proposition.

My goal now is to try and create boundaries that allow for all areas of my life.  I don’t know how I’m going to achieve this, but it’s worth fighting for.  We all need to take breaks – even just an evening off, or a whole day if possible.  And vacations that take me away from it all are a must!

I’ve started to wean myself from connectivity for short periods of time.  After all, I’m not the leader of the free world so I doubt that I’m really needed at any second of the day. Not peeking at an electronic device is much harder than I thought.  Hubby and I try to hide our smart phones while dining so we can focus on each other, although we slip sometimes.  Slowly I’m getting used to not bringing my iPad, including the fun case, when I go for coffee, hoping that I’ll sip my beverage and clear my mind.

Baby steps, I tell myself.  Baby steps.

Disconnected

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Ping! Buzz! Ding-Ding! My electronic devices are constantly talking to me.  Sort of like kids who are always peppering mom with a million demands – I need this! I’m hungry! When can we go out to play?  At least that’s how I imagine kids to be.  Kind of hard for me to be accurate here since my daughter has four legs, a fur coat and a ferocious bark.  Her needs are simple: food, water and some outside time – not very demanding at all.

But my electronic devices are always demanding something of me.  Read this, can you answer this question, here’s some news.  Answer me, answer me, answer me!  Just like most of us, I’m always connected, all of the time and technically always available. 

In some ways all this connectivity has made our lives easier.  Who remembers not wanting to leave the house just in case that special guy called for a date?  I do – what a waste of time that was!  At least with mobile phones and computers there’s no need to wait.  That special guy can call always find me if he wants to.  Yes Hubby, I mean you.  Hubby is breathing a sigh of relief.

There are a million good reasons for all this connectivity.  And I’ve bought into the program. I’ve got the latest gadgets so I can be connected personally and professionally.  All the time; 24/7/365.  I’m actually annoyed on occasion if I can’t get in touch with someone.  Geez – answer the call/email/text; don’t you hear the pinging?

As good as it is to be connected and as fun as all those social networks are, I’ve come to the realization that I need a break.  I seriously need a break.  With all this connectivity, I can’t seem to turn off the pinging, dinging and buzzing and relax for a while.  Hard to believe that I can’t just chill by the pool or watch a movie or read a magazine.  It’s gotten so bad that Hubby and I can hardly sit through a meal without checking our electronic devices.  Here I am, sitting next to the man of my dreams, and I’m worried about missing something “important” when my electronic device goes off.

So this week I’ve disconnected.  Thanks to technology, I was able to schedule this post days in advance.  As you read this, Hubby and I will be sitting in a cabana by a beautiful pool at a resort.  Hopefully I’ll be reading a book or a magazine – the old fashioned way, not on an electronic device. That would be too tempting.  Maybe we’ll be watching a movie or a sunset or simply talking to each other, uninterrupted. 

What’s that?  You want to know if I’m really disconnected or if I’ve slipped up and peeked at my electronic devices? I’ve done it before so I’m convinced I can do it again.  Since this post was written in advance, you’ll have to trust that I’ve stuck to my guns and disconnected.   

Trust me; just don’t ping me.

© Tami Cannizzaro 2012 All Rights Reserved