Sometimes, you have to make changes that work for you; that make your life easier and create more happiness. Today marks the start of a change that I had the luxury of creating myself - a new work schedule.
It sounds so simple - especially when I only made a few small changes, but the final decision to actually create these changes had me torn for months. As a massage therapist, a fair amount of my clients prefer afternoon or weekend appointments when they are out of work or school, and a big part of this profession is to be accommodating. So, I was. I hired a sitter who got my daughter off the bus on the afternoons I worked, fed my girls dinner, and made sure homework was done. This may sound like a good thing, but to me, those were my favorite parts of the day. I loved watching my daughter sprint from the bus to our front steps with her huge backpack bouncing behind her. I loved sitting between my girls at the dinner table and chatting about their school days. And, I loved watching my daughter zip through her homework in her school-loving way. And so, instead of feeling relieved to come home from work with all these things done, I felt like I missed out. For nearly 2 years I just told myself it's what needed to be done, and it was hard to consider cutting back since I really do enjoy going to work, but the more afternoons I worked, the more I felt a negative pull instead of a positive one. They are only going to be this little once, and so I decided that to me, this time was invaluable - even if it did mean creating a less flexible schedule for clients. First change made.
Second, was another tough decision to work less without losing too many hours. I know how fortunate I am to have built a solid clientele that keeps my schedule filled for several weeks at a time, but I also know that on some days, this work load was just too much. I didn't want the quality of my work to go down due to tired forearms and aching hands - not to mention, my husband and I didn't share a day off together and were seeing each other very minimally. And so the decision to go from 5 work days to 4 was next, with the perfect solution: lengthen my morning hours into the afternoon to make up for the lost day, but make that day off in the middle of my work week - which just so happens to fall on my husband's day of as well. BINGO. Mentally and physically, this break during the week allows the busier days to come to be manageable, and hooray for more time with my handsome hubby!
I've read a lot about happiness, and there hasn't been one book that doesn't mention choosing a career you love. Makes sense, since you spend most of your life working. I usually skimmed over these chapters since I was already job-lovin', but realizing that I could make my job even more enjoyable with a few simple changes made me feel empowered. I did this for myself and my family, and it feels damn good. Welcome, May! I'm giddy with excitement to embrace the challenge of a busier work day, with the gratitude of an extra day off and more afternoon time with my girls. Happiness really is an inside job, and I'm happy to go to work.
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