When work gets rough and life gets busy, it’s also an opportunity to show your character
As some of you may have noticed, I've not been as active as usual for the past couple of weeks. A pity considering how my enthusiasm for steemit is only going up the more I interact with people here (I even had two steemit real-life meetups last week which I didn’t get to blog about, damnit!) and the more I hear about new development projects coming up.
What’s kept me away from posting is a project that I’m currently responsible for which is in its most busy period. It's safe to say this has had me completely overworked for the past month. (I’ll give you more details on the project in a future post, but in short, it includes a research project on how satellite applications are used in 6 countries together with me building and hosting a conference for stakeholders in all the countries that will happen in mid-October). So for the last couple of weeks, life has pretty much consisted of getting up at 05:00 AM to go to the gym or go for a morning jog to be ready for a hectic work-day starting 08:00 AM and ending 08:00 PM. With the project failing to escape my mind once home, I've usually ended sitting up some late evenings, or waking up at around 01:00-02:00AM feeling the need to pre-write some emails for the next day. Weekends are then used mainly for restoration.
Sounds bad? Yeah, a little bit. But I also find some real positives that I thought I would share.
Although all the work I do is done digitally, using an image of a desktop with several word, pdf and excel files and an uncountable number of emails just don’t have the same effect to it!
image source
What I find interesting is that despite all the sleepless nights and long days at work, I'm really enjoying life at the moment. True, I would not want, nor recommend, this lifestyle to become anyone’s norm in the long run. However, I do find a lot of fulfillment during these brief periods of anxiety, stress and a constant feeling of pressure. Indeed, there is a part of me that comes to life only when things get rough, when the deadlines approach, or when I'm pushed to the limit. It provides me with a unique opportunity to test out what I’m really capable of and to show, not just to others, but also to myself what my real character really is. To know how much I can get done if I really give it my all. You can always imagine how good you are when things are calm and easy, but you don't really know it before you’ve been through the test.
Especially as a young professional working at an international organisation like the European Space Agency, taking on a challenge like this is very exciting. Many times I've taken part in projects, but this is the first time that the full responsibility is on me to coordinate other people's work and see that the desired results are delivered. It will be one of the things I can look back on and know that although it was hard, I made it through. The fact that I am now pushing myself to the limit to get this done also has an added benefit. The next time things get rough and I’m left with doubt as to whether or not I’ll get through, I can remind myself of the last time the weather was rough but I still lasted through the storm.
Also, I have to say that when you work with what you love, and feel that you are part of creating the changes you want to see more of in the world, then it's a whole lot easier to tell yourself in the morning that it's worth getting out of bed and attacking the new day heads on despite knowing that it may leave a small crack in your skull.
Me at the European Space Agency's Headquarters in Paris next to the Life Support System.
(Or coffee machine as you would call it on Earth)
So tell me steemit, when was the last time you were pushed to your limits, and what were the values you derived from it that you appreciate having today? I would love to hear about it in the comments!
Anyways, now that I've hurdled through the worst part, I hope to be back with a whole lot more of posts for you all! So look forward to more satellite images, space news and stories in the days to come ;)
Steem on!
Fredrik / @fredrikaa
Having a high workload and being pushed to your limits is better than being stuck somewhere with little or nothing to do. I you are always challenged and it becomes the norm for you it means you will always work hard and to a high standard. If you don't have much to do it makes it so much harder later when suddenly a lot is expected of you.
Even if you are tired now, the results of the work will stay with you and help you build your reputation with your colleagues and in your industry which benefits you and your career in the long run. And seeing a successful project come to completion is very satisfying in itself :)
I've had a couple projects like that, one in particular where I led a development team to create an in-house software solution for events management that expanded to cover the whole organisation involving many different stakeholders. It was stressful because so many people were counting on me getting it right and meeting their expectations. It was stressful but so satisfying when it was done. Another was organising moving our organisation from our old office building to a new one that was being built for us. I saw it through from the start of the construction of the new building to move in day. THAT was stressful as you had so many personal demands and requirements from various staff, but once it was done it gave me a real send of pride.
Good luck with your project, I'm sure it will be a huge success :) Tell us all about it when its done!
Thanks for your comment fiftysixnorth!
Yes, I completely agree. The bar for what is "a lot of work" is constantly moved as we grow more experienced with managing it and gets more accustomed to it. And yes it's better to get that experience early and have it in the backpack going forward :)
Your project sounds very interesting.Is the software still used operationally today?
Thanks for that! I sure will keep you up to date:)
The software is still being used today but its now badly out of date. I've tried to get projects off the ground to update it but there have always been other organisational priorities so now we are at the point of discussing whether to let it die and replace it with a commercial product or to redevelop it from scratch.
Looking forward to the updates on your project :)
Can't wait to have you back. You were the first steemstem guy to have a chat with and now I miss you 😫😫😓😓😓😨😨😨😱😱😱😭😭😭😭😭😭
Haha, wow, that seemed like a lot of emotions right there :P
Can't wait to be "back" myself too! Lovely to see the activity around steemSTEM at the moment and happy to have you here mate! Let's have another chat soon ;)
By the way you look really badass on the photo of this photo. Replace your profile pic with this one :P
It was actually really great to meet you! When I will be back to Paris, we should go for beers after work!
And we will wait for you, don't worry1 :)
Likewise! Feel free to suggest an evening that would suit you (I'm in Stavanger 25. Sep - 1. Oct though). Oh and don't think about my work, getting some socializing in the middle of it is just good sanity's sake :p
I should be in Paris for the first 15 days of October. Then, when you will be back sounds good to me! :)
I might not be under as much workload as it sounds like you are, but I definitely understand where you're coming from. I'm glad that you were able to set some time aside though to give an update on what's been going on in your world. It sounds like you have some very exciting projects coming up. I look forward to reading more about your work with satellite applications once you have time to take a breather from the tedious work cycle it sounds like you're in.
Personally, I think being pushed to one's limits is healthy. It's important to know how much work a person can sustain while also maintaining the rest of one's personal/social life. For me, being back in school after taking over a year off has definitely been a learning curve. Luckily I'm slowly starting to adapt back into maintaining this heavy workload of school/work/social life/steemit.
Anywho, glad to hear you've been doing well regardless :)
Thanks for reading and providing such a thoughtful answer. I'll be sharing more soon enough ;)
Yup, it sure takes some practice to make it all go around ^^ You'll need to set aside some hours that are untouchable by other's that are for you to use on things like steemit or other things you want to prioritize. And then make it a habit.
Glad to be hearing from you too:) I'm sure you'll be back to kicking ass as you return to "normal life".
That's true! When life gets rough, that's when you'll realize who you really are.
Absolutely!
It is nice to have you back here! The end of the summer is always a busy moment, but I am sure you will be able to handle everything.
We cannot wait to read about your ongoing and future projects!
Cheers buddy! Nice to be seeing you all again too :)
I passed some big milestones last week. So feeling better about things now! There still is a sprint left to be done, but I can see the finishing line nice and clear 8)
Yeah, I look forward to sharing a lot more!
good to have you back @fredrikaa. its really during challenging times that we can tell how far we can push through. Naturally humans wont force it until they have to. But definitely it will be worth it at the end. Cheers.
Thanks a lot my friend!
I believe you're right. At least I know I'm the type who needs some pressure to be at my best :P
You welcome @fredrikaa. Maybe I need some pressure too.
Life support system! ^^ I am glad you survived the storm and I am looking froward to your posts.
That's what we call it here on the house ;)
Yeah it will be good to be back with some more regular steeming! :D
True growth happens when things get tough.
When life give you lemons, make them into a lemonade and you will be surprised by your growth rate.
It's easy to be positive and happy when things are going well :)
This situation will help you tremendously if you choose to be an entrepreneur one day.
Partition is bad. But whatever is past is past. We have only to look to the future.
- Mahatma Gandhi