Update, agenda, etc.

Back in the days when I worked for a direct mail company, I wrote blog post upon blog post about daily tasks because they'd constantly build; when you have a lot of things to keep track of like that, writing about it (at least for me) provides an extra measure of organization. I find myself in a similar position now with the health and wellness company I'm trying to help get off the ground. There are now clearly distinct areas that need to be focused on (and for which I've designated separate areas in my folder). They are:

• Sales stuff – literature & info about companies (including the Tampa Wellness Council) that I'm trying to inform the team about (as well as event dates)
• Certification stuff – specifically the WellCoaches training that I want to do and need to talk with my boss about. She keeps talking about having us get certified for all these different things, but this one (which is probably more rigorous than the ones she has in mind) is the one I want to do and I hope I can convince her to just let me do that one.
• Company services, i.e. designing the programs we're going to implement (mine being weight management). This is where I think the coach training will come in handy. Could I still work with clients beforehand and does she have a plan for what she wants me to do with them already? Probably, but she's asking us to contribute our thoughts to the process and have a hand in creating things. So we're not just employees, but partners. That's one thing I like about the job despite the uncertainty.
• Tax stuff – the newest addition to the agenda which I hadn't accounted for but need to now. Not only will I have to file quarterly, but there's a lot of extra stuff she's having us do that requires a lot more paperwork and a lot more learning on my part. It's like another class in itself that she said she'll set aside time to work with us on.

So now that I've got this stuff delineated in my head, I hope we can tackle them in an organized fashion / cooperative manner. In my first week, we spent a lot of time learning about the company and the boss's vision. In the second week that continued somewhat, but we also had to 'let the dust settle' as people made decisions about whether this was the right place for them, etc. Now that we have our small team together, I just want to start really being productive. I think the others feel the same. I'm praying this works out because sometimes you encounter things that seem too good to be true and then that ends up being the case. Promises are made and you keep chugging along in the hope that you'll get a payoff and then you don't or you end up costing yourself money because after all the energy you put forth and the hope you pinned on the outcome, it'd be a shame to walk away, ya know? I haven't gotten a red flag to walk away yet, but I'm nervous nonetheless. I don't want anything to come up that will make me leave because I'll feel like “damn, I wanted that so bad! And I passed up other more traditional jobs that might've been safer.” I'm praying this works out.

As for my digestive stuff, I've had a few good days of feeling better, mysteriously. And I've gotten a nice break where if I want to schedule doctor appts, I have 2 week days per week free to do that (for the time being) without missing work. Something I wrote down the other day that I don't remember if I mentioned on the blog was that I always hated not knowing when I'd get to eat or when I'd get to move around, and that may have partly contributed to my disordered habits. I still don't always know when I'll get to do those things, but somehow they're working out with me sort of going with the flow of things. Going with the flow doesn't always equate to some great compromise the way it somehow used to for me. And that's a good thing.

As for my reading that I do for myself on my own time, it may take a bit of a backseat at the moment, but that's okay. (The reading for myself includes both 'pleasure' pleasure and 'educational' pleasure...fiction and memoirs related to health, plus online discussion forums and support groups that I mentioned in my last post). I checked out one forum and one book related to it so I can sort of check it off as having been done and don't have an urgent need to continue with it or make it part of my normal schedule. But the other, like the 'pleasure' pleasure reading, is still on the plate for consumption if I ever get to it. But my job / work comes first. I used to think I could relate some of it to work (eating disorder stuff), but as engaging as that subject still is to me, it's second to my coaching clients in real life who don't have eating disorders (that's relegated to psychologists and I'm not a psychologist). And since I don't think my personal health situation is at the forefront right now (and since I don't have time), I might scratch in-person support groups off the list completely. If I were really in need of more communication / networking, I'd go for it, but I think I'll be getting enough through my work. I've got co-workers and whoever I happen to come in contact with through marketing our company, my existing family and friends, and maybe my couple former classmates who I could reach out to which I haven't gotten around to in a while. So yeah, I've got a lot going on.