I was with a group of my friends this past week. Collectively we did a nice job of representing the entire spectrum of attached status; single, married, and separated. We got to talking about things and someone mentioned that they felt that their recent marriage has given them a renewed feeling of respect and prestige in the office. He went on to say that his colleague have actually started to put more faith in him now that he put a wedding ring on.
He's only been married a 3 weeks!
So the theory plainly stated is that married people (or is it just married men) get more respect around the office. Furthermore, being married adds unsubstantiated legitimacy to you and your work.
I couldn't agree more.
As a young professional in a service industry, I am constantly judged on appearance and performance which is totally normal and acceptable. In business, you are selling a product and the image that surrounds it. In a service industry, you are that product and thus you are the image. Fine. But what has caught me off guard is that being married or wearing a ring is part of that. You are discriminated against for being single.
But what's the thinking behind it? Are you demonstrating commitment and people assume you are willing to "go all the way"? Is it a maturity thing - where your marriage connotates your heighten understanding of "things"? Or is it that misery loves company and fellow married people are all memebers of a club that the singles don't "get"? Or does this get filed into the unexplained file to be solved later?
Regardless of why or how, single people should just resign themselves to the fact that if and when they get married they too will judge single people and do everything they can to trample on them, steal their ideas, and make their lives miserable. That's cool.
Misery really does love company.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Shoe Laces and time management
Your shoe laces can tell you a lot about yourself. In my case, I believe they tell me that I'm willing to stop what I'm doing and invest my time and energy into something to get it done or make it right. Before you get totally lost, let me explain.
The other morning, I was getting ready for work. The last piece of my 'fit' is always a pair of shoes. As a slight shoe aficionado (I said slight!) I appreciate what I put on my feet and I want to make sure they are in good working order. This particular morning I was putting on a pair of shoes and I saw that the laces had been pulled so that one end was significantly longer than the other. The shoe was tie-able in the current state but it was clear that it wasn't quite right.
It was at this moment that I had a couple options. I could have kept going, tied the shoe and dealt with it later. Or, I could have stopped, unlaced the shoe and corrected the imbalance. I chose the latter and fixed the lace.
By fixing the lace when I saw the problem I was trying to reinforce a time management practice that I have recently picked up. The idea is if you need to do something that takes less than 2 minutes, do it now. If it takes more than 2 minutes, list it, prioritize and make time to deal with those things appropriately.
I'm not going to sit here and say that I always take this route. I would like to think I do, but I get lazy like everyone else, but I do believe I try to do it a majority of the time.
When I see something that can be fixed quickly, I try to take the initiative to get it done quickly. I'm not looking for praise or credit, I just want to be known over the long haul as someone who gets it done and gets it done well.
What are your time management practices?
The other morning, I was getting ready for work. The last piece of my 'fit' is always a pair of shoes. As a slight shoe aficionado (I said slight!) I appreciate what I put on my feet and I want to make sure they are in good working order. This particular morning I was putting on a pair of shoes and I saw that the laces had been pulled so that one end was significantly longer than the other. The shoe was tie-able in the current state but it was clear that it wasn't quite right.
It was at this moment that I had a couple options. I could have kept going, tied the shoe and dealt with it later. Or, I could have stopped, unlaced the shoe and corrected the imbalance. I chose the latter and fixed the lace.
By fixing the lace when I saw the problem I was trying to reinforce a time management practice that I have recently picked up. The idea is if you need to do something that takes less than 2 minutes, do it now. If it takes more than 2 minutes, list it, prioritize and make time to deal with those things appropriately.
I'm not going to sit here and say that I always take this route. I would like to think I do, but I get lazy like everyone else, but I do believe I try to do it a majority of the time.
When I see something that can be fixed quickly, I try to take the initiative to get it done quickly. I'm not looking for praise or credit, I just want to be known over the long haul as someone who gets it done and gets it done well.
What are your time management practices?
Walking to work
I walk to work via a rather unbeaten path. While most people hop a train or bus to the loop I traverse a more industrial part of town, complete with loading docks, industrial butchers, active railroad crossings and the occasional abandoned lot. It goes without saying that I feel tough that I walk to work this way. I feel especially hardened when I walk by the guy who's job it is to take the cut up pieces of meat out to the dump truck that hauls them away.
But one of my favorite things on my walk is when I cross paths with a train. It doesn't happen everyday, it might not even happen every week, but from time to time I have to stop and wait as a freight train ambles past me.
The iron horse and I made nice this morning and I was able to snap this photo. This was a particularly interesting encounter because there was danger and I enjoy danger of all sorts.
Anyway, I was walking along the tracks, listening to the J. Period Fugees Remix album with my head down when I looked up and saw the freight train coming at me. Quick, like a cat, I hopped to the side and watched as the train went by. This crossing as you may be able to see doesn't have crossing gates just the lights and bells. I think its neat that there is such train activity in Chicago. It was a city born out of that industry and continues to be a huge part of the commerce.
It was close, the train almost got me, but I made it... now, back to my desk job.
But one of my favorite things on my walk is when I cross paths with a train. It doesn't happen everyday, it might not even happen every week, but from time to time I have to stop and wait as a freight train ambles past me.
The iron horse and I made nice this morning and I was able to snap this photo. This was a particularly interesting encounter because there was danger and I enjoy danger of all sorts.
Anyway, I was walking along the tracks, listening to the J. Period Fugees Remix album with my head down when I looked up and saw the freight train coming at me. Quick, like a cat, I hopped to the side and watched as the train went by. This crossing as you may be able to see doesn't have crossing gates just the lights and bells. I think its neat that there is such train activity in Chicago. It was a city born out of that industry and continues to be a huge part of the commerce.
It was close, the train almost got me, but I made it... now, back to my desk job.
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