Fruit Basket Upset
I've had a reminder this week of how rejuvenating change can be. After finally settling in comfortably on an account I'd grown to love (and hate, in the case of a handful of the worst dictators I seemed to be getting more and more), I'd gotten into a routine of virtual autopilot--bang out a report, run the spellcheck, skim for other errors, send it on its way, and then seize up momentarily to check the clock (ugh--HOW long until my shift is over?), pet someone (dog, cats, bird, kids--all demanding), listen to the end of a song, then the realization that time is money and I'm back to work. Knowing that these little 1- to 2-minute interludes really add up and I could probably increase my production if I could just cure the rubber-butt syndrome (or the mental equivalent) somehow doesn't make it easier to overcome. It is HARD to sit for eight hours solid and just transcribe. Once you're familiar with your account and your dictators, though, you become a monster and can churn out those lines effortlessly. On an especially bad night when I was sick and felt like I spent more than half my shift in the bathroom, I still exceeded my minimum by 20%. Imagine if I could stay on task--I could probably be one of those mythical MTs who routinely does twice the norm. I see people outlining ridiculously specific methods to keep the fingers on the keyboard, minimize distractions, and just WORK and I wonder how you could even do that routinely. If nothing else, this is where carpal tunnel syndrome is born!
Anyhoo, like a bolt from the blue, I got shuffled to yet another new account. Not a bad thing because the supervisor seems very upbeat and has a great reputation. The whole team has a different flavor. They communicate. They encourage each other. There's direct feedback. Before, we didn't even really know who our teammates were. As far as I could tell, I was walking the virtual hallways all by myself every night. However, now I'm back to square one and have to learn a whole new set of specs, quirks, and sound issues. I don't know the docs' names, so spend far too much time trying to figure out who's being referenced (why can't these people ever have EASY names?) and can't find enough samples of the motor mouths to piece together their spiels, and am having to build my own library to work it all out. All those expansions I made to zip through my usual dictators' routines are now out the window and I have to start from scratch. Alternately discouraging and encouraging, but at least I feel I'm heading in the right direction.
Overall, I'm noticing the change--whilst not so good for my pocketbook--has breathed new life into my world. Rising to a challenge has made my shift fly by. Now, instead of looking at that clock every few minutes and ticking off the hours left to work, I might look at it a couple times a night and think, "Yeow! Only HOW long until my shift is over?"
Here's hoping the universe doesn't throw too many more changes at me without my say-so. . . my plate's feeling a little overfull right now, like those old ladies at the buffet who take three times the food they can really eat and sneak the rest into a giant Ziploc in their handbag to take home for later. (Yes, it's 4 o'clock in Florida--do you know where your grandma is?) I am definitely a creature of habit and reluctant to step out of my comfort zone and take a plunge into something new, but once I'm forced, I generally find a shakeup to be a good thing. Not that I really needed another such challenge at this point in my life (yes, the pharmacology course is BO-RING), but I guess I'm getting acclimated to living with constant stress.
Lesson? It might be a good thing for all of us to regularly consider what works in our lives and what could stand a little change. You don't have to change careers or remake your entire life to inject a little change and excitement. If nothing else, I think in these days when no one can be assured of their future, an occasional shakeup might just keep your mind and emotions nimble enough to handle whatever life throws at you.