How do you survive the day job?

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: goatfell
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 08:55 AM

where I live the question asked is what is a job?

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: Phot
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 09:41 AM

When I left school many years ago, my first job was working on the Somerset levels, laying drainage pipes in all weathers from dawn until dusk, and being on the old YTS (Youth training scheme) was paid the grand sum of £25 per week. I loved it, my idea of hell was to work in an office.

Fast foward a good few years, and here I am, still in the Navy, unlikley to go to sea again(Hurrah!) working in an office with no windows, looking at three computer screens all day, and I love it! The base I work at is a national arboretum, its quiet, has black squirrels, green, greater, and lesser soptted woodpeckers, has a bunch of like minded nutters who insist on driving ancient Landrovers!

How do I survive? Find people in the office with the same interests, (Landrovers, railways, history, aircraft, folk) make time to have a chat about the said interests, smile and say good morning, even to the boss! Most importantly, look foward to the weekend, and be with the ones you love!

Wassail!! Chris

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: Ptarmigan
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 09:48 AM

"How do other people cope?"

Well Jane, I gave up my 9 to 5 twelve years ago & now my day job is going around some of the local Primary schools teaching interested kids to play Traditional music!

There's no money in it & no paid holidays or pension plan but It's like being on holiday ... every day!

Cheers
Dick

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: skarpi
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 09:55 AM

Hallo Jane :>)

in this crisis , be happy that you have a job :>)
at least you have money to get food and clothes.
Be glad and hold on to it as long as you can .

you said : I sometimes get so pissed off that I don't want to pick up my instrument, I can't seem to switch off when I get home. :(

are you sure its the work that is bothering you ?? have thought about
other things , like are you happy ? is it something home , some around you ( other than in work ) ?

sorry I asked , but I have been in your place and I am just wandering :>)

All the best Skarpi Iceland

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: Ron Davies
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 10:08 AM

I work in an office in a large building. Everybody in the office has a great sense of humor--which helps immeasurably.

I also find music makes everything better. I sing in the stairwell--never take the elevator. I sing walking to the subway every day-not loud, just to myself.   It's 4 long songs or 5 short songs to the subway. And I sing according to the weather. If the weather is good, I sing C & W.   Misty or raining--Irish or pub songs. Real blustery--sea songs. Unless I'm trying to memorize something--then I sing that. People are probably convinced I have a very small Bluetooth or something in my ear. When I sing "M'name's Napoleon Bonaparte, I'm the conqueror of all nations", everybody else crosses to the other side of the street. Can't figure out why.

And I sing sotto voce while walking down the corridor.   And after everybody else leaves for the day.

Admittedly I'm lucky in a lot of ways. Among other things, I've been able to convince my co-workers to have their radios tuned really low--we all keep our music to ourselves.

But they know I sing. They sometimes come to my group's concerts at the Kennedy Center. Also, among other things, a co-worker and I have written parodies for retirement parties, etc--to Gilbert and Sullivan, Beatles, folk, etc. It's really appreciated.

If you carry your own music--in your head--it really helps get through any day.

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: RamblinStu
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 10:39 AM

"the usual boring, small minded, bitchy people that you always find in offices"

I too work in this kind of environment, but like most of us I need the money.

I have coped by switching off; doing he work required, and laughing at the antics of my co-workers. Most importantly I have attached a motto to my pc that reads

"Don't count the days, make the days count"

It works for me

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 11:06 AM

When my kids were young,, I told them that everyone should have hobbies. And you should try to make a living pursuing your favorite one.
Worked for me (I'm on my fourth retirement; works for my daughter (who's a self-employed landscape gardner) and my son(who rents, maintains and manages a stable of sports racing cars.)

Maybe it's luck, but I think a lot of it consists of deciding what you really want to spend your time doing.

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 11:19 AM

Ah, alas, what I REALLY want to spend my time doing is illegal in several states and frowned upon in public places so I guess I'll stick to sewing and card making. :D

LTS

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: matt milton
Date: 07 Mar 09 - 01:38 PM

"My biggest problem is that there are levels of skill I know I could get to but I don't have enough practice time for" John P

that I can strongly relate to. It was a hell of a lot easier when I was playing in rock bands to do it on top of the 9-5. But when you're playing solo fingerstyle guitar and singing it's suddenly something that requires constant practice: if I go for a week without running through the songs and practising the tricky bits then things start to slide. Playing in rock bands that kind of thing didn't really show the same way.

I actually have a travel guitar stashed under my desk and a Zoom portable MP3/WAV recorder in my drawer. Because I work in a humungous 10-story building I can normally find somewhere to have a quick quiet play one lunch hour a week. I've also made a few "found sound" collages, just recording stuff around the building and on the streets outside. Achieves a remarkable level of feelgood factor doing things like that during office hours...

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: GUEST,green wellies
Date: 08 Mar 09 - 04:02 PM

Oh so all people who work in offices are boring, small minded and bitchy - what a sweeping generalisation.

I have worked in an office environment all my working life, some 35 years, and find your remark extremely offensive.

I have a very interesting job, working as personal assistant for a great boss of a very successful international company (even in this economic climate we have just received a 10% profit share !). The company is successful because of the people who work for it, they are not small minded, boring or bitchy. They are individuals; talented, intellegent, bright, and funny. Perhaps your remark reflects more on you, than the people with whom you work.

I dont consider it surviving, but enjoying the day job which enables me to earn money to enjoy the music I love.

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 08 Mar 09 - 04:53 PM

I have worked fastfood, run kiddie daycare, worked retail as stocker and cashier, cleaned houses, walked dogs, scooped cat poop, wknd/evening manager of distance education programme, worked in admin HR and clerk in Payroll, office manager in a Career Advice Centre, edited and verified US Federal Code, admin in Community Mental Health, admin and officer in Schools Service (specifically for School Governors) and now admin in Heritage and Arts Service. Quite a lot of my work has always been mind numbing. I just get on with it. Bills to pay and all that.

I start by doing the least attractive jobs first. Get the crap over with, then move onto the more challenging/interesting stuff as a sort of reward. Luckily, I can listen to music while I work now more than I could in 2 previous posts. Constant ringing phones = why bother getting the MP3 player out.

I have gotten on well with almost all colleagues. I am something of a clown and not afraid to take time to play and joke around. Good for the soul and keeps everyone from becoming too serious. Had a few run-ins with manager/head of department types over the years. I survived.

re work/life balance and all that, I do bring some stuff home, but it is stuff I want to crack or organise, so is enjoyable.

Subject: RE: How do you survive the day job?
From: M.Ted
Date: 08 Mar 09 - 05:28 PM

The most immediately useful advice so far was to take the train to Leeds where the jobs and the pay is better. If you can do it, do it. Don't worry about being too tired to do your music thing--you'll find a way, as we all have.

There is nothing more exhausting than working a low-paying, unsatisfying job.