The Year of Problem Solving

This morning I had another one of my epiphanies.  This one was better than the one I had where I realized I didn't have to eat blueberries anymore because I was an adult and could make my own decisions - that's a whole other blog.  Anyway, I have been struggling with not getting out of the house enough and feeling sorry for myself because I don't have time to do any errands before work.  What I realized this morning is that I do have time to do errands before work and the reason I wasn't going out before work was because I didn't want to wear my scrubs on my errands.  Here is the easy fix - wear whatever I am wearing from when I got dressed for the day and just bring my scrubs to work with me and put them on there.  Why did it take me so many years - yes, years - to come up with this solution?  Probably because I was too focused on feeling trapped and sorry for myself.

So, today I dressed in my jeans, t-shirt, and put on my makeup.  I fixed my hair, grabbed some lunch, ran a couple errands and still had time to stop at the local coffee shop for some much needed caffeine and a little "blogging" time. My scrub outfit is hanging in the vehicle just waiting for me to put it on when I get to work.  Work - there is another issue that this will help with.  We used to be able to punch in when we got to work and the boss would just adjust our time to reflect our scheduled start time.  Now, we have a new time and attendance system and staff is not supposed to clock in early - we have to wait for the clock to be at least seven minutes before the start time before sliding that badge through the reader.  I usually get to work at least 15 minutes early and I always just punched in and started working on something.  After the new rule took effect, I would often get to work early and plan to go back to the time clock to punch in - that didn't always happen.  New plan: I am going to go to work like I always have but from now on I will have my scrubs with me a go to the locker room and change. By the time I am done doing that I should be able to punch into work as I am going by the time clock.  Problem solved!  An added benefit is that I can change back to my street clothes after work and reduce the "bugs" that I could potentially be bringing into my home.  Win-Win!

Life has so many road blocks for all of us and it is easy to let ourselves get pulled down to a point where we feel we have no control over our own outcomes. I'm not a big believer in New Year resolutions but considering we are just starting a new year, I think that I am going to try looking back to my past and pull out some of the tools I used to use to help others problem solve.  I have a plethora of skills and tools sitting inside my brain just waiting to be dusted off and put to good use.  I think 2020 is going to be the "year of the problem solver" and I am going to try find unique ways to get myself going in the right direction.

Random Thought:  What if everyone focused on solutions rather than problems for just one day . . . I can only imagine the productivity spike that could result.

~Daemon