kapachino

Category: tips

  • Workplace Happiness

    Going to work is kind of necessary for most of us. Unless you are independently wealthy, have a sugar daddy, are still in school, or just make a lot of sacrifices and frugal choices to stay at home, you probably work. Usually it’s around 40 hours a week, some more, some less. That’s a huge chunk of time, so it makes sense that how you feel while at work is going to have a big impact on your overall happiness.

    I’d say the best way to stay happy at work is to love what you do. I’m a registered nurse, and I’m really glad I can say that I do love it. I work in outpatient oncology, and the bulk of what I do is administer chemo, blood products, and other IV medications. It’s different every day so I don’t get bored, challenges me mentally, and best of all allows me to meet people and affect them positively in the midst of tough circumstances. I’ve started making it my mission to give them a good experience in our clinic and hopefully begin or continue a positive relationship with them. When my patients are happy, it’s easy for me to be happy too.

    Sometimes, however, I’m running late, I run into a lot of snags with a patient, things get hectic, I forget to drink water or don’t have time to eat lunch, I didn’t get enough sleep, etc. It’s during those times that I have to take extra steps to get through the day happily. They include:

    >Coffee. I drink some every morning on the way to work, but if that’s not enough I’ll turn to the clinic pot for an extra boost.

    >Gum. Sometimes it’s all I need to get a little burst of energy until I have a chance to sit down and eat.

    >Ask for help. I’m not the only nurse there, and we’re a team. Lots of people are glad to help ease my burden.

    >Vent. Whether it’s calling my husband or talking to a coworker, sometimes I just need to get out my frustrations and I feel better.

    >Positive self-talk. I remind myself that I’m only there until 4 p.m., put myself in the place of my patients (immediate perspective), or remember all the great experiences I’ve had at work. I also try and think about something I look forward to, like picking up my daughter from daycare.

    These are just some examples. How do YOU stay happy and engaged at work?

    ***
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  • my maternity musts

    I am by no means a pregnancy expert, and I know everyone and every pregnancy is different, but since I have now experienced over nine months of it I figured I’d share a few things that have gotten me through.

    maternity musts

    Supportive shoes

    For work I wear the same Crocs that I always did and they work fine, although they’re getting a little tight now. The above Teva sandals are what I wear for practically everything else. They are cushiony and supportive, and are good for everything from wearing around the house to walking the streets of Charleston. I don’t have much swelling in my feet, but if I did I’d probably need some sandals with less straps than these.

    A really good bra & bra extenders

    As I’ve mentioned several times before, I’ve had terrible rib pain with this pregnancy. My old bras were killing me, so I bought a nice, stretchy nursing bra (so I can use it later). But even getting it perfectly sized, the pressure on my ribs was still too much. I didn’t even know they made bra extenders, but they have been a lifesaver. I bought some from Target to make the band of the bra bigger without increasing the cup size. It still kind of hurts to wear a bra, but without these I would be miserable.

    Pillows

    I’m a back sleeper, and that’s the one position that isn’t allowed during pregnancy. In order to stay propped up on my side I’ve been using a pillow like the one pictured to wrap around my whole body. It also helps a lot for comfort. I think that just having a whole bunch of pillows would work too, but my sister-in-law gave me the body pillow and I’ve been happy with it.

    Clothes

    I tried to spend as little money on maternity clothes as possible, so I wore a lot of items that weren’t maternity but worked. What carried me through were yoga pants and tons of long t-shirts & tank tops from Old Navy. Sundresses were great for a long time as well. One good pair of maternity jeans were essential, and the last two months I’ve been wearing a few maternity dresses, shorts, and tops.

    BellaBand

    I didn’t use this every day, but it’s a really good thing to have. I wore it with my regular pants when I was just starting to outgrow them, and now I’m wearing it again. My long t-shirts aren’t quite long enough to cover my massive belly, and my scrubs aren’t very comfortable when they’re tied up, so I wear the BellaBand to hold my pants up and cover my belly. It just looks like another shirt underneath.

    Also recommended…

    >I usually consider massages and pedicures an indulgence, but they became more of an essential when I stopped being able to reach my toes and my back was killing me.

    >I’m not a bath person, but for so many of my aches and pains my doctor recommended Epsom salt baths, so I do that. I dump about two cups of salt into the tub and soak for 10-15 minutes. I can’t say that it takes away the pain, but it does relieve it for a time.

    >For carpal tunnel syndrome, a pair of wrist braces are absolutely necessary. If I don’t wear these at night I will wake up in tears feeling like my hands are on fire.

    >A really awesome husband and family nearby to bring me food and ice cream and help me with chores is a wonderful thing. :)

  • Current Obsessions: Sick Edition

    I started feeling sick on Monday, and by Wednesday afternoon I had thrown in the towel. This cold, or whatever it is, has hit me hard. I won’t get into all my ailments, old lady style, but trust me when I say that they are numerous.

    The only times that I have ever called in sick to work are when I had gastroenteritis and ended up in the ER, and when I had my miscarriage. But since I’m not allowed to take hardly any medication at the moment I haven’t been able to stay on top of this one. (Plus, since nearly all of my patients are immunocompromised and our routine discharge instructions involve telling them to stay away from sick people, being at work like this would kind of make me feel like a hypocrite.)

    The end result is that I’ve been home for the past two days and I don’t think I’ve taken off my robe for 48 hours straight. Here’s what’s been helping me survive in the absence of Mucinex or Sudafed.

    1. Halls Breezers, cool berry flavor. These are my favorite cough drops. They taste like candy, not like medicine at all! And of course, are completely soothing.

    2. Water. Lots and lots of it.

    3. Chicken bouillon. Nothing better than a warm cup of broth when you’re sick. I’ve probably had about 32 ounces of it in the past two days.

    4. Humidifier. This is a lifesaver for nighttime. Since I can’t breathe out of my nose very well, it helps me not to wake up with cracked lips and eases my raging sore throat.

    5. Tylenol and Benadryl. These are the only two medicines that I’ve taken, and they help somewhat, although the Benadryl makes me sleep so I only take it at night.

    6. HGTV and Netflix streaming. There are so many things I would have loved to do these past two days, starting with the dishes, but I have barely had the energy to feed myself and I’m pretty proud of the fact that I showered. Instead, I’ve been watching nonstop HGTV interspersed with episodes of Veronica Mars on Netflix instant streaming and, of course, naps.

    7. A super sweet husband. He’s babied me, brought me food and water and supplies, taken care of the dogs, forced me to rest, and given me two of the sweetest cards. See one for yourself:

    The fact that I’m writing this I think means that I’m over the worst of it, and I hope I didn’t just jinx myself by saying that. What are your sickness survival techniques?

  • how to have a productive day at home

    Due to my work schedule, I have many days off during the week where I am home alone. What happened for a long time on those days is that I would write myself a lengthy to-do list and then only accomplish a tiny portion of it because of one distraction or another. Afterward I felt like I completely wasted my day. Over time I’ve developed a system for actually being productive. If you have a conventional work schedule this could also apply to a weekend day. If you have kids at home I’ve got no advice for you, but this is what has worked for me during this stage of life.

    how to have a productive day at home

    1. Get a good night’s sleep.

    This is probably the most important point. For a long time I found myself staying up way too late the night before a day off because I knew I didn’t have to go to work the next day. What I always forgot about is that my body doesn’t like those changes in routine, and I would wake up late feeling groggy. Getting your rest is a must.

    2. Go through your morning routine.

    I don’t know what this means for you, but for me it means GET DRESSED ALREADY. I find that if I put on real clothes I can get a lot more done than if I stay in my pajamas. It’s a mental thing, but it works. It’s also important for me to eat breakfast and do a little Bible study before I begin the day.

    3. Drink some coffee.

    I don’t know about you, but coffee works on me. My body is sensitive to caffeine, so coffee gives me energy and wakes me up.

    how to have a productive day at home 2

    4. Get comfortable.

    If I’m too cold, all I want to do is curl up in bed and read. If I’m too hot–which I can’t remember ever happening, but hypothetically speaking–I’ll feel lethargic. Wear clothes that are easy to move around in and won’t bother you.

    5. Schedule your day.

    Treat your day like you would a day of work or school. Schedule out your time–realistically–so you won’t find yourself lost somewhere in cyber space hours after you should have been cleaning or running errands. One of my days off recently looked like this:

    7:30 – wake up, get ready
    8:00 – breakfast, Bible study
    9:00 – computer time (blog, check finances, social media, etc.)
    11:00 – clean, lunch
    1:30 – grocery store
    3:00 – swim
    4:00 – shower, dress
    5:00 – walk Cleo
    6:00 – church

    That day I accomplished everything I wanted to, and when it was time for bed I felt satisfied and ready.

    What about you? Given all the distractions at home, how do you stay productive when you need to be?

    ***

    [photos via: 1, 2, 3, 4]

  • Tips On Getting A Job

    Since I am going to be graduating in May (praise God), I will have to start looking for jobs sometime next semester. At school yesterday there was a speaker who gave us information on writing a resume, interviewing, and negotiating. Some of it I had heard before, but some of it was very interesting. So interesting that I took notes. And I am going to share those notes with you, because I think others may benefit from this information.

    Resume

    >Put it on Crane’s pearl white stationary. “It will be like a golden beam of light radiating from your resume.”

    >Instead of an “Objective,” write a “Professional Profile.” Ex: “A highly committed professional nurse who is interested in working in the operating room.” (I wrote that one off the top of my head just now, so don’t judge it. You get the idea though.)

    >Most people hold papers with their thumb about a third of the way down from the top. Statistics show that the thumb becomes a magnet for the eyes. So this is the area that you should put the most important information, such as work experience or, if you’re a new grad, education.

    Interview

    >When you are called by HR and are offered an interview:
    -Say: “Great! What is your time frame for the interview process?” The first person interviewed is the least likely to get the job. Try to be in the second half of the process.
    -Ask: “Would you mind sending me a job description?” Most will in order to prove that they have them. This way you will know about the job and be more prepared for the interview.
    -Ask what the appropriate dress is. Most will say business casual, but you never know.

    >Build rapport. One way to do this is to monitor the interviewer’s breathing patterns and to match yours to theirs. This puts you on the same wavelength. I know it sounds wacky, but hey, why not? I just don’t recommend monitoring breathing patterns by staring at the person’s chest.

    >Be prepared for behavioral questions. In other words, have success stories for each part of the job description.

    >Dress appropriately.

    >Be on time.

    >Turn off your cell phone or pager.

    Negotiations

    >First you have to get an offer. Then say: “Thank you! I am very interested, but I made a commitment to myself to review every offer. May I get back with you in four days?” Four days is probably the longest they will wait. Also, say the day of the week, don’t say “in four days.”

    >Call the other places you’ve interviewed and say: “You are my first choice, but I have an offer with another company. I’d really rather work for you though.” This way you can find out if they were planning to make you an offer.

    >After you have 2-3 offers, call back the place you are most interested in a day before you said you’d call. Say: “How much negotiating room do you have?” Make sure to phrase it like that instead of, “Is there room to negotiate?” because they answer will probably be no.

    >You can say something like, “The offer was for $XX,XXX, but I was hoping for closer to $XX,XXX.”

    >The goal is to increase the offer without losing it.

    Interesting, right? Some of this stuff I would have never thought about. Hopefully I will actually be at a place where I have room to negotiate between a few different offers. Of course, most of you probably already have jobs and are all grown up already, but for those of us who took the long way around, it’s good to know now!