Tuesday 20 November 2012

The One Currency that We Spend

This is one of my philosophical days…. It is difficult to find time to think my own thoughts nowadays.  My work teammate L asked how I did it all, a full time job with telecons at out of office hours, managing a household with 2 children (yes I have a domestic live in helper like most Singaporeans do, but having full time live in help is like managing staff.  and in some ways, more important than at work, as she is with helping me to grow Medium Boy and Small Boy into responsible men) and wow now I blog too.
I told her - a bit flippantly, I must admit – that I sleep very little and eat very fast.
Time is in short supply right now.  Once spent, time is the one currency that cannot be earned, saved or invested.... it has just flown off.  I aim to fill each minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run (adapted from Kipling's "If").

Before children, I have the luxury of 9 hours of continuous sleep at night on weeknights, with an hour or 2 spent napping on Saturdays and Sundays.  The Husband used to shake his head and say I am sleeping my life away.  After Medium Boy’s birth, my sleep was broken up into silvers.  I learnt that one can survive on 4-5 hours of sleep during a 24 hour period.  Survive, not thrive.  Now I sleep 6-7 hours and they are not often continuous, although these 6-7 hours are all at night now that the boys are older.

When deciding to go for a lateral move at work, one of my considerations was how much time I would need to spend at work, such that I have brain space for the Husband and the boys.  I put aside the chance of a promotion to concentrate on my family.  Some part of me (the exam smart, achievement-oriented, type A remnants of me) thinks it is a stupid move.  I felt especially stupid after the HR email was distributed, stating that there is a staff shortage at the level I would have been promoted to, and line supervisors – of course! – prefer to recruit someone into their team from the internal pool. 
An external candidate needs to learn quickly in 3 areas: the Company, the Business Unit or Function, then the Job one is recruited to do.  Internal candidates shortcut the learning curve because we already know the Company and sometimes the Business Unit or Function.

4 comments:

  1. I love my sleep too and used to lament over the lack of good sleep. Now that the kids are older, I can sleep as much as I want. Your turn will come too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just told my mum yesterday that I really wish for the boys to grow up soon and I can get some decent rest.... Yes I hope my turn comes soon...

      Delete
  2. Sometimes... getting promoted gives you MORE time with kids. Are you certain the promotion would have taken more time from you?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Any job move means a learning curve. The position that I was eyeing at the next level... On top of learning a new business, I will have to manage staff plus spend at least 45 minutes more each way on the morning and evening commute. Not absolutely sure is my answer, Petunia. The die is cast now and I have accepted the lateral move. Even if I reject now, I end up burning a bridge. Hence better not to dwell on the what-ifs

      Delete