Who is my client?

When I worked as a waitress, it was easy to know who my client was... it was the patrons.  I lived off tips, so if they were happy, they tipped better, and I made more money.  Certainly, when I owned my own company, customers were my clients.

When I started working in offices, it became much harder to know who my client was.  A few of my first temp jobs were for sales companies.  We all worked to help the salesmen make more sales.  The clients were our customers.  Pleasing them was our main goal. So, that too was pretty easy.  

As I worked for different industries and got further into my admin career, the question of who my client was became harder to understand.  Usually, it was my boss/manager - the one that approved my pay increases and promotions.  Yet, this seemed harder and harder to decipher as my role became office manager / assistant / chief of staff / girl Friday.   Suddenly, I had a lot of bosses and no true "client".  

As I was cross-training to replace a lady who was retiring, she informed me that everyone in the office was my client. If they were all successful in their various roles, then I was successful, and the company was more successful.  It all trickled up and down.  She taught me how to look at them all equally, and prioritize based not only on title, but on necessity and urgency.  It was okay to tell your boss you needed to push their work to another day, if a co-worker's request was more urgent or would affect a greater number of people.   These concepts were very eye opening for me.

Now, I look at everyone as my client. My boss, her boss, their assistants, their project managers, the people in facilities that help keep us all safe and sound, along with all the other people that reach out to me each day.  I do my very best to treat them all as my most important customer - for when the prosper, I can feel good knowing I helped them a little bit along the way.

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The Four Agreements - Showering

A friend of mine gave me the book, "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. I am finding it surprisingly fascinating and life changing.

First, let me share that I am not a good reader and I read slowly. I tend to get sleepy when I read an actual book. I love the concept of reading and the escape a book can provide. I enjoy audiobooks and go through them like crazy.

Second, I am not a consumer of "self-help" style books. Since I use books as an escape and I read slowly - I find that when I pick a book, I want it to take me away and not make me look inward. So, for me to pick up a paper back, self-help book was challenging.  I trusted my friend's advice, so I opened the book and began reading.

There are some fascinating concepts in this book. I will need to read it again, to fully digest all the information.

One part hit me at the right time and in the right frame of mind and has already changed things in my life. It is a little weird, but I thought I would share.

I was not a fan of showers. My hair dries slowly, and my skin is dry, so showering means planning.  I can't just take a quick shower and throw on clothes and go out. I need time to put on lotion and let it dry/sink into my skin. I need time to dry my hair. Showering is not a 3-minute process. I find that showering at night is best. But then I go out with friends/family and come home tired. The last thing I want to do is the routine of showering.

Then, I read this paragraph...

Doing your best is a great habit to have. I do my best in everything I do and feel. Doing my best has become a ritual in my life because I made the choice to make it a ritual. It's a belief like any other belief that I choose. I make everything a ritual, and I always do my best. Taking a shower is a ritual for me, and with that action I tell my body how much I love it. I feel and enjoy the water on my body. I do my best to fulfill the needs of my body. I do my best to give to my body and to receive what my body gives to me.

I had never thought about a shower being a way to tell my body I loved it. Showering as just a chore that I needed to check off my to-do list.  Now, I step into the shower with happiness. I realize that my body deserves this ritual. As I find more and more joy in showering, I am working to use this same thought process for my other "chores" such as brushing/flossing my teeth, cleaning my nails, shaving, etc.  

Embracing these routines as a way to show myself love is truly changing my daily life.

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Lesson Learned - Breakfast Casserole

Many years ago, a co-worker would bring in his delicious egg casserole for special occasions.  He lived close enough that it would still be warm when he arrived.  It was such a fantastic treat.  He would put in eggs, mushrooms, sour creme, sausage, cheese and sometimes some other ingredients for us.   

When I wanted to try and cut out carbs/fat (and stop eating pop-tarts for breakfast) ... he recommended that I make a smaller version of his casserole.  He informed me that I could cut it into squares and then heat up a square every morning for breakfast.  

Fast forward to now.  I still make a breakfast casserole.  I bake it in a square glass dish.  I cut it into blocks.  I slide those blocks into slices each and put them into a Tupperware container that works perfectly.  Each morning I pull out some slices and microwave them in a smaller Tupperware container.  It works well and I get a nice hot breakfast each morning, without a whole lot of fuss.   

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What you hear is not what I hear

Many of us played the game "telephone" as a kid (or as a communication exercise at work).  Telephone is where you tell someone a statement, and everyone has to pass it along to another person.  The last person in the chain has to share what they heard.  The beginning statement and the ending statement are never the same. We each hear things different and then put our spin on it when we pass it along.  

Some classes I have taken over the years have also shown me how my life experiences change the way I process things each and every day.  I put my spin on what I see and what I do, based on what I have seen and done in the past.

The other day I was watching a film called "Flipped".  It is a romcom based on two grade school kids and how they view their relationship.  It was really interesting the way they showed how each person's view of the exact same event.  

This movie reminded me how important it is to remember (every day) that:

• The way people share information with me depends on how they interpreted the original information.  
• The way I hear or process information, is based on my past experiences. 
• If I share the information, the people I share it with will bring their biases and perspectives to what I share.
• You never know the way people's pasts are affecting the way they are responding to you.  
• If you see someone acting "out of character" in a certain situation, remember that something in their past might be causing the issue; or, something in your past may be affecting the way you are reading the situation.  

No matter what, if you feel that someone might not understand what you are saying or why you are acting the way you are acting, discuss it with them.  Ensure what you are explaining is really what they are hearing and understanding. Be aware that the way you think you are acting might be seen differently by everyone around you.

In all things, give each other grace.  Everyone's past is different, and we all have different biases and beliefs that we bring to everything we hear, say and do.

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Lessons Learned - Dinner Prep

A few years ago my sister shared a secret with me about dinner prep.  Since you all enjoyed my tip on butter patties, I thought I would share a tip on hamburger for dinner prep.

I usually bought four pounds of hamburger at a time.  I would divide it into single pounds, wrap each in tinfoil and freeze them.  When we were making something with hamburger, I would need to remember to thaw out the burger and then either make patties or fry it for something like tacos or pizza.  

One weekend, I had my sister and her husband over for pizza. I was frying the ground beef when they arrived.  She asked why I didn't just fry up a few pounds at a time, and then freeze the frozen pounds in freezer bags.   

Wow!  

Sort of like the butter suggestion... I was stunned I had never thought of it.

Now, I take the four pounds and fry up three pounds - or even all of it.  I split the fried hamburger up and freeze each individually. I have a large frying pan with deep sides, which allows me to do this all at one time. It makes it so easy at dinner time.  If we decide to make tacos, I defrost the fried beef and quickly make tacos.   

It really is a true time saver and makes throwing together that meal after a long day at work, much easier.  Thanks sis!

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