Anyone who knows me, understands that I have major issues with time. If I’m not exactly 20 minutes early or have turned in necessary documents without at least two weeks notice, I go crazy. I am just so afraid of being late for anything or not doing things exactly right. This week I decided to challenge my issues with time.
October 10: Asked for recommendation on Linkedin within a few days. Business professionals and experts like to stress the importance of testimonials and recommendations from clients, but I’m also afraid of being too intrusive or appearing to be without humility. I took a chance and asked the owner of the restaurant I spoke at to write a recommendation for me on LinkedIn after she praised me for my performance. It was extremely intimidating to ask. I got very nervous when I didn’t get a response from her after asking the question, but after a few days went by a recommendation appeared in my inbox. Even though it worked in my favor, I’m still nervous about asking for others in the future.
October 11: Drafted email to barter charity for loan payoff. I decided to give away free marketing content to non-profits serving NJ. In order to drum up some more applicants, I sent out messages to my connections on LinkedIn. Since I was sending out group messages, I was nervous about coming off as spam to the recipients. While I didn’t get many responses from the messages, I also wasn’t reported for spamming by anyone. A few people did respond with suggestions and gave me kudos for my philanthropic endeavors. Even though I didn’t get the response I was hoping for, I’m happy I wasn’t label as spam. Fear averted!
October 12: Did absolutely nothing. I am addicted to being productive. If I’m not doing something on my daily to-do list, I’m afraid the world will blow up. Despite having a long, long list of things to get done, I ignored it and did nothing but watch TV. It was hard . I was afraid what the consequences of ignoring my responsibilities would be. However, much to my surprise my home didn’t fall down, the car didn’t blow up, and life went on normally after my day of rest. I was overwhelmed the next day, but at least I know it’s possible for me to take a break without losing control of everything. Fear Averted!
October 13: Drank wine while out with friends at Triumph Brewery on Sunday Night. I’ve never been one for drinking alcohol much or staying out late on a weeknight, but that’s exactly what I did. Being the tiny person I am, I was afraid that even half a glass of wine would make me drunk. And I certainly didn’t want to be hungover on Monday morning. I’m happy to report, I drank half my wine, stayed out past eleven on Sunday and didn’t get drunk. On top of that, I had no problem waking up for work in the morning.Fear Averted!
October 14: Left late for my dance class. I’ve been taking a dance class that is about 30 to 45 minutes away from my home. It starts at 7:00 but I always need to leave by 5:50 because I’m always afraid of being late. I usually arrive around 6:30 or 6:45. If I’m not early for class, I get very frazzled. Today, I didn’t leave until 6:00 even though I had to buy gas and purchase my brother’s birthday present. I didn’t get to the dance studio until exactly 7:00. Even though I was still the first one there and wasn’t late, I felt like I didn’t have enough time to compose myself. Even though it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, I think I will continue leaving early for my dance class.
October 15: Arrived at a friend’s house late. Though not intentional, my husband and I were late to our friend’s home tonight. My husband was stuck in traffic on his way home so we couldn’t leave on time as planned. Because I am anal about being on time I contemplated leaving without him and just having my husband meet me at our friend’s house. But instead, I waited for him and called our friends to let them know we were running late. As far as I know, they weren’t terribly upset about it. Even though the fear was averted, I think next time I might just leave without my husband!
October 16: Requested a press trip with little notice. I have to write a story about a U.S. city. In order to write it, I need to visit the city so I will be able to experience the locations I’ll be suggesting in the article. Unfortunately, my story is due in less than a month and the press department for the particular city requires atleast month’s notice for complimentary press trips. At first, I was afraid I’d be rejected and figured I’d skip the request and try to pay for the trip myself. But then I later decided that the worst they could say is no and applied for the press trip anyway. I’m still afraid of being rejected, but I’m hoping it won’t be that bad.
Scariest thing of the week? Doing absolutely nothing. Not being productive is so terrifying to me!
