intense start to 2017

the year started with me embarking on a new career.

and it had been 2 superbly intense weeks! last week (my first week) was a short week but i was busy throughout almost the whole week trying to get to know my team, my boss, people around me, setting up my stuff, the work, the culture, the company... it didn't help that my "buddy" was next to non-existent as she had her numerous pre-occupations with her own work. i ended up having to navigate the system myself, which was another challenge by itself. as expected, not all processes were as watertight or ideal as one might have wanted (as in all companies i had experienced) and i ended up having to contend with issues like - no information to aid me as i navigate the new company, internal processes that couldn't be completed as my personal data had not been keyed into the system, etc. for a while, i wondered if this was deliberate so as to force newbies to navigate the system myself as part of my induction! but i thought the week ended relatively ok.

this week was jam packed with many meetings. i had to work till pass 8.30pm almost everyday! it was indeed a case of making decisions, and learning at the same time. you see, it is budgeting period and everyone had been busy discussing and charting out plans for next year (that starts in apr). and to get a realistic plan worked out, everyone was in a flurry to review what had been done, what else needed to be done, etc. and to ensure organisational alignment, there were quite a few cross-department meetings to co-ordinate the different tasks. in addition, to get a sense of the scope of new projects, there was a lot of meetings with vendors, other stakeholders, etc. on one particular day, i had 6 meetings back-to-back! so... yup, intense is probably an understatement. the flip side to all these was that i really didn't have much time to get to know my subordinates, peers and my key stakeholders.

well, i am beginning to feel the pressure but i guess getting to know people will take time. after all, i am only into the second week with the company. most importantly, i was happy doing it. despite the intensity, things were focused. everyone else was equally busy and all had the same desire to work towards one common goal. added to that, because the office is located in town, i had to change my daily routines. as of today, i acknowledge that i have not gotten used to this routine. it is wrecking havoc for me. i have yet to find a balance between exercising and work. will need some time to experiment with different routines and to slowly get use to one that i am comfortable with. 

let's hope things continue well for me.

:-)