Friday, November 5, 2010

Time for some changes

I had my heart set on going home, and now I am not. However, I've been offered a great opportunity, so I have to try to focus on the good. I'm getting jobs that thousands of other ESLers would love to have a shot at. Yes, some of it is because of my visa status, but I have spent the last few years slaving away on writing and editing contracts that don't pay very much. Finally, my hard work has paid off and I have the chance to work with a more prestigious company. That is good.

Problem is, my morale is down. I've been looking forward to a change of scenery, lifestyle, career...everything. So instead of moping about it, I'm going to have to suck it up and start appreciating what I have right now: a fantastic job, a beautiful family, and life in a dynamic country like Korea (it's not always "good" dynamic, but it certainly is dynamic). I need to get my morale up in order to stay on top of the demanding workload I have ahead of me for the next two months.

Working from home is not as great as it sounds. You get lazy, you get distracted, and then you get down because you got lazy and distracted. Then you stay up really late doing the work you should have done during the day. I consider myself a fairly self-disciplined person, but over the last few years, my productivity has gone way down. I'm going to have to fix that, pronto. In reality, although the workload is great, I should be able to get my work done during the day so that I can recover in the evening.

My plan is to make a very detailed work schedule with many tiny deadlines. I also plan to buy a laptop computer so I can do work outside the home (thank goodness for the 10% pay advance on contract signing!). My ultimate goal is to do my work Monday to Friday, during the day, leaving my evenings and weekends free for relaxation and early bedtimes. I would also like to take a weekend trip out of town with Grace to see a friend. Think I can pull all this off? Stay tuned...

4 comments:

Chris in South Korea said...

Congrats on getting the job - but if you're able to work from home, what's stopping you from moving back to Canada? Sorry if it's a bit too personal a question, but does this new gig require in-person meetings, hoesik, etc.?

Sarah said...

I could probably do it in Canada, but the thing is, Grace is in a daycare she really likes here, which means I can work on this during the day. If I were to go to Canada, I would have to care for her during the day and write at night, which would be exhausting, not to mention jetlag, readjusting, etc etc. Best to get it done before I go....
Luckily, no hoesiks required ^^

Becky said...

I think a big concern of yours is Sejin's hours. Man, that guy works a lot. Is there anyway he could find a different place to work?

Sarah said...

Yes, his hours are a source of stress for us. Getting home at 11:30pm every night is not natural, and puts a lot of burden on me every night (except Sundays) to do meals, baths, and bedtime. I end up staying up too late waiting for him, and we start the next day already tired. >_<