Daily Prompt: The Heat is On

Do you thrive under pressure or crumble at the thought of it? Does your best stuff surface as the deadline approaches or do you need to iterate, day after day to achieve something you’re proud of? Tell us how you work best.

Photographers, artists, poets: show us PRESSURE.

Black swatch

This is actually Mr. Swiss Swatch, I have the same in other colours with a transparent case. He said I can wear it, as he prefers his other watch. He is Swiss and they invented watches, so who am I to dispute his decision. I quite like this watch, although the hands are in dark blue and sometimes not so clear.

What’s pressure, something like stress? No, I just deal with it. I worked for thirty years as an export clerk and export seemed to be the inventor of pressure, although I never really realised it. It was just a way of life. I was never an organised person, more the chaotic. I just took things as they came. I often noticed when I did take a problem home with me in the evening, the next morning everything seemed different, so eventually I thought why bother. We had a few stress lovers in the office. I think without the pressure and the worry they felt that something was missing. I even got some criticism because I was not running around like a headless chicken and pulling my hair out.

I had a job to do and did it. My experience showed me that even if something did not result as it should, the world did not fall apart and I still had my job the next day. Over the years systems changed and everything seemed to become “just in time”. The customer orders in the morning, you despatch the goods on the same day and he expects them in the factory the following morning, bearing in mind that he was not sitting in your country. Perhaps his order was flown or taken by truck, but the goods had to be delivered the next day. I had visions of machines standing still all over the world because the goods had not yet arrived. I just took it in my stride, until the day when I arrived home from work and said “tomorrow I am not going. I can no longer deal with this rat race.” There was astonishment all round “she always has everything under control”, but I discovered that every person has their breaking point and mine had arrived.

I visited the doctor and she wrote me free from work. I believe it was about three months. Afterwards I returned but was at the beginning only working 50%. Funny thing was that within a week the “just in time” system was altered. Helping hands were engaged along the line, making the work less stressful, less pressure. I just felt that I should have reacted sooner.

Anyhow I survived, The next development was the general economic situation. Companies all over Europe, the world, had failing orders and had to begin to minimise their big ideas: as I was then only two years away from retirement, I was invited told that my working days would be shortened, and that my retirement would be two years earlier. In a way I was not prepared, did not want this. On the other hand I was treated with consideration from the company. Eventually I left and it seems that a week later there was someone younger at my desk. Was I annoyed, was I hurt? Yes, but I survived. I still had two years to consider the situation after leaving the company before I was officially retired and planned the two years carefully. Reflecting on the situation today, I realise this was the best thing that could have happened. Mr. Swiss was already retired, being a couple of years ahead of me, and I could at last practice for my golden oldie life.

The stress became another sort of stress. Being woman I decided my new company was home, I was the boss and I could at last do the things I had wanted to do over the past thirty years, but never had the time. I am not house-proud, but just do things that need doing. I have become quite a logistic expert in housekeeping. I even have a little time table (oh shock), but not that it has to be kept. I just realised that when I do things regularly, it cuts the work time down, and I can adapt.

Today I had to adapt as the States has daylight saving time. In Europe we still live in the dark hours and have not yet saved anything. This means my challenge arrives an hour earlier and everyone in the States has an extra hour of daylight to write their prize winning blogs. This does not stress me, I still write when it suits me, although I spend more time reading all the entries. It arrives during my golden oldie sleep after lunch so no problem, this is just part of my own golden oldie life.

Daily Prompt: The Heat Is On

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17 thoughts on “Daily Prompt: The Heat is On”

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In my final job, I was laid off because I couldn’t write fast (or badly) enough … and was replaced by my boss’s just-out-of-college son who had never written anything in his life, but needed a job. Funny about that. I was obsolete. I only knew how to do my best. They didn’t want my best. They wanted fast and a lot. Most of my friends were were declared obsolete and replaced by younger (cheaper), less competent people. That’s the way the world goes round.

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angloswiss

10/03/2014 at 18:58

Tell me about it. I could write a complete book on that subject. My company laid off a lot of people when times got harder. I was one of the lucky ones, being thirty years in the company. Eventually I noticed they were taking out the people with bigger wages and employing cheaper choices. That seems to be the way it is today.

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It’s good to be able to be stress free.

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I have either worked on my own or for small privately owned businesses. The corporate scene is not for me – no appreciation.

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angloswiss

11/03/2014 at 09:04

I couldn’t be choosy in Switzerland. I was trained for office work and my written German was not so good. I found my corner in the export world, where all languages were needed and no-one bothered about the right way to write as long as it was understood, it was more telephone and e-mail traffic. It was only in the bigger companies that had reps all over the world. I really enjoyed my job and had fun communicating with customers in different countries.

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“Today I had to adapt as the States has daylight saving time. In Europe we still live in the dark hours and have not yet saved anything. ”

Oh Pat, how you make me chuckle and smile.

Being Canadian and following suit of the US (living in Eastern standard – now Daylight Savings) I too wonder what we have actually “saved” – because it takes quite some time for me to adjust and adapt. Still, as you’ve mentioned in your wonderful post – adapt and go with it – and things work out, in their own way, space and – well – time. 🙂

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angloswiss

11/03/2014 at 21:08

And i never have the same time as my family and friends in England. They are always an hour behind. When we save they save as well.

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- Pat(ricia)
  
  11/03/2014 at 21:40
  
  It’s always the case – or seems to be – somewhere in some way, we all seem to be slightly “out of sync” – lol – how whacky is this?! Keeps the mind working though 😉
  
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