A Working Girl or a Superwoman?

'Brunch and shopping? I'm free...oh! I'm not...'
Okay I'd like to think that I am still free for brunch and shopping, but if you read the previous post, it's clear that things have changed.

So, here is a day in the life of...me, March 2013.

I wake up early.
I hear my alarm 30 minutes after it went off at 7, hop out of bed and get ready.
After freshening up, the first thing I is to update my Tumblr  getting some fresh air outdoors and hear birds sing.
Then I have my breakfast quietly, because I still feel sleepy after 8 hours of sleep enjoying the morning calm after a quick shower.
I wanna crawl back on my bed. I'm ready for a brand new, exciting day.

It's 7:45a.m. I get back to my room, open my closet, thinking that I should have picked my outfit the night before knowing exactly what I want to wear.
I spend a minimum of  less than 15 mins thinking of an outfit  dressing up.
As much as I want to wear a maxi dress,  I put on a simple and chic outfit for work, comprise of the first pieces of clothing I see when I open my closet.
I put my hair up in a loose bun or a pony tail, as I have over 50% of chance that I have a bad hair day.
And of course, makeup to cover my dark circles, even though it doesn't seem to work very well.

It's 8a.m. and I leave my place, hop on to the minibus and then the insanely crowded  MTR which drives me crazy.
I get there at 8:30a.m., half an hour earlier than my office hours.
I like my office, it's right above the MTR, so convenient.
Once I'm back in my office, I start making tea  working right away.

It’s 9:00 and a colleague brings me all the newspapers I need.
An email alert pops up to remind me that I have a meeting in 45 mins..
Oh my! I totally forgot about that!  Great! I am totally ready.
In less than 20 mins, I use the speed of light to read through everything do a re-cap with the documents I already prepared.

Then I start getting myself ready and go to the conference room with a blank mind.
I always dash to the conference room when I see my boss coming out from his room  get there early.

After the meeting, I have to re-schedule my priorities of tasks which means I can never finish the newspapers that are piling up on my desk.
I am super productive so I can always finish my morning tasks before lunch, 1 p.m.

Usually at around 12:45, I start counting down for lunch.
Time for lunch!
As soon as I leave the elevator, I see many others rushing for lunch-- damn! Could I still get a seat in the restaurant?! And I have to wait for my food for god knows how long! What a vibrant and lively city!
Since I'm a boring person To simplify my life, I usually go to the same place.
I have quite a healthy diet now.
I still have half of my lunch break left, so I rest and relax in my office and really enjoy some private time.

After lunch, half the stack of newspapers is still on my desk, unfortunately.
While I read the newspapers, my fingers are stained with ink, I wash my hands frequently, so frequent that I'm afraid I'll have obsessive-compulsive disorder.
After the clippings and analysis, I clear them out as I like to keep my office as organized as possible because I am trying very hard to not to be as messy as I naturally am.

Around 4pm, I start stressing myself out because I just realize that I still have some un-finished tasks finish everything and have a break.
If I run out of things to do which rarely happens, I start writing up or even clearing the next day's to-do list, I wish.

At 5: 30, everyone is still working and I start thinking if I stay for another 5 mins  packing up and leave.
I don't know why they always stay behind till late---I am always leaving pretty on time.
I have a life, and even if I love what I do, I need to keep everything in balance.
That said, I turn off the lights of my office, say goodbye to everyone and leave my office with exhaustion a smile.

Dear readers,
Not all the crossed-out parts is what the 'real me' do or think, and of course I can't have my energy up for all day long either.
I'm sure my daily work routine is like a zillion others', but I want to point out one thing:
Attitude changes everything. It really does matter and makes a whole lot of difference.

Having a positive mind means you are more efficient and productive, you do your work better and enjoy it more and you get along with people better--isn't it all we want from work?
So, don't forget to smile and keep your head up!
Remind yourself to discover something new each day and never stop learning!
I do enjoy working my ass off--I believe in the value of hard work and actually EARNING something with effort.

Whether you are a worker ant or a superman (or superwoman), it's yours to choose.
I hope this post gives you a bit of power and support.
Love life. :)

Love,
N