A job from nine to five… thats a kind of job I’ll never be able to have. Not because I couldn’t apply a job like that, but simply because those kinds of jobs are not for me. Routine is a thing that can be enjoyed for a little while, but over an extended period becomes boring.
I need to change tasks from time to time, and if changing tasks is not a possibility… the need to, at least change working schedule, is seen as a must have. At work, where the ongoing task is estimated to continue for at least two and a half months, my work is weekly divided and (almost randomly) distributed.
Of course, there some constraints to this schedule, such as the need to pick up my daughter at school. But, the feeling of being one of the privileged with a non-nine-to-five job is very good. Of course, that freedom comes at a price… but that will be the subject of another post(s).
Walking is one of my favorite things… just stroll around with the family gives me great pleasure. Unfortunately, time doesn’t allows such pleasure during the week, and the weather hasn’t helped in the last few weekends, my strolls have been delayed until further notice. I’m hoping next weekend to visit one the Seven Wonders of Portugal (Castelo de Óbidos is one of the next locations to visit).
Along with the family, the other companion for these strolls is the camera. Here’s one example…
Not a lot of hobbies become a habit to me. Most of my hobbies were mere infatuations for a given novelty. These infatuations have a wide scope, ranging from my stamps and marbles collections (currently stored in some box somewhere in the attic) to the several birds and fishes under my care along the years.
The change is a think that excites me, and so, the idea of creating a blog was an thought that didn’t connect as a hobbie. But…
There’s always a but, isn’t there?
But Introspection is becoming one of my favourite hobbies. It didn’t took as a habit yet, but it has very good prospects for the future, specially being so closely connected with my other hobby (or is it a habit?) which is computers and all related stuff.
It doesn’t matter how much hits or visitors read my texts, it’s all about the joy of having somewhere to put down my ideas. Several times a day my thoughts wonder to this or that subject and the way they should developed into the form of a post. Certainly, new material will never become a problem.
The answer to the question “Is this glass half full or half empty?” is very subjective, and has the implication of revealing an optimist or a pessimist according to the way each person answers. I consider myself a “half empty kind of guy”… a pessimist by nature. If you knew me, you could argue that that isn’t true, but that’s how I see myself.
In spite of that, when planning a long term period, the optimism takes over and all tasks get scheduled in a unrealistic time frame. The exercise of creating a long plan (such a project or an activity to come) is very hard to master, and realistic schedules is always something that is difficult to assess. In general, when the task starts and during a certain period every thing goes well, but then the pessimist in me kicks in… and it becomes very difficult to shake the pessimistic feelings.
These feelings tend to grow until a certain point, which is normally a very specific time marked by a specific event, and then everything starts from the beginning.
After some web surfing, some googling and of one of Dr. House’s latest episode, the bipolar disorder became an interesting concept to me. A person affected by this disorder can present emotional changes ranging from depression to mania, this way going from half full to half empty and back in no time. Of course I’m not suggesting that such a disorder can be applied to me, but maybe some of my friends can use this argument to explain some of my mood changes.
The lack of sunshine makes people seem more gloomy. Today our city woke under a thick dark cloud!
Expectation can be defined in several ways. According to the wikipedia, expectation is “a belief that is centred on the future”; or following the dictionary.com, expectation is “the act or state of looking forward or anticipating” or “an expectant mental attitude”. Personal expectations refer to the way each personality looks forward into the future. It can be in terms of health, family or career.
This post is about managing expectation in terms of a professional career. When someone plans for the short or long-term future, he is creating some kind of expectations. The kind of expectations is closely connected with the current job. Whether your are being asked to or asking someone to do something, influences the way you create expectation on the final product.
To avoid ambiguity about expected results, each work plan detail and expected outcome should be thoroughly discussed and agreed upon. Even when an agreement is reached, the expectation levels must be monitored to avoid disappointment.
In a society (as happens to be the case when inside a company), the attention to the level of expectation in the people around you is very important. Expectation management is necessary to create a stable equilibrium between expectation and results, and is essentially a periodic monitoring process.
Almost everyone has expectations, personal expectations. It is natural that each person should rise or lower their expectation according their state-of-mind (I know I do!). The way to create a stable level of expectation is to offer an adequate level of compensation in demand of the corresponding workload.
At the moment, my state of mind is making me feel that I’m not receiving as must as I’m being asked for. Let’s hope this changes quickly.
I’m far from considering myself a photographer… I can’t even call myself an amateur, just a fan of the art. Here’s one of my favorites:
Ξ February 16th, 2008 | → Comments Off |
∇ Friends, Introspection | ∇ PhD |
This is the first post (of many I hope)…
Yesterday, I was talking with a good friend who asked me: … are you thinking about starting a PhD course because you want to, or just because you need an hobbie?
For a couple of months now, I wonder what is (or should be) my true motivation to start a PhD course. This friend also suggested that some kind of personal project would make me think things through and help me decide what to do in a near future.
And this is how this blog was born… as a personal project, of someone who is (still) thinking about starting a PhD.
Best of luck (hoping!…)
