Busy as a Bee But Nevertheless Happy!

This holiday season is my favorite time of the year. It has always been the busiest and the most stressful but never has that dampened the holiday cheers!

Busiest and most stressful - because of the parties, gatherings, and reunions we have to prepare for. And since I never really had time to shop ahead of time (due to my work), shopping is done in between events such as:

December 17th - Office Christmas party: A Blockbuster Christas Party in Amber Ultralounge at the Fort

December 18th - kiddo’s birthday (will write a separate post about it)

December 19th - reunion with high school friends

December 20th - our mother company’s Group HR Christmas party

Of course, week after that is Christmas and after that is New Year’s Day.

The most hectic time of the year it is! For this reason, I haven’t had time to sit down and write. Nevertheless, it has always been and always will be my favorite time of the year for it is the best time to share the blessings and reunite with friends and family to celebrate the love of our savior.

I hope everyone had a merry and blessed Christmas! Wishing for all of us to have a happy 2011!

The Sweetest Thing

This is a repost from my old blog, posted November 2009.

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As I was working yesterday, Kiddo was in the other corner of the room playing by the Christmas tree. Yes, the Christmas tree is already up. FYI, we Filipinos have the longest Christmas celebration ever. We start celebrating it as soon as the Ber months (September, October…etc) start. But that’s not what this post is all about…. Going back to my story, Kiddo suddenly came up to me with his hands behind his back. Smiling, he reached out his hands to me revealing the 3 red poinsettia flowers from the tree and said “I love you, Mommy!”

It was very cute and sweet! In response, I hugged him tightly for a little while. I was so touched, I took a break from work to play with him.

Office Politics

Ever since I posted "Life In Plastic...", I started reading about office politics. Here's something I want to share. It has some useful tips to "win" in office politics.

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7 Habits To Win In Office Politics

Office politics – a taboo word for some people. It’s a pervasive thing at the workplace. In it’s simplest form, office politics is simply about the differences between people at work; differences in opinions, conflicts of interests are often manifested as office politics. It all goes down to human communications and relationships.

There is no need to be afraid of office politics. Top performers are those who have mastered the art of winning in office politics. Below are 7 good habits to help you win at the workplace:

HABIT #1 – BE AWARE YOU HAVE A CHOICE

The most common reactions to politics at work are either fight or flight. It’s normal human reaction for survival in the wild, back in the prehistoric days when we were still hunter-gatherers. Sure, the office is a modern jungle, but it takes more than just instinctive reactions to win in office politics. Instinctive fight reactions will only cause more resistance to whatever you are trying to achieve; while instinctive flight reactions only label you as a pushover that people can easily take for granted. Neither options are appealing for healthy career growth.

Winning requires you to consciously choose your reactions to the situation. Recognize that no matter how bad the circumstances, you have a choice in choosing how you feel and react. So how do you choose? This bring us to the next point…

HABIT #2 – KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE

When conflicts happens, it’s very easy to be sucked into tunnel-vision and focus on immediate differences. That’s a self-defeating approach. Chances are you’ll only invite more resistance by focusing on differences in people’s positions or opinions.

The way to mitigate this without looking like you’re fighting to emerge as a winner in this conflict is to focus on the business objectives. In the light of what’s best for the business, discuss the pros and cons of each option. Eventually, everyone wants the business to be successful; if the business don’t win, then nobody in the organization wins. It’s much easier for one to eat the humble pie and back off when they realize the chosen approach is best for the business.

By learning to steer the discussion in this direction, you will learn to disengage from petty differences and position yourself as someone who is interested in getting things done. Your boss will also come to appreciate you as someone who is mature, strategic and can be entrusted with bigger responsibilities.

HABIT #3 – FOCUS ON YOUR CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE

At work, there are often issues which we have very little control over. It’s not uncommon to find corporate policies, client demands or boss mandates which affects your personal interests. Bitching and complaining are common responses to these events that we cannot control. But think about it, other than that short term emotional outlet, what tangible results do bitching really accomplish? In most instances, none.

Instead of feeling victimized and angry about the situation, focus on the things that you can do to influence the situation – your circle of influence. This is a very empowering technique to overcome the feeling of helplessness. It removes the victimized feeling and also allows others to see you as someone who knows how to operate within given constraints. You may not be able to change or decide on the eventual outcome, but you can walk away knowing that you have done the best within the given circumstances.

Constraints are all around in the workplace; with this approach, your boss will also come to appreciate you as someone who is understanding and positive.

HABIT #4 – DON’T TAKE SIDES

In office politics, it is possible to find yourself stuck in between two power figures who are at odds with each other. You find yourself being thrown around while they try to outwit each other and defend their own position. All at the expense of you getting the job done. You can’t get them to agree on a common decision for a project, and neither of them want to take ownership of issues; they’re too afraid they’ll get stabbed in the back for any mishaps.

In cases like this, focus on the business objectives and don’t take side with either of them – even if you like one better than the other. Place them on a common communication platform and ensure open communications among all parties so that no one can claim “I didn’t say that”.

By not taking sides, you’ll help to direct conflict resolution in an objective manner. You’ll also build trust with both parties. That’ll help to keep the engagements constructive and focus on business objectives.

HABIT #5 – DON’T GET PERSONAL

In office politics, you’ll get angry with people. It happens. There will be times when you feel the urge to give that person a piece of your mind and teach him a lesson. Don’t.

People tend to remember moments when they were humiliated or insulted. Even if you win this argument and get to feel really good about it for now, you’ll pay the price later when you need help from this person. What goes around comes around, especially at the work place.

To win in the office, you’ll want to build a network of allies which you can tap into. The last thing you want during a crisis or an opportunity is to have someone screw you up because they habour ill-intentions towards you – all because you’d enjoyed a brief moment of emotional outburst at their expense.

Another reason to hold back your temper is your career advancement. Increasingly, organizations are using 360 degree reviews to promote someone.

Even if you are a star performer, your boss will have to fight a political uphill battle if other managers or peers see you as someone who is difficult to work with. The last thing you’ll want is to make it difficult for your boss to champion you for a promotion.

HABIT #6 – SEEK TO UNDERSTAND, BEFORE BEING UNDERSTOOD

The reason people feel unjustified is because they felt misunderstood. Instinctively, we are more interested in getting the others to understand us than to understand them first. Top people managers and business leaders have learned to suppress this urge.

Surprisingly, seeking to understand is a very disarming technique. Once the other party feels that you understand where he/she is coming from, they will feel less defensive and be open to understand you in return. This sets the stage for open communications to arrive at a solution that both parties can accept. Trying to arrive at a solution without first having this understanding is very difficult – there’s little trust and too much second-guessing.

HABIT #7 – THINK WIN-WIN

As mentioned upfront, political conflicts happen because of conflicting interests. Perhaps due to our schooling, we are taught that to win, someone else needs to lose. Conversely, we are afraid to let someone else win, because it implies losing for us.

In business and work, that doesn’t have to be the case.

Learn to think in terms of “how can we both win out of this situation?” This requires that you first understand the other party’s perspective and what’s in it for him. Next, understand what’s in it for you. Strive to seek out a resolution that is acceptable and beneficial to both parties. Doing this will ensure that everyone truly commit to the agree resolution and not pay only lip-service to it.

People simply don’t like to lose. You may get away with win-lose tactics once or twice, but very soon, you’ll find yourself without allies in the workplace. Thinking win-win is an enduring strategy that builds allies and help you win in the long term.

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Will try to post something Christmas-y next time.

Crab Nebula

Kiddo: Mommy, I want to go to the outerspace... because I want to see the crab nebula.

Someone's watching Discovery Channel.

Shopping Spree Friday

Bought shoes today!!!

My gift to myself.

The Frugal Preschooler

Just before I tucked my little boy in bed last night, I asked him what he wants for his birthday.

“I saw a big remote control SUV in Inang’s store,” he said. 

Inang has a tenant that sells toys and school supplies.

“But if that is expensive, don’t buy it anymore. I’m ok with Ben10 drums…”

And he went on…

“If that is also expensive, it’s okay, they also have Vilgax [action figure].”

With that, I kissed him good night with a promise that one of those toys will be his on his birthday.

As a mom, I'm so proud that at his age he’s already conscious of how he should spend money. Plus he's ready with a contingency plan and didn't stop at option 2!

30 Rocks!

Musings

When I was a teenager, I thought 20 years old IS OLD. 

When I turned 20, I said, “No, it’s still a young age. 30... that'll be old!”  

Now that I just turned 30, I realized, age is just a number after all. *wink*

Overall, I am happy and contented with my life. As they say, happiness doesn’t mean having what you want but wanting what you have. It’s not having a perfect life but accepting the imperfections in life.

Looking at my life now, I may not have a perfect marriage, a perfect job, or a perfect family… but I’m perfectly happy.

The Celebration

It was a simple celebration with the family. Inang, Kuya, and Ate with my nephews including their dog came. It was almost an all day get-together. We had wine and cheese in the afternoon and pizza and beer at night!  Is that weird?