Reprieve

6:07pm we have an admission tonight. I don’t like to celebrate the fact that someone is terminally ill but from a provider standpoint it is helpful. We need to care for patients or we cannot serve our mission. I am sitting outside a pancake house.m, waiting to pick up dinner. That was the consensus choice. Overcast sky. Looks like a nice cooling rain storm possible. It is still 103 degrees.

Funk

3:51pm went to the facility to get the contract signed. The administrator wasn’t there. Talked to a nurse. She was rude and wouldn’t sign the form. A nice cap to an emotional week. The last three weeks have been a downer. I am in a funk. I don’t feel optimistic.

Sink or swim

12:45pm I have been doing this stupid process for almost 12 years. I thought I could develop better habits. That I would learn to swim by putting myself in situations that necessitated change. Instead of swimming I just continually sink. I am a weird fucker. Good enough to get decent paying jobs but not good enough to succeed in them. My only hope is to get in a successful situation and be a part of it as long as possible. This site was a dog before I took it over. I was ignorant thinking I could save it. Of course I was even more desperate for a job/income than I was arrogant about my abilities. Now the situation is set. I am committed to doing my best. Turning it around. Making it successful. I can’t guarantee I will succeed but I will do my best. Even if that means getting out of my head and interacting with the world

Really messed up

12:33pm the messed up thing is that my behavior has real world consequences. By staying in my head and not interacting with people my job performance suffers. The site I am responsible for suffers. I will lose my job. My income, my home. Yet that is easier than meeting with people. Oddly enough, I like meeting with people. I am not afraid. I just don’t know how to initiate encounters. I don’t know how to make it worth their time. I don’t know how to call to action, close a sale, get the business. My efforts feel futile. So I just hang on until I am kicked out. I will get another job and repeat the process.

Trying to have it all

5:57am the first time I felt panic was in 2006. I overextended myself at work and started my MBA. I had too much going on. I tried to find peace by resolving every issue that caused stress. I failed. There was always something to solve. I couldn’t relax. I feel the same now. I keep try to find a way to make everything alright. There is never going to be that moment. This is as close as I will get. Today I will not try and solve everything. I will just be present.

Tired

2:56pm the company transition is complete. The mock survey team has left. Census is still down. I am exhausted. I need to rest and regroup

Talent wins

9:04am at work. My phone was in the bedroom this morning while my wife was sleeping so I couldn’t do my usual early check in. Thought for today. Like being a football coach at the ends of the day talent wins. In hospice having talented nurse case managers grows census. Amazing how much easier this job is when you have a talented team

Change

7:02pm I know many people that changed because of the pandemic, lockdown. They don’t see the point of working long hours, going to the office. I am the opposite. I used to value making my own schedule. My freedom at work. My alone time when I wasn’t working. A year ago I couldn’t envision spending ten hours a day in an office. Now I like it. I changed but in true me fashion I changed the opposite of everyone else.

Mental gymnastics

8:49am I do mental gymnastics when work isn’t going well. I have to do an honest assessment of my performance. I have to compare it to previous experiences. I have to get better while protecting my ego. I am the only me I have. I have to make alternate plans if the situation ends. I have to turn it around. I have to identify and overcome barriers. The assessing, fixing and protecting are exhaustive.

People pleaser

8:39am I am a people pleaser. I want people to be happy. I will tell them what they want to hear. That tendency hurts me. I need to under promise, over deliver. Point out the problems we are having. Then when we succeed it is a pleasant surprise. Side note: at work I have been trying to gloss over problems, not bad mouth people, promise big results. I set myself up to look bad. I need “play the game” better.