Halloween 2023 in These Foolish Things
- Oct. 31, 2023, 8:21 p.m.
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- Public
First payday of this new job! Grateful to be gainfully employed again!
I’m starting to get a real feel for this gig. It’s going to be interesting because my boss truly is a Nazi in every single way. First, the calendar MUST be done in a certain way and show that you are making use of every single minute. I told you that in an earlier entry. But today he invited me to an “email organization” meeting. Y’all. He explained that he wants me to organize my email exactly the way he does and it is an Inbox Zero method. And that’s fine and good, but I can tell that he’s going to CHECK IT to make sure I’ve organized it in such a way and that I have zero emails at the end of each day. Okay, fine. I’m working from home and on my own personal laptop so I can click around my own personal stuff to my heart’s content. But it’s just kinda the thought that I have to perform my creative job like a monkey that’s kind of weirding me out.
We’re still in the first 90 days, so.
Oh! He sent the whole team an email that was kinda cute - it was an email of photos of his kids in their Halloween costumes. I counted SEVEN kids. What? That’s right, s…e…v…e…n. I don’t even know what to say about that. Maybe he has to be such a Nazi to keep track of them all?
I’m sad that my place doesn’t get trick-or-treaters. My friends are sending me pics of their neighborhoods and all the fun that’s going on. Best Bud hosts a Dominican hot chocolate party for the neighborhood kids and includes a special pumpkin spice liquor for the parents every year. How fun!
I couldn’t remember what I’d done last year during Halloween so I had to look at my PB entries. I was in Utah interviewing for that home fragrance job. Wow! That felt like a blast from the past!
This year feels so anticlimactic. Depressing, even. This is the year that Chandler Bing died.
How to break out of this funk?
My heat just kicked on! It’s COLD here and we’re getting a freeze warning overnight. Brrr. We went from 100+ degree weather to freeze warnings in like two days. Neat. And my jeans still don’t fit! Grumble.
And tomorrow starts…dun dun dun! NoJoMo! You know me - I do this every year and I love it. I should do something else along with it, ya know? It’s not going to be “cut out alcohol” because I’m going on a girls trip in a few days, but maybe it will be something like “30 or more minutes of cardio” every day since I’m trying to lose the depression pudge.
And the girls’ trip is to Mexico, so there I’ll be - the pasty white, fat gringa sitting under the cabana in her workout clothes… laptop in one hand and a giant margarita in the other. There’s a Halloween costume for ya!
If that’s what it takes to snap me out of this depression, then that’s what it takes.
Trick or treat,
GS
plushcreep ⋅ October 31, 2023 (edited October 31, 2023)
Edited
Oh, boy...that's taking micromanagement to the extreme. I don't think I could work under a microscope like that; I'd be so paranoid keeping my inbox tidy, I wouldn't have time to feel even remotely creative. Way too Big Brother for my tastes.
Viva la Mexico!
Mr. Mofo ⋅ October 31, 2023
Dear Gringita, will you be hanging out in Matamoros? Maybe Juarez?
Will you be fighting off large swarms of Chupacabra?
Amaryllis ⋅ October 31, 2023 (edited October 31, 2023)
Edited
Lol I spent today making a doc on inbox folders and rules that need to be set up. (I have three people starting on Monday.) It seems crazy, but we get so many automated emails that we don't need to read and I want my team to have a nice clean inbox. (Not zero though..who does that?) It can be overwhelming when you're new and don't know what any of the emails mean or how to categorize them.
Still, your guy definitely sounds crazy!
Congrats on the first payday! 🎊
Ginger Snap Amaryllis ⋅ November 01, 2023
Yeah, I actually do love a good system. I just really don't like people telling me that I HAVE to follow their processes. He's nutso.
Jinn ⋅ November 01, 2023
Avoid Acapulco. Poor people there . Also I would stay with your group at all costs in Mexico. Women on their own seem to be at risk . That being said we went to Mexico three times in the past and I loved it then .
bobbi01 ⋅ November 01, 2023
Its that he is even looking at your inbox that triggers me. Yay nomojo is the best time of the year.🤣🤣
Ginger Snap bobbi01 ⋅ November 01, 2023
I don't know for sure that he's looking at my emails, but I figured out long ago that the possibility of anyone looking at my work emails is ALWAYS there so I assume that anyone can see what I'm saying in email and messenger.
And the BEST news is that we don't use Slack...yet.
sudare ⋅ November 01, 2023
I can’t afford s.e.v.e.n kids.
Ginger Snap sudare ⋅ November 01, 2023
I don't know how anyone can!
Complicated Disaster ⋅ November 01, 2023
Is it a bit early to remind your boss that he hired you, not himself??
Happy November!
xx
Ginger Snap Complicated Disaster ⋅ November 01, 2023
Haha, no!!
Happy November to you!
Fred ⋅ November 01, 2023
I’m pretty sure that you are not fat!
Is it worth considering a conversation with this guy about how his micromanaging could be ineffective for a professional with decades of experience who gets shit done? Eg ask him very politely to work with you to develop other metrics for success that don’t involve monitoring everything you do.
Ginger Snap Fred ⋅ November 01, 2023
The fat thing - it's the same old story - I get a little out of shape and then my clothes don't fit and it makes me feel fat to have a muffin top.
The micromanaging thing - I'm still in my 90-day trail, so we'll see. I don't want to complain or fight against it too much yet. But yes, I do like your advice about measuring success differently. I actually know waaaay more about product development in every single way than he does.
Firebabe ⋅ November 01, 2023
Nope. I'm out.
I have seen a handful of situations involving a boss / supervisor forcing subordinates to conform to their work style / habits, and in each instance it was a disaster. There's case precedent that this type of managerial style constitutes workplace harassment. There is no good / logical reason that you must manage YOUR email the same way he does, so he has no legal standing to insist that you do so.
This type of micro-management behavior is typically indicative of someone who feels like they have little or no control over other aspects of their life (hello seven kids!!) They compensate by trying to control everything else. They may also have a mental compulsion that forces them to arrange / organize things in a certain way that their brain deems is "right." For people who have this compulsion, it can be physically uncomfortable for them to see someone else NOT organizing things the "right" way. In your situation, this person happens to have power over other people, and it honestly sounds like his compulsion is making him try and dictate how other people manage their email because to him, it's the "right" way.
I sincerely hope that this doesn't turn into a serious issue for you--I know being out of a job is super stressful. I cannot handle micro-management of any kind, so I run for the hills. LOL. I think you are made of sterner stuff!
Ginger Snap Firebabe ⋅ November 01, 2023
Yeah. This guy is a lot, but I'm working on not letting it phase me that much since I'm working at home and don't have to deal with his bullshit that much. But again, let's see how the coming days go.
Ginger Snap Firebabe ⋅ November 01, 2023
OH, also...he's already a BAJILLION times better than Chief Cutie. I mean, in every, single way. I'm not stressed out, my shoulders are relaxed, and he knows I'm better than he is at what I do. So I call that a win right now in my book.
Firebabe Ginger Snap ⋅ November 01, 2023
I am, once again, horrified at how terrible Chief Cutie must have been for New Manager to be considered so much better! But it's true - you sort of have to guage each situation on its own merit. If you're so much more relaxed then it's definitely a win!
pandora ⋅ November 02, 2023
Inbox zero is not for everyone. That’s where I leave my items until they are complete and then I file or delete. I cannot believe that level of micromanagement!
Ginger Snap pandora ⋅ November 02, 2023
Yeah, it's kind of a dick move. But so far, the guy's been nice and doesn't feel too micromanage-y. I know it's because he can't be - he doesn't know what I know!
Satine ⋅ November 17, 2023
Inbox Zero is my holy grail and I would try pretty much anything to get it and keep it!
Serin ⋅ January 03, 2024
It's weird to be so regimented at a creative, but control freak's gotta control.