Today’s Buzz is brought to you by Stephanie Taylor, Public Information Coordinator for Carlisle Borough. You can find her on Twitter (frequently) or LinkedIn (rarely).
What I’m Reading: Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney
What I’m Watching: Law & Order SVU. One of the most comforting constants in life is Law & Order marathons on USA Network.
I will start by being honest with you; I was hoping I would be able to write my latest buzz about our huge website redesign. Unfortunately, our new website is still under construction and that is OK! (At least that is what I have been telling myself. Patience is not my strong suit.) The highs and lows of municipal website redesign will have to wait until another time.
Since it is still the beginning of the year, I decided I would talk about resolutions, both personal and professional. I can’t stand the expression “New Year, New You.” You are wonderful; you don’t need to be reinvented every year. And if you are someone who needs to reinvent their entire existence every year, then you may have much more going on and resolutions may not be enough! But I still do make small, manageable goals every year that hopefully make me happier and more productive. Here are some that I’ve made for 2020.
- Be more patient. That Judge Judy gif up there? That’s me, all the time. Patience is not my virtue. Working in local government has only compounded my lack of patience.
Slow Down. That e-mail doesn’t need answering the minute you receive it. That comment can wait for a response. Call that person back when you have more time. My lack of patience fuels my need to respond to things quickly. I hate waiting, so other people must hate it too, so I need to respond immediately! I need to learn to slow down and take a beat.- Put Down My Phone. Oof, this is a tough one. It’s gotten to the point that I am now embarrassed when I see those “Weekly Screen Time” reports that Apple sends you. This one might take baby steps, so I’m starting by turning off the majority of notifications. Whenever something awful happens in the world, I don’t need an alert from every single news organization on the planet about it. Leaving my phone upstairs in my house when I am downstairs and vice versa is another technique I’m trying out to ease my dependence on my pocket computer.
- Leave Work on Time (At Least One Day a Week!). When I first started working in local government, I was so excited about “normal” hours. I can be home by 5! Oh, young Stephanie, you were so foolish back then. Inevitably, I’m still working on something well past quitting time. I began making it a priority late last year to at least leave on time one or two days a week. I was mostly successful and want to try again in 2020.
- Leave Work at Work Whenever Possible. This one is another toughie. Social media is a 24/7 platform, but I am not 24/7. I got into the habit early of answering social media comments and messages well after work hours and on the weekends. The job was brand new to our municipality and I was brand new to local government and I felt I had to prove my worth. Now I’m trying to wean myself away from this habit. Turning off notifications for social media apps outside of work will hopefully help, but if any other local government social media managers with this same problem have some tips, I’d be glad to hear them!
- Keep Learning. The part I love most about my job is that no single day is ever the same and I always learn something new every single day. I don’t want to become stale in my professional life. That’s why I love being a part of the ELGL community; I am always learning new things from amazing people.
How about you? Did you make any resolutions or goals for the new year?