The BIG Experiment! What I've learned

Kim and I both believe that the BIG experiment was a great test of how we will spend our days once we go back to work.  It was a wonderful learning experience, both about us, and our families.  Here is what I have learned:

A blog is a wonderful way to get your husband to do stuff around the house without being asked.  Not only are they afraid of what we'll write if they don't help out, but they can see exactly what needs to be done because we write it in the blog!

I am going to make a point of teaching my children to be more independent and work on a schedule.  If I need to get up in the morning and take a shower while they are getting ready (and I don't want to wake up earlier) then they are going to have to learn to get ready without my constant reminders.  Likewise, I am going to have to come up with a system so that they can do their chores without being reminded.  Hmmm, a blog maybe?!

My house is a bit messier than I like to see it.  It isn't as bad as I expected, but I am going to have to lighten up a bit.  If I truly want to keep my weekends free from household chores, like laundry, I am going to have to make a point of doing them in the evenings during the week, and engaging the kids in helping after school.

I am out of milk.  I am going to have to learn to plan out my weekly meals and grocery shop. Grocery store trips are pushed by the wayside during the week... I'm gonna have to buck up and do this on Saturday, same as everyone else.  I am not too happy about this prospect.

I am out of wine... nuff said.

I didn't get my workouts in everyday as planned.  This was one of my biggest fears about going back to work, and it turns out it is well-founded.  I will have to work harder at scheduling this in, be more flexible with my workout routine, let go of a little guilt.

I am going to need to say "no" to some of those volunteer activities.  One thing I feel good about is that I am better at gauging my time when I am on a schedule.  Unfortunately, I have overcommitted and need to let some things go to find a balance.

Multi-tasking: Those little "oh, I'll just start a load of laundry quickly before I sit down to work" moments really add up to a big time suck.  The more distractions I allow myself to have, the more time that gets shaved off of my day, and my productivity actually suffers.

I am amazed at how much my family has pulled through this week.  The kids are aware that I have other responsibilities than just being mommy now.  But I don't think that they felt abandoned or unloved.  I did make a point of planning playdates and spending time with them, which made me feel good, and although it was less time than I normally spend with them, it was higher quality time.

I think I'm gonna keep the schedule going!

The BIG Experiment Day 5 TGIF by Kim

6:30-7:30 Get up 10 minutes earlier to get Shorty's spelling worksheet done. Neither one of us is especially excited to be awake this Friday morning! Totally my fault though for staying out late last night...

8:00-9:30 Answer emails, work on those slides that won't end...

9:30-10:00 Lightning fast shower. It ain't pretty but I'm clean!

10:00-12:30 Go with Honey to get allergy shots and then to grab some lunch. Pretty much ready to write off the rest of the day...but....

12:30-2:00 Sit my ass back down to finish the week out meeting my work hours goal. Didn't hit all the workouts OR the showers but I finished out strong with my work responsibilities!

2:00-ON Picked Shorty up from school and started the weekend... And that's all I have to say about that!

Tomorrow I will fill in what I observed about my parenting, the way this house runs, how my husband and I operate, and of course how work went...

Surely it hasn't been THAT long!? *@#!! I'm old!

This week we're continuing our focus on resumes, with special attention to the areas that make us want to pull our hair out, kick the cat, and consider a new career as a carny. Our guest blogger for this series is Sue Campbell, 1st-Writer.com, a professional resume writer and career strategist with over 18 years experience helping job seekers of every level achieve their career goals.

What about dates? Do I have to put the dates I received my degrees?

For employment, you don’t need to include months, you can just list years (i.e. 2005-2007), but you have to include dates.

For college degrees, you can omit dates in your résumé, but expect to provide this information at the interview or application process. Understand, too, that while your reader probably won’t give this too much thought, he or she is likely notice that the dates have been omitted.

The BIG Experiment!! Diane's Final Day!!

6:30-7:30  Wake up.  Let Wonderful Hubby know that it's time to get up.  Start coffee, wake kids.  Go take shower and get ready for 7:30 meeting at the school.  Upset to be missing another day of working out.  Decide to wear stretchy comfy jersey wrap dress.  Decide that dresses are the best!  Wonderful Hubby has gotten kids all ready to go to school.

7:30-8:15  Stop car and take kids into school.  Get stopped by principal in lobby who has questions about "very important stuff". Late to meeting.

8:15-2:30  Head to office.  Worried that I will not add value and sit there mute in the corner.  Meeting with client #1 goes very well.  Actually had valuable input!  Am amazed by my AMAZING friend and her abilities.  Office is fun and I like it.  Invited to join in meeting with client #2.  Call Mr. Wonderful to see if he can pick up the kids and a playdate after school.

2:30-3:00  Head home.  Drive like crazy person because I am running late.  Find that everyone has arrived home from school safely.  Kids are playing but have not had a snack.  Hubby is on iPhone.  Everyone survived.

3:30-4:00  Make appointment with vet for dog.  Feed snack to kids.  Loving the pre-packaged snack foods today.  Put kids on Wii.  Sit down to computer.  Check emails, blog about my day, which I have all forgotten by now.

4:30-6:00  Finally take dog to the vet.  Explanation for that terrible smell earlier in the week.  Feel really guilty that it has taken me this long to get the dog to the vet.  Wonderful Hubby takes kids to friends' house for dinner.

6:00-10:00  Drop off dog at home.  Feed dog.  Alone in my messy home.  Consider staying home all by myself, sigh...Grab all of the things that Wonderful Hubby has forgotten and head over to friends' house for dinner.  Enjoy house full of wonderful friends and a terrific dinner.  Extremely exhausted.  Head home with kids to go directly to bed.  Do not pass go, do not collect $200.  So tired I think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

All in all the day was great.  Wonder how things would shake out if Wonderful Hubby wasn't there to pick up the kids, but figure we'll have to take each day one at a time.

The BIG Experiment!! Day Four by Diane

6:30-7:30 Wake up with small child in bed next to me. Wonderful Hubby calls. Make small child answer phone so that I don't have to get out of cozy bed. Happy there is smell of fresh coffee coming from kitchen. Get up and throw uniforms at children. Check email to see that I have another meeting this morning that I am unprepared for about "very important stuff", but throw papers in a bag and rush out the door.

7:30-8:15 Drop kids off barely slowing and rush back home to shower and prepare for presentation. Read email from enraged neighbor about "very important stuff". Put on LOTS of deodorant in preparation for presentation at school and subsequent meeting. Squeeze into terribly out of date clothing and rush back to school.

8:15-10:30 Have horrible presentation. Realize I am much better in small groups than in front of a crowd. Rush off to make 11:00 meeting. No workout today.

11:00-12:00 Meet with important people about "very important stuff". Worry that I'm not communicating my position on important stuff so that they hear what I am saying. Worry about performance when I go back to work.

12:00-2:30 Check emails, have string cheese. Sit down and actually do some work, finally. Schedule playdate for children. Feel like having a glass of wine. Have a glass of wine with lunch. (Hey, I'm a big girl, deal with it!) Return phone call. Have headache about "very important stuff"... or maybe it's the wine? Still have another hour to make goal of 3 1/2 hours of work/day.

2:30-3:45 Feed kids, help with homework, put dishes in dishwasher

3:45-7:45 Take kids to indoor play-gym with friends and then out to dinner. Kids have fun. Eat pizza for dinner, feel very guilty, but kids are happy. Get home, put them to bed. Find out I have to go in to "work" tomorrow, and can't work out, but Wonderful Hubby will be home to help me out in the morning.

7:45-8:00 Check emails, blog. I am exhausted and sore (shin splints from uphill walk yesterday). Would go to bed if it weren't only 8:00. Go to set up coffee maker for the morning. Accidentally brew coffee instead of programming it. Brain can no longer function. Think of staying in bed all weekend. Smile.

8:00-9:30 Fall asleep in front of TV.  Wake up when hubby comes home.  Go to bed exhausted.

The BIG Experiment Day 4 by Kim

6:15 - 6:35 Honey gets up to pee which fortunately wakes me up because I set my alarm for an hour later than I meant too. Rush to get dressed and out the door - put on yesterdays' workout clothes because all the others are downstairs in the basket of laundry I've been contemplating all week. Feel a little gross but whatever.

6:45-7:40 Walk with friend. It's a bit of a rough start since it's effing cold out but by about 10 minutes in I'm glad that we persevered. Legs are sore from the hilly (lost) portion of yesterday's walk!

7:45-8:00 Run into the school to drop off Cokes for the Open House for walking buddy so that she's not late for work. Run into people I know and am acutely aware of being a little ripe, try to keep downwind...

8:00-8:30 Clean up the kitchen a (very) little bit. Going to have to spend some time on the house this weekend. Discover that Honey cleaned the kitty litter - God I love this man!

8:30-12:00 Work on blog and other projects. Try to get signed up for Daddy/Daughter Dance but having problems with their website...#@&*! - I often miss the boat on these type of things so it really pisses me off when I get my act together and am thwarted!

12:15-1:00 Eat lunch with Honey then take a quick shower.

1:00-4:30 Work on Slide presentation for seminar - it seems never ending! Break it up with some Words with Friends. Incidentally, Jeff is a ringer and is soundly kicking my ass even as he claims "I haven't played in at least a year". Whatever Jeff - What. Ever.

4:30-8:15 Honey goes with me to pick the girls up from their AfterSchool. We drop La off and go in for a quick chat. That turns to a couple glasses of wine which then turns into dinner out with both families. I don't have to cook which makes 3 nights this week, Suzy Homemaker I'm not! I don't get the stuff done at home that I'd planned to do, like folding the laundry (haha who'm I kidding) and putting away the box of Christmas stuff still sitting in my office. It's worth the trade off though.

8:45 Realize that we didn't give Shorty her spelling test but decide that we can do it in the morning if we get up 10 minutes early. Not going to garner me Mother of the Year but still seems like a good plan since I'm walking into walls!

9:00 Early mornings and exercise have officially kicked my ass - I'm going to bed.

My Mission Statement: To get a job.

This week we are focusing on resumes, with special attention to the areas that make us want to pull our hair out, put on the stretchy pants, and consider a new career in competitive eating. Our guest blogger for this series is Sue Campbell, 1st-Writer.com, a professional resume writer and career strategist with over 18 years experience helping job seekers of every level achieve their career goals.

Is it absolutely necessary to have a mission statement? If so, how do you write a mission statement for your résumé (especially if your mission is to just get a job)?

First of all, never forget that your résumé is a marketing piece or that you’re writing your résumé for the sheer and complete benefit of your reader.

Imagine, for example, an ad for vacuum cleaners that begins with the statement, “We really need you to buy this vacuum cleaner so we can pay our electric bill.”

At this stage of the game, your reader doesn’t care what your hopes or aspirations may be. They simply want to know whether or not you’re qualified for the position and company you’re targeting, whether it’s in their interest to meet you, in person, to learn more, and how they may benefit by hiring you.

Later, at the interview stage, your needs and interests will become more important. But for now, it’s all about the reader.

So if you include a mission statement, or preferably a summary of qualifications section, keep the focus on what you bring to the table and how your skills, abilities and characteristics will benefit the company and meet its needs and expectations.

For example, a typical objective statement tends to focus more on what the candidate hopes to secure than what he or she brings to the table, but this can be altered by focusing on the reader’s interests:

“To secure the position of ________________________ at (Name of Company) where my skills in ______________________, _______________________ and _____________________ may best benefit (Name of Company)’s ____________________ goals and expectations.”