Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Learning to Multi-Task - Again
First of all, where the heck did the last week go? Wow.
Long weekends ... sigh. Awesome. We entertained my sister who came to visit for the weekend, and got to make it out to the In-Laws for a visit and to do some awesomely-fun-muddy-quadding.
Back to work yesterday, though. Wasn't too bad. The new office coffee maker really helps out with the Monday-or-Tuesday-After-A-Long-Weekend-Blues. Mmmmm ... coffee.
This week, it seems that my lot in articling life is to re-learn the meaning of multi-task.
I swear, the Admitting Department at Foothills Hospital was wonderful training grounds for this Articling position. In Admitting, we had tons of things thrown at us all the time, where everything was a number one priority. We were put into extreme situations with extremely emotional people, and we were part of a very clear hierarchy, where orders and organization came through the proper channels.
Now, when I look at my desk at work, I'm always reminded of Admitting, and how I learned to keep my cool when there were important tasks piling up, with time running out.
Luckily, since I really have been EASED into the whole articling experience, there hasn't been an overwhelmed feeling of too much work, but I can see how lawyers really must perfect the fine dance of keeping on top of many files. I can see, as well, that my inefficient processes will hopefully soon be refined. As things become clearer, I'm more comfortable mixing tasks together ... today I had about three files open, and as I was waiting for something to come through for one file, I'd putter away at another, etc.
Ah ... the multi-task.
And now ... to bed. So. Tired. Good. Night.
Long weekends ... sigh. Awesome. We entertained my sister who came to visit for the weekend, and got to make it out to the In-Laws for a visit and to do some awesomely-fun-muddy-quadding.
Back to work yesterday, though. Wasn't too bad. The new office coffee maker really helps out with the Monday-or-Tuesday-After-A-Long-Weekend-Blues. Mmmmm ... coffee.
This week, it seems that my lot in articling life is to re-learn the meaning of multi-task.
I swear, the Admitting Department at Foothills Hospital was wonderful training grounds for this Articling position. In Admitting, we had tons of things thrown at us all the time, where everything was a number one priority. We were put into extreme situations with extremely emotional people, and we were part of a very clear hierarchy, where orders and organization came through the proper channels.
Now, when I look at my desk at work, I'm always reminded of Admitting, and how I learned to keep my cool when there were important tasks piling up, with time running out.
Luckily, since I really have been EASED into the whole articling experience, there hasn't been an overwhelmed feeling of too much work, but I can see how lawyers really must perfect the fine dance of keeping on top of many files. I can see, as well, that my inefficient processes will hopefully soon be refined. As things become clearer, I'm more comfortable mixing tasks together ... today I had about three files open, and as I was waiting for something to come through for one file, I'd putter away at another, etc.
Ah ... the multi-task.
And now ... to bed. So. Tired. Good. Night.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Ah The Life of an Articling Student
It's like being a brand- new law student all over again, wandering around in a fog of confusion, except this time things sound vaguely familiar. I've had some amazing experiences so far, which makes me so thankful, yet again, for the job opportunity that I landed. I've drafted some actual court documents, I've written a real memo answering a question of law (hee), I've seen quite a few matters attended to at court, and I've even seen parts of a preliminary hearing ... all very exciting for someone that has never seen these things before.
By the end of the day, I'm exhausted. Just enough energy to properly tickle and bounce my daughter around, eat some dinner, wrestle her through her bath and bedtime routine, and then slunk into a stupor of chill for a couple of hours before wrestling myself to bed. Must work on the energy scenario. Sleeping at night would help, but I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch (teething has put a real CRAZY SPIN on our nights, waking up every hour on the hour hasn't been great, but the last few nights have been decent ... I'm sure it isn't a pattern yet, though, and I don't want to jinx it).
Anyhoo - with September 1st being today, it felt weird not preparing to go back to school. While I know that CPLED will be school-ish, my CPLED session doesn't start until November, so that still seems years away.
And now, to figure out a way to work on my law lingo ... so that I don't sound like a complete dunce when I'm let loose from the office. Ooooh - and must remember to make a dentist appointment (yay for having benefits again ... woot woot).
By the end of the day, I'm exhausted. Just enough energy to properly tickle and bounce my daughter around, eat some dinner, wrestle her through her bath and bedtime routine, and then slunk into a stupor of chill for a couple of hours before wrestling myself to bed. Must work on the energy scenario. Sleeping at night would help, but I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch (teething has put a real CRAZY SPIN on our nights, waking up every hour on the hour hasn't been great, but the last few nights have been decent ... I'm sure it isn't a pattern yet, though, and I don't want to jinx it).
Anyhoo - with September 1st being today, it felt weird not preparing to go back to school. While I know that CPLED will be school-ish, my CPLED session doesn't start until November, so that still seems years away.
And now, to figure out a way to work on my law lingo ... so that I don't sound like a complete dunce when I'm let loose from the office. Ooooh - and must remember to make a dentist appointment (yay for having benefits again ... woot woot).
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