Some Meetings Sneak Up On You

As last week came to an end I finally got around to looking at the calendar for the following month. After filling in a few other plans I surveyed my schedule which is when I realized how quickly the next stated meeting was approaching… I really don’t like it when the stated meeting is on the first of the month. So, after a long summer respite, I found myself behind on preparations for the lodge. To say that I kicked things into overdrive would be an understatement as the notice was yet to be completed, the minutes were in shambles, and the bill summaries had yet to be completed.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I have been in this situation many times before and getting some of these things done quickly has become a somewhat regular occurrence. So, first thing on the list was to get the notice done. I know where to look for all of the information and the messages are pretty cut and dry so this was completed quickly.

Since there was little time to spare I had to forego my usual submission to Staples so the printer at the office was working overtime. Address labels were next which just take time even when working at a fast pace. Stuffing everything made for a long night but it was finally done. Of course, the completion of the notice also coincided with updating both online databases. Yes, we are still dealing with this issue.

The minutes and bill summaries are simply a matter of recording all of the notifications and occurrences which are then put into a specific format. While it takes a little time making sure that everything is done correctly, it is a rather painless process that can be accomplished quickly. By the time the weekend had descended upon us, all of the necessary items were either completed or updated. Last night, a few more updates were made and a call-em-all was scheduled. All caught up… for now.

Now it is simply a matter of pulling together the other materials that I need for the meeting and making sure that everything is ready and in order for when I have to speak to the brethren. All the petitions, communications, and various other pieces of paper are ready to go. All that remains is to reconnect with many of the brethren tomorrow night and beginning planning for the October stated meeting. After all, I don’t want to find myself in the same position next month!

The Downfall Of The Long Weekend

For the first time in a while I was able to take a long weekend and not think about work too much. There really isn’t any way for me to get away from things so having a respite for a little while was a nice change of pace. Of course, being in the car for nearly fifteen hours over a two day span didn’t hurt my ability to turn things off for a while but it didn’t completely cripple my ability to get a few other things done. I guess I have to always be working on something.

Come Monday afternoon the tide began to shift and the undertow of emails was trying to pull me back out into the sea of work that awaited me today. Having taken Friday and Monday off to both head up to Erie and recover afterward, the mountain of projects, papers, and emails had grown at a rate that any weed would have been happy to achieve. Back in the office this morning, it was time to put my head down and dig as fast as I could before more tasks began filling my inbox.

Can’t say that I was completely successful but there has been progress made. What is really a bit annoying is the fact that I had finally gotten up to speed not long ago. This is a cycle that I hope doesn’t continue but I am not holding out for that luxury. For now, it is a matter of slowly plodding through the paper, scanning websites, and rapidly responding to and completing the projects that have been put on hold for just a small window of time. Some may see this as only a couple of days but that is a lot of time in my line of work.

With next week also being a short week, the new goal is to, hopefully, get everything cleared off by Friday but I am really expecting it to carry over into the weekend. Not the first time and certainly not the last. Somewhere, somehow I will also look for those small air pockets so that I might take a breath, take care of some personal and lodge items, before diving back down to the bottom of the pile. In the end, things could be worse. After all, this is the slow time of year. I don’t even want to think about what my days would look like if I had taken a long weekend in the fall or winter.

Checking Things Off The Masonic List

There are times when I lose track of all the little things that I have to get done in a day. Hey, its what happens when there are so many things going on at the same time. With everything that has been going on lately, especially at the office, I have not been able to keep up with a lot of the things as Secretary of my lodge. Don’t get me wrong, what needs to be done gets done but just barely. Besides, I am not one to just do the minimum.

Even something as basic as keeping up with a few of the records has been put off for the past month and the notice and minutes for the meetings have been last minute scrambles, sometimes the day of the stated, as there always seems to be one project or another popping up and stealing the time away. It has been this constant running behind that has been grinding at me for months and keeping me from taking time to relax.

Today seemed a little different, almost like the air had changed and the inhale and exhale seemed slightly easier. While there is still plenty of work that needs to get done much of which will certainly bleed into the long weekend, the pace has been picking up and my focus has gotten a little sharper. Just enough to notice. Because of that internal and external environment, today I found myself finally having a few moments in the day to knock out some of the things that have been relegated to the background of my desktop.

It’s when I finally find the time for these tasks when I truly appreciate the work that I am a part of and the privilege that it is to be privy to the details of the lodge. It is also during these times when I realize that I have actually been accomplishing a lot even though there may be things here and there that are slightly behind. Being in the center of the lodge and the communication thereof, I can’t help but get things done and keep things moving.

When I see the number of items crossed off my Masonic checklist I feel a great sense of accomplishment but, at the same time, it makes me look forward to the slow months quickly approaching when the lodge is largely silent. We all need a break every now and then especially those who proudly serve in various roles at the lodge. It will be nice to take some additional time to catch up with some of my brothers without having to run back to my office to get something done. I am looking forward to this time off not from the lodge but from some of the routines of the month so that I can better appreciate the times of fellowship that are scheduled during the summer. Of course, I do have other things scheduled in the early part of the summer but you will just have to read about those later.

Playing Catch Up

The past couple of weeks have provided me with a seemingly endless stream of work. The kind of heavy flow that leave you searching for the cut off valve. While nothing that needs to be done is of any significant size, the volume of the work is what keeps growing.

The greatest hindrance to the whole thing really isn’t the things that I know that need to be done it is the collection of all the things that I keep forgetting about. The tasks and projects that have been put aside temporarily in order to take care of the faux urgent. Today was a perfect example of this as I was knocking things out at a pretty steady pace with what looked like an end point in site. Then my mind began churning and bringing to the forefront items that had been blocked out for days.

This really isn’t anything new. Sometimes it is what needs to be done in order to focus on more pressing matters. Sometimes it is because my mind is wandering about while I am typing. On the rare occasion, it is because I just zone out and things evaporate. Of course, there are the occasion where all of these fun things come into play as they play tetherball with my gray matter allowing me to catch a quick glimpse of a thought before sending it back to the forgotten files in the corner.

Is this a problem? No, not really. It doesn’t get in the way of getting things done on time. Maybe the occasional lapse of time between communications but nothing that would entail missing a deadline. In fact, it is my minds way of making sure that things get done. Even the best juggler has limits as to how many things they can keep afloat. Yes, it’s a cliché and I used it. If I tried to keep everything going on within easy mental reach it would be impossible to get things done. Even simple things would be a chore and choked with the thoughts of other unrelated projects. It would be like Bill Clinton at a sorority house slumber party… at some point you just freeze up and not be able to function even though you know what to do.

Basically, in order for some people to remain productive, you have to become stupid. I am talking about a liberal dose of stupidity that ensures you mind has a singular, however ridiculous, purpose. You have to do this while maintaining a damn good mental hard drive to pull things back up when needed. One project at a time because even the best computer can crash if you let it overheat (usually if you open up too many programs at the same time).

If needed, don’t be afraid to shut it down and smack the crap out of it… old school IT support is sometimes the best solution. With that said, time to revisit the land of the simple minded where liberal doses of stupidity are the norm and everything has a blue tint to it. Without all that pesky thinking I should be able to catch up sooner than I thought possible.

Excess Office Space

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

No one.

No one who?

…

No one who?

…

That was pretty much my day today. I got in the car this morning and with the exception of a few idiots not caring that they were going ten miles under the speed limit, it was a smooth and unusually fast commute to the office… what usually takes me 45-50 minutes took me 30-35 minutes. Once I got to the office I checked the front door, which was locked, and immediately went to the back door, unlocked it, and walked into the dark and quiet room.

Soon after entering I staggered into my morning routine and started to slowly get the day going. A few hours and several long overdue projects passed and I found myself still the only one in the office. It was pretty safe to say at that point that everyone had decided to work from home today which was find with me, I had the entire office to myself. No noise, no distractions, and no waiting for the coffee maker. But there was also no conversation.

Thankfully they have these things called phones now. While today was a day to catch up with work it was also a day to catch up on conversation. All the calls that have been pushed back time and again and all the messages I forgot to answer finally were resolved today in-between tasks. While I am far from up to date with my communications, it is a heck of a lot better than it was 24 hours ago.

Around lunch time there was also a brief few moments when I did have a couple of visitors which was a nice break in the day. I didn’t expect to see my boss show up and I really wasn’t expecting to meet her mother who was stopping by to finally see the office. We had an excellent conversation for about 30 minutes during which time we talked a lot about my Masonic affiliation and who in their family was a Mason. It’s interesting what conversation can be sparked by the simple display of a pin on my shirt pocket.

 

After the visit the afternoon went quickly. Before I knew it, it was time for my wife to start texting me and for the final push to get a few last things done for the day. So my quiet day ended in a similarly exciting manner as it began and my short holiday work week concluded with a few less things on my to do list and a lot of items added to the list of things that should be done to start the year.