While normally I don't like to brag a lot, I just have to get something off my chest.

See, I started a new job very recently, and as I described in another thread that can be found here, my job is to write a guide for teachers to use in creating lesson plans for our system. It involves a lot of research, intuition, and planning. We are writing a guide for every 9 weeks of the school year (there are four of them), and each 9 weeks has a deadline. The first 9 week deadline was yesterday.

But here's the catch. This first deadline required 9 weeks of work in 2 weeks. We were hired a little over a month ago, but we spent countless days in training and learning how to do our jobs. It isn't a job our district has offered before, so there was a lot of 'figuring stuff out', even by our supervisors and the board of education.

So what I've been doing for the last two weeks:
Holed up in an office or at my kitchen dining room table.....

Writing.
Writing.
Writing.

I was actually 2.5 hours later than my deadline because I underestimated the time it would take to put disclaimers in all my documents. I haven't heard back from my supervisors, but I'm extremely worried about it. They seem to think of deadlines as life and death matters, and I'm sure they were waiting to send it to the printers so that we can train all the teachers in the city next this week.

After turning in all my documents last night, I passed out. I felt like someone who had been holed away in a dungeon for a month, only just now resurfacing and getting a gulp of fresh air. (I actually didn't even finish one of the documents, so I'm hoping it goes unnoticed.)

It wasn't until this morning that I looked back over my accomplishment. I was a little breathtaken.

67,929 words.

269 pages.

In two weeks.
This doesn't include all the images I had to create or draw, the problems I had to type out, or the words I had to place within images. It doesn't include all the time I spent researching ideas and strategies and topics.

I did that....
in two weeks.

Furthermore, since I didn't finish one of the documents, the numbers will likely be closer to 277 pages and 69,929 words. (Based off the trends for each document). So add five more hours, and I've roughly written 70,000 words in 14 days.

The good news really goes a bit further than that. My document seems to have garnished a lot of attention. Another reason I could not meet my deadline is because I kept randomly getting pulled out of my office. Everyone wanted my help and wanted me to proofread their documents. Half of the women don't know how to use Microsoft Word proficiently and kept asking me to help them format their document to be more appealing, user-friendly, and professional. And then..... then my supervisors wanted me to meet with the Chief Academic Officer.

Four of us were chosen from our 12 person task force. We sat through and discussed our documents: their features, their discussions, and the research within. One of the women had a lot of work to do and not much was said about her document before she was dismissed. The other two received bountiful praise for their documents. The CAO was awed at their work, thinking it to be their first time creating manuscripts like these. However, as it turned out, they were actually both part of a pilot program last year and had done this type of work before.

When she got to my document, she also praised it. I was stunned because I know mine is not as good as the other two women's. She marveled at it and told me that my strength was in teacher support... that I really knew what I was doing and it showed. She then looked up at me and said "I'm guessing you were part of the pilot team as well?" How flattering! I told her I wasn't, and she looked a little dumbfounded. She closed my document, looked me in the eyes and said "I want you to be honest with me. Do you enjoy this more than teaching?" The tone she used was as though she wanted to see if she could convince me to keep doing this in the future.

I wanted to dance up off my seat. Finally, some recognition! Finally, I'm not being told that I don't know how to reach students, and that I don't know what I'm doing! I actually got praisedfor my work! And by someone so high up on the ladder, as well! She asked me to keep doing what I was doing. I told her that I greatly enjoyed what I was doing and that I loved it, and she assured me many times that she could tell.

And now, to summon a few people I think will care (Sorry for bragging, but I'm so happy!):

rcarter2 :
play4fun :
mrfe :
thephantombrain :
Mistress :


Davideo7 :
tRIUNE :
(Only because I know I promised you two I'd help you sooner. I wasn't expecting this crazy deadline to consume my time so badly. I was LITERALLY getting 2-4 hours of sleep every day for these past two weeks. Getting up and writing until I passed out 20 or so hours later. I hardly moved from my table or desk and asked my husband to keep me fed so that I could work on it all. I'm so glad it's over! At least the next three deadlines will be 9 weeks of work in 9 weeks. I can't wait! It's going to be quite relaxing. lol)

bvd1022 :
ruesen :
warmaker :
I'm summoning the three of you because one of you keeps giving me this piece of advice and I can't remember which of you it is.... you all have given me amazing advice and shown yourself to be caring to me. I don't know WHICH of you keeps telling me this... but one of you advised I should spend 8 hours every day writing. Well, I did more than that recently!

I used to doubt that advice a little, thinking I'd never be able to write a novel using such tactics. But doing this? It's made me see how very, VERY possible such a task would be. Writing 269 pages in 14 days is a phenomenal feeling and encourages me about writing a novel. I mean, the writing I just did was VERY tedious. I read over each paragraph about 20 times to ensure I didn't use contractions, didn't speak directly to the audience, didn't write unnecessary words, used all the correct grammar, etc... It had to be utterly clean and professional. It was also very stoic writing, with little room for subjectivism or straying. It wasn't 'fun' writing. Therefore, it was very time-consuming and much of that time.... it didn't flow smoothly.

If I were writing fiction and the words could just flow? Imagine how much I could get done! I feel inspired and awed!

WHOA! That's really amazing! Congratulations on the amazing work and getting praised for your work for once! Best of luck with your unfinished document going unnoticed.

 Afraid I cannot take credit about the advice of writing 8 hours a day. At best, I may have said write a little more if you enjoy it, but I cannot remember whether I said that to you or not.

Still, I'm glad you found something you seem to enjoy! It really IS a great feeling when you get writing projects done, even if the process can be exhausting. I've been writing a lot more lately myself, and although while I'm writing I can get stressed out, the feeling of once you are done is just amazing!

The revision process can be tedious at times. Even worse, after submitting the writing, you take a final look through and OH GOSH! There is a typo on page 8! Yes, it makes sense, but it looks so off! :X

YES!!!! I'm literally dry weeping right now because of joy and relief (but I'm sorry you passed out). I'm so glad you finally get a break, and that you can look back on that work and take joy in your accomplishment.

Get some rest. You need and deserve it.

Congrats on the compliments of your boss and of finishing a large part of what your deadline! Although I would have no idea how heavy a job like that would be it sounds very tough and I could never write that much, big respect! Keep up you work!

Oh my goshness... Is this what you wanted to tell me a few hours ago?? Darn, I wish I wasn't out so I could celebrate it with you. Oh wait, maybe I'll do that now.

*cheers* *glee* *confetti*

CONGRATULATIONS!

My gosh, this has got to be the best work-related news I've heard. (Second best is probably the admin leave ) It's about time that you got some positive recognition instead of those harsh and biased criticism.

So...are you really going to write a novel? Hehe

Singelli : It doesn't matter who said what with writing or how to do it.  You know, fiction isn't easier than what you did.  You do have to sit there and get 8 hours of writing done every day to develop the story, ply your craft, and be a professional.  Baseball players work all the time, even after years in the league.  Writing isn't something that you get one day and say, "Okay, this will be easy now."

It's something you cultivate, like a garden, that must be continually fine-tuned and exercised.  It's an evolving skill that diminishes when you don't practice it.

I'm glad for you for what you did.  When someone points out your work individually it means you're doing something well.  Keep at it and keep writing.

Good work.  We're proud of you.

This is wonderful news! There is one thing that's not so wonderful though, I got put in the wrong grouping of summons. I believe it should go bvd1022, ruesen, warmaker, thephantombrain - https://www.vizzed.com/boards/thread.php?id=66985&ppp=20&page=0#905467 - 4th and 5th paragraphs. While looking for that I skimmed through several old threads and am pleased to report that you are in much better spirits than you were at the end of 2013. All of this pleases me greatly.

You've got the momentum and you're in the zone - I hate to see you on Vizzed so rarely but why not start now? Also, keep in mind what I said in the 5th paragraph - I'm available to give notes.

...yep, I'm very happy for you.

Thank god you did not posts those 70k words. That would have been insane for a TdV yellow jersey win. And probably a record for largest non-spam post, too. 

Congrats Singelli. It's good to see you are back. I was starting to wonder where you had gone. 

Pfft that's nothing I once had to write a 2000 word English essay in a month.

#NotImpressed

I'm kidding of course. If it were me I would write a sentence then call it a day let alone 70,000 words. I'm guessing you didn't sleep in order to do this ? I'm glad you got your recognition finally it's always nice to be appreciated.

Nice to have you back...typing some more :p.

I was so excited when I created this thread, that I forgot to mention something. It's nothing huge, but it was another point of pride for me.

After the Chief Academic Officer reviewed my documents, they asked me and the other two to tidy them up so they could print them.  Apparently, the Superintendent himself was so impressed, that he wanted to share the documents at the next Board meeting.  (for those that don't know, Superintendent is the highest "rank" at city level for the board of education)

PacmanandMariofan :  Thank you so much!  First of all, for reading my thread. Not many people do that when I start to ramble. haha!  Second of all, for the well wishes!  Amazingly, nobody has mentioned the unfinished document, but I completed it today.  I think our supervisors were so stressed about us training teachers tomorrow, that they honestly didn't even care. They didn't even mention the fact that I was 2.5 hours late! I was so relieved!!!

ruesen :  I started re-reading my work today because apparently we aren't uploading the documents until the beginning of August.  That means I have around a week or two to check for all those silly things.  I couldn't believe some of the things I missed when I was going through my work this morning! Especially since I had read each paragraph like 20 times while I wrote!  I think the biggest mistake I neglected to see before was where I used the word 'two' instead of 'to'. It was awful! LOL  I'm so glad I get to clean these documents up before we upload them. XD

supernerd117 :  Thank you so much!  Uh.. but please don't cry any more. XD  I DID relax!  I cleaned some of my house yesterday and sat around watching TV. It was awesome.  I don't think I could have been more relaxed. haha.

juuldude :  If I wrote 269 pages in 2 weeks, imagine what I'll be done with in 9 weeks!  Granted, the working pace will be MUCH slower, but I'll have more time to research stuff to include in the papers.... so next time I'll still end up writing more than I did this time.

Mistress :  Yeah, that's what I wanted to tell you. hehe.  As for writing a novel, I don't know.. but I feel so motivated now! I want to, for real!

warmaker : Thank you so much!  I didn't mean to demean the amount of work that goes into fictional writing, by the way. I understand that it takes a lot of work and professionalism.  It's just that, for me personally, writing fiction flows from my fingertips with more ease than research.

thephantombrain :  I didn't remember that post, and when I clicked on your link, I didn't scroll above. I thought "Oh, he just gave that advice to someone?  How coincidental!"  And I scrolled up and became... majorly confused.  I didn't even remember writing that! If my name hadn't been on that post, I never would have known it was my own writing. How sad is that?  I think sometimes I just get an idea, I feel impassioned to write it down.... and life moves on.  ahah!  I know that post wasn't the advice I was referring to though, because whoever advised the 8 hours did so to me personally on a few occassions.  That being said, it's amazing you gave me the same advice!  All of you are definitely making me want to take part in it. With my new job, I don't think I can do 8 hours a day, but I'd like to find a decent chunk of time, I think.

As for you giving me awesome advice?  Yes.... yes you do.  
And yes... I AM in much better moods than I was in 2013. I had a few volatile ups and downs, but it certainly seems as though life has taken one of those upward turns for me.  Have a job change has been ..... an amazing and enlivening experience, for sure.  I can't say I've been excited to walk into work for a long time, and I've NEVER felt awed by my bosses.  I never thought I'd see the day when I smiled to hear my bosses outside my door. haha!

thing1 :  I don't think anyone would be interested in the stuff I wrote. haha. I don't even know if we are going to get the math teachers to read it all!

Blubcreator : You made me laugh. Thanks. haha!  An no... I hardly slept at all. I don't know how my body kept pushing through, because I was only getting 2-4 hours of sleep every day for 2 weeks. That was NOT fun.

And thanks!  I'm going to try.  I have more time now that I'm not teaching and now that this first deadline is past.  How exciting!

Singelli : Trust me, my aunt is a math teacher, and she has told me a few things. One thing among those being that they NEVER read all of it. They just read what they need to know for the day, and then wing it. 

thing1 : oh I'm an expert at that. haha.

What we're writing isn't quite the same thing though. It's not like a textbook or math.

They still will be few and far between who read it all though.

I've had the same feeling of confusion a bit lately. I'll get a notification that someone liked my post in some odd sounding thread, so I check it out only to find what seems like the words of a stranger.

It's no secret I've had over 20 previous employers and don't remember ever experiencing the sensation of a smile when my bosses approach. That's pretty cool. Again, congratulations.

Singelli :  

It wasn’t me who told you that eight hours of writing a day would be good.  Daily writing is good, but the conundrum is trying to find a healthy balance of making sure you get enough writing in, but not overdo it at the same time.  I have had this problem frequently over the years. 

 

One thing I have tried to do in the last few years is give myself a few days of downtime per week if I can depending on how busy a given week is.  Dealing with bad hands is a main reason I try to give myself a bit of rest even though I try as much as I can to give my hands a break while writing material. 

 

One thing I will say is it is good to do daily writing even if you’re not working on anything in particular. Writing things like emails or posting in forums is a form of writing so it can be helpful. I would just be cautious that you don’t overdo it.  I also know a thing or two when it comes to having to meet deadlines so if you have any questions on how to deal with deadlines where it isn’t stressful, feel free to ask. 

 

Best of luck to you.