After graduating university I fulfilled the promise I'd made myself whilst slaving away over my dissertation in the 24 hour library. I bought a one way ticket home to Greece. I spent three glorious months at my grandmother's house in Corfu without a care in the world. However before I knew it, it was late September and my cash flow was depleting. As winter jobs on the island are scarce, I begrudgingly bought a one way ticket back to Manchester and set about sending my CV to every Tom, Dick and Harry.
Getting ready 4 work
My guiding northern star was to make that money and return to the island in the spring to be a recluse. That's the dream: 6 months grinding, 6 months writing.
lol when you mention you studied creative writing in your CV
I ended up moving to the quaint town of Macclesfield and starting three part time jobs in one week. I was a barmaid, barista and confectioner for six hectic months. Juggling all three was equally as rewarding as it was exhausting. I must admit, they're ace skills to have in your back pocket if you're travelling. Even if you find yourself in a country where you don't speak the language, if you can make coffee and cocktails, you'll always have a job.
The best part was immersing myself into the magnificent community of Macclesfield - I'm a right macaroon now, as my mum would say. Reminiscing about the motley crew of friends I made along the way and the regulars still make me chuckle - esp Tracey and her one liners! If someone ordered a large americano, she'd yell JOHN CANDY. Any guesses for what a Tom Cruise is? ... a SMALL americano!
Creating seasonal display windows at the sweet shop was also buckets of fun and taking pick and mix orders from adorable kiddiewinks. How else would I know that shrimps are also known as ballet slippers? I've also finally mastered the art of fixing a broken heart: get 3 jobs. You won't have time to mope.
The hardest part was running on empty and Marks and Spencer's uniform. Lime green and black is hard for anyone to pull off. Remembering millennials coffee orders also proved pretty tough...
... and accidentally having the heater on full blast during a snow day in the sweet shop and melting half the stock. OOPSY DAISY! Oh, and finally wearing a giant Guinness hat on St. Patrick's day. Sure it's fun, but only if you're on the right side of the bar!
I thought I'd share some of my top time management skills to help anyone else out there doing the most.
1. Turn the impossible into a thousand possible things.
2. Be realistic with your commute. It was no coincidence that all 3 jobs were on the same high street that my flat overlooked.
3. Be social when you can. You're gonna have three meals a day. Might as well eat with friends and family.
4. Write all your hours on a calendar and colour coordinate each job. This way you can keep track of your earnings and stay focused on one day at a time. Or one hour, if you have to.
5. Set boundaries and don't over commit yourself. Be transparent with all your bosses and give different hours of availability to each. Stick to them. If you can't cover someone's shift or come to work early one day, that's ok. Your reply isn't an excuse, it's a reason.
6. Automate as many bills as you can.
7. In the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger: sleep faster.
Some offices are worse than others.
8. To power phrase Lao Tzu, 'time is created'. If you want to do something, you'll make time for it.
9. Cash saving tips: Make the most of your staff discount and canteen. Rather than splurging a fiver every day on lunch, I'd hit up M&S's staff room which had an endless supply of FREE bread, fruit, jams, a toaster and coffee vending machine! Another tip if you're trying to save $ is to cut big bills such as Sky TV, the gym membership you never use and change to a more modest phone plan. I used to think that cutting down on my daily Pret flat white would make a drastic difference and it did, to my mood! It's way more effective to make ONE decision to cut a big bill, rather than a DAILY decision to save pennies.
10. Make the most of your rare days off. My grandmother always says, if you can wake up for the boss, you can wake up for you.
11. Always put everything back in the same place.
12. Done is better than perfect.
13. Embrace the Pomodoro technique!
14. Implement the spoonful of sugar, after all if you can't have a little fun what's the point? I used to challenge myself to finish cleaning the sweet shop and locking up in the time it took me to finish a lemon sherbet!
15. Music is such a powerful mood shifter. Make a morning playlist for when you're in the shower to gear you up for the day and maintain a steady pace.
16. Embrace the eat the frog theory. If you were to eat a frog in the morning, in comparison the rest of your day would seem like a breeze. Do the odd jobs you're dreading first thing in the morning, then you have the rest of the day to yourself.
17. If the thing you keep putting off takes ten minutes or less, do it right now.
18. If you do everything last minute it only takes one minute. Just joking. That was a TEST!
19. Value your time and other people will do the same.
20. Be mindful of your procrastinating habits. My black holes are reddit and netflix. The best way to beat procrastination is to go back to the flip phone.
21. We're all equal when it comes to time.
22. I'm sure the reason you're working like a dog is to save cash, but if a pack of yum yums (classier version of doughnuts) gets you through a 14 hour day. Don't think twice, BUY' EM!
23. Working maddening hours isn't sustainable and eventually you will burn out if you don't get enough sleep and mental rest time. Keep the end goal in sight. Whether that's a summer of backpacking or paying off your debt. Let that be your fuel.
This was my fuel - the second glass belonging to my mother, of course. What is yours?
This print, found in Macc café Jack Sevens, used to be my screensaver.
