This next part of the story is something I have told a million times. But never so publicly and never to anyone who mattered. But it needs to be said. Welcome to the cracks in my perfect corporate world.

They said that the company was growing and because of that there would be “opportunities for growth.” Basically they would be hiring new managers. I was thrilled. I didn’t want to be a manager- I knew I was too early in my career for that but I loved the idea of people moving forward in their career (something that still excites me to this day). My friends warned me about my excitement. They were more experienced and explained that the new managers could be awful. I refused to believe that. Everyone was so nice.

In any case I knew who was going to manage us. It was going to be my friend, Aarti. Aarti had been with the company for over 5 years and she had worked on a variety of campaigns. It was a no-brainer. The other option would have been Samantha, someone who worked in the role of 2IC but had recently gotten pregnant. Samantha was 2IC for our team but she was eventually moved out to replace a less efficient coworker in another team. But that’s a story for another day.

Anyway it was time to announce managers and Aarti was meeting with our current manager. I waited impatiently for her to return with the good news. She returned. She had not been picked. No one from our team had been picked. This meant that whoever was going to manage us was going to be from another team.

They picked a lady named Janet. I was very confused. Janet was just sort of there. She wasn’t even a 2IC. How was she picked? But the decision was made and Janet’s trial run was in September. I felt bad for her. She was removed from the team that she had worked in for years and she was expected to run a team of strangers. And of this team of strangers, five of them had already applied for her job. In September they laid out the plans. Janet would run the smaller of the team. Namely me, my best friend and another girl who worked on the smaller campaigns. Two campaigns, three staff, one manager. No biggie right?

I spent the first month being helpful and friendly. Or so I thought. It quickly became clear that Janet did not expect to do work. She delegated everything to us- even the reports that she sent to the HOD. Previously I had managed the campaign pretty much by myself with minimal assistance. Janet wanted to oversee everything. Without doing any actual work. It didn’t take me long to figure out what was happening. Janet was another favourite of our HOD. It didn’t matter that she had zero experience. Corporate was a chess game and she played it correctly. As a coworker put it to me, Janet was now our problem whether we liked it or not.

There’s a saying I see posted pretty often on LinkedIn. It’s “In your job you should either learn or earn”.

That next year was going to teach me ALOT!

I was picked to run a new campaign. I say picked but basically the girl who was originally supposed to do it was moved to another team while the back-up girl that the HOD chose couldn’t do it because of some sort of red tape. The next choice was me. Honestly for someone who had been with the company for less than a year, it was a pretty big deal. All this just because I was the second fastest capturer.

If I was a little more cynical (the way I am now), I would have wondered if the role would have gone to the other capturer who was smart enough to befriend management (looking back, that is probably exactly how things would have went). Nonetheless, I was sent for training to be Sales Support for a loan campaign.

But I was young and naive and I didn’t expect my co-workers to turn on me. They were really discreet about the way they did it.

From the girl who was supposed to be the second choice for this campaign to the lady who working in the department for the longest time, everyone made snarky comments to me about how I couldn’t do the job because I was not used to speaking on the phone.

Eventually the pressure got to be too much for me and then I admitted to my manager that I thought that I wouldn’t be able to do the job. I felt like she didn’t hear me. She didn’t acknowledge what I said.

And then she spoke to someone from another team and asked them to make me do “Call-outs”.

“Call-outs” were simply calling customers to confirm their delivery address and availability. Key word being “call”.

I still remember the girl who sat with me and explained what I needed to do. She looked at me like I was stupid. Nothing against her. But the second she explained that I would need to dial out, my brain stopped working. I could only stare at her in horror.

For the next hour, I called strangers, willing them not to pick up the phone. Only 4 people answered the call. The rest went to voicemail. But it was terrifying for me to listen to the ringing and wait, hoping it would go to voicemail.

Fast forward a little while later, I was still in awe of Customer Care. So my manager moved me to them to learn how to answer emails, social media queries, Live Chat queries and eventually she had me assist with answering calls.

All this in the span of a single month (May).

The new campaign started at the end of July. But when I made my first call (with my manager and her manager standing behind me), I was perfectly comfortable.

It’s interesting that one of my greatest moments of growth stemmed from a bunch of people telling me that I couldn’t do something.

Lesson Learnt- DO NOT listen to others. Do what YOU feel is right. You know yourself best.

Getting a good night sleep is so so important. It affects your overall health and well-being both mentally and physically. Sleep is SO important to me that I even conducted my own little study to see how sleeping 8 hours a night affected me. Many people struggle to get enough sleep or even decent sleep. If you fall into this group, here are 7 things you can do to improve your sleep.

1. Stick to a Regular Sleep Schedule

This is no fun but this is one of the most important tips. Establish a consistent sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This will help regulate your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle and promote better sleep. Eventually your body will know when it’s time to sleep and you’ll be able to fall asleep (and stay asleep) easily.

2. Create a Bedtime Routine

Take a warm bath, read a book, or do some gentle stretches before bed to help your body relax and prepare for sleep. Avoid electronics, which emit blue light that can disrupt your body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep. One of my favourite ways to wind down for bed is reading for 30 minutes. That way I get to tackle my TBR AND get a good night’s rest.

3. Make Your Bedroom Sleep-Friendly

By this I mean, you should make sure that your bedroom is quiet, cool, and dark. Keep noise levels down, use blackout curtains or a sleep mask to block out light, and set the temperature to a cool, comfortable level.

4. Invest in a Comfortable Mattress and Pillows

Okay I am still in the process of locating a comfortable mattress but I had a coworker admit that once he invested a significant chunk of money in his mattress, it paid off for him immensely in the long run.

Your mattress and pillows can have a significant impact on the quality of your sleep. Invest in a comfortable mattress and pillows that support your body and help you maintain good posture while you sleep.

5. Limit Your Caffeine and Alcohol Intake

Caffeine and alcohol can interfere with your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Try to limit your intake of these substances, especially in the hours leading up to bedtime.

6. Exercise

Regular exercise can improve sleep quality and duration. However, it’s best to exercise earlier in the day rather than right before bed, as exercise can be energizing and make it harder to fall asleep. Experiment and see what works for you.

7. Manage Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Manage your stress levels through relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation, or yoga. It is also helpful to write down your worries and feelings before bed so that you are able to clear your mind.

A good night sleep is essential for you to function at your best. By following these tips, you can improve the quality of your sleep.