So, four months in to my new job. Do I think I've sold my soul to the Devil? No. Am I on my way to becoming a grey-haired wizened old wreck rocking gently in the corner? Possibly. 

 

Scotty

Me, four months in...

Fear not, I merely jest with you. I have however learnt the very meaning of "be careful what wish for". I wanted a challenge, something to get my teeth stuck in to, and BOY did I get it?! These four months have literally flown by, and yet I feel like I'm getting nowhere fast. It constantly feels like one step forward, two to in itself. That, and the fact that the days are getting a shorter by the millisecond, means that very soon I will quite literally be leaving for work in the dark and coming home in the dark. That isn't so much of a problem as the fact that there just aren't enough hours in the day.

It's gotten to the point where I genuinely wonder if I have time to do SarahKnowsEyes or be a TrekkieGirl anymore. 

It will get better I know, I have 100% faith in that and something that I have never been is a quitter. It has got me thinking though, about how much easier life would be if we just kept things simple.

Take varifocal lenses as an example. Any of you over a certain age I'm sure will have been faced with the prospect of wearing varifocals and I'm sure you've all been shown "the pictures"? A series of generally 3, but sometimes up to 5 illustrations: “this is cr*ppy "basic" varifocal lens that cost peanuts but you won't see out of”, up to "this varifocal lens uses genuine NASA technology, but will require you to either remortgage your house or sell a kidney". You know the ones I mean?!

 

Varifocals

 

99% of the time, the patient will plump for the one in the middle, the albeit perfectly functional, compromise.

So why all the BS? Of course, it's a fair demonstration of the evolution of varifocal lens technology, but surely all the patient wants is a lens that they can afford AND that they can see through. The rest is quite frankly nothing more than a sales gimmick. In both this and my previous job, I have been constantly asked - "how good are your varifocal lenses? Because I know they are different levels?" It's got to the point now, where I acually tell them it's a sales ploy and that we just provide quality lenses, that we know from experience are effective, and we've worked really hard to provide those at an affordable price. 

I need to apply this rule to the rest of my life. Just looking at my phone - do I really need an app that tracks how much water I drink or another how many calories I consume? (Both of which incidentally can be "synced" with the app linked to my pedometer, so I can tell exactly how many calories I'm burning!) Or a meditation app (I've never meditated in my life!) that was on a "top 5" list and therefore I just HAD to download it!?

It's all just pointless noise. At the grand old age of (nearly) 35 I have to learn to cut the cr*p out of my life and focus on what's really important. Yes, being the absolute best I can be at work, but learning to leave work AT work, and concentrate on the things that make me happy outside of it: my pupsicles, family, friends, SarahKnowsEyes and being a TrekkieGirl! I may not have the same amount of downtime as I had before, but all the more reason to keep things simple.