Last Friday, “I need a break” were the first words that I uttered when my mom asked me how I was feeling.
Why did I need a break? My job (let’s call it, “bank project management”) is a beast, and the longer that I remain (17 months now), I, increasingly, realize how much support that I need to be more effective at this demanding client-facing role.
I am relatively new to my bank role, but I have been through the fire in the last five months: with an increasing project caseload; a lack of knowledge at the complexity of the projects that I have been assigned; the unpredictability of the challenges of those projects; and facing my own struggles to efficiently plan my precarious daily work day, I have been discouraged beyond what I feel is my capacity.
Luckily, I have a manager who has shown me grace, has been supportive of me in my process (and stern on some projects), and has oftentimes (as his nature) shared many lessons with me on project management and setting the right expectations.
After taking a week-long vacation in June earlier this year, encouraged by the guidance of a senior colleague, I returned to work with a refreshed mindset and learned how to more effectively manage my day, without feeling overwhelmed. The results were so positive that even my manager told me that my voice sounded different, that I had “life” in my voice, whereas before, he could hear my stress.
He was right: I needed that break.
Back to last Friday, I was, again, feeling overwhelmed to a point beyond my capacity and was, repeatedly, telling God that I needed a break. This is how God responded:
Shortly after logging on my laptop at 7:28 a.m., I was prompted to change my password, and I did so, the shortcut way. After closing my laptop to work downstairs on my mom’s kitchen table, I attempted to log back in, but after repeated unsuccessful attempts, I was eventually shut out of my work portal.
Once I contacted Desktop Support, my four-hour break began: I spoke with four different technical specialists (insert two 20-minute waiting periods); a dropped phone call (which led to another 20-minute waiting period); in-between, I had to lead a 15-minute client call at 11:00 a.m., which I apologized to my client for not having the project notes that I wanted to share in front of me.
After the fourth technical specialist led me through the final steps to synchronize my new password to all my bank portals (around 1:15 p.m.), I thanked the specialist, and laughed at God once I logged back in to my work portal.
Four hours away from working, God? Haha.
It’s the quick prayer requests that God answers, where I realize that His grace covers all my concerns, even if that means being locked out of my work portal for a short time.
I love God’s humor.