Showing posts with label retail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retail. Show all posts
Since the year 2010 i have spent my Christmas eves, boxing days and new years working in a shop and wishing i was like my family who spent all those days together. Having Christmas day and new years day as one of your two days off a week really kills your Christmas spirit. I've tried to not let it get me too down over the last 7 years and to be completely honest, after so many years it was all i knew.
Now after 7 long years i am finally out of retail and have a traditional break, i couldn't be more excited! My office are breaking up on the 21st of December and are not reopening till the 2nd of January, this is completely strange to me so it will be a shock to the system. I might not know what to do with my 11 days off. I am making the most of my weekends this month and attending the early Christmas markets, they are the best things ever! All the cute shops, great food and Christmas music.
Here is a little itinerary of my next two months with a few events I've already gone to from the start of the month.
#3rd November
Bonfire Night at Wickstead Park
#10th November
Northampton Winter Food Festival
#17th November
Higham Ferrers Christmas Sparkle
#24th November
Towcester Christmas Fayre
#1st December
Birmingham Christmas Market
#20th December
Work Christmas party at Barton Seagrave Hall
#Christmas Eve
Spending the day round my parents making sure we have everything ready for Christmas day
#Christmas Day
Christmas at the brother in laws house with all the family and a sleepover
#Boxing Day
Scanning the internet for some boxing day deals in my pj's eating the left over food
If i can bring myself to actually step foot in a shop after Christmas you may see me having a look in the sale sections. I have decided if i actually want to be on the other end this year, i know how crazy shoppers can be at Christmas.
I never talk about anything too heavy on my blog because I want this space to be filled with happy content, nobody likes a debbie downer do they. This is how I have been living my life recently, going along with the bad stuff and hoping it will work out in the end so that my life doesn't look like a pile of rubbish to anyone on the outside.
I should have known I would crack after a while. I lasted a good month of ignoring the bad and focusing in on the good areas of my life. Then the bad started to effect my home life and that's when it all had to stop.
I made the biggest decision of my life this week and took redundancy from my job. It was a hard decision to make and it took a lot for me to finally do it. If I didn't have the support of Callum or my family I wouldn't have had the courage to it.
A lot has changed in my work life in the last 6-8 months, some for the good some for the bad and it has taken a lot out of me. I have always been a laid back person who just got on with life and had fun doing it, recently I became emotional about the smallest of things and wasn't myself anymore. My work life took over my home life and I wasn't okay with that. It also didn’t help that my new store was an hour away from my home so it made my days even longer and when I did 12 hours days, I just became a zombie.
It all came to a head when I visited an old friend of mine who I used to work with, this person had help me get to where I wanted to be before it all went wrong. I got so emotional talking to this person about how I was feeling, this was the wake up call I needed to get out.
Luckily because I was in a new role I still had the opportunity to take redundancy, I now have time to properly look for a new job that makes me happy and gives me a decent work/life balance.
I haven't seen my friends or spent time with my family in what feels like months and I'm sad that I let it get to that stage. I was too wrapped up in trying to sort out my work life that I ignored my personal life, I couldn't split myself enough to be everywhere I wanted.
I have been working since I was 16 and worked so hard to climb the ladder at work to become management, so talking about taking redundancy was a no brainier for me. I love to work and with a new house to pay for I wasn't going to let myself be jobless for any amount of time but I have had to be a little selfish and put my happiness first this time around.
Right now I am enjoying the sunshine, spending time with friends and family and doing things that I enjoy. I have dug out my book I kept putting off finishing because I didn't have any time and I am full of ideas for my blog because my head is free.
I am on every job site that exists right now and I am going to go to my local agency to meet with recruiters who might have a new path for me to down. I have loads of experience in retail management but I think I want to move into office work now with a Monday to Friday week so I can spend proper time with Cal and my family who all work Monday to Friday.
While I am looking for my new job I am going to spend a lot of time getting myself back on track and try to figure out what I want to do with my life. I've never felt so unimportant and unaccomplished in my life but I did what I had to do and I already feel so much better.
Now I've had my rabble and got my feelings out it time to get back to happy posts! I have a lot planned in the next few weeks which I'm excited about including a Royal Wedding party at my house next Saturday!
I should have known I would crack after a while. I lasted a good month of ignoring the bad and focusing in on the good areas of my life. Then the bad started to effect my home life and that's when it all had to stop.
I made the biggest decision of my life this week and took redundancy from my job. It was a hard decision to make and it took a lot for me to finally do it. If I didn't have the support of Callum or my family I wouldn't have had the courage to it.
A lot has changed in my work life in the last 6-8 months, some for the good some for the bad and it has taken a lot out of me. I have always been a laid back person who just got on with life and had fun doing it, recently I became emotional about the smallest of things and wasn't myself anymore. My work life took over my home life and I wasn't okay with that. It also didn’t help that my new store was an hour away from my home so it made my days even longer and when I did 12 hours days, I just became a zombie.
It all came to a head when I visited an old friend of mine who I used to work with, this person had help me get to where I wanted to be before it all went wrong. I got so emotional talking to this person about how I was feeling, this was the wake up call I needed to get out.
Luckily because I was in a new role I still had the opportunity to take redundancy, I now have time to properly look for a new job that makes me happy and gives me a decent work/life balance.
I haven't seen my friends or spent time with my family in what feels like months and I'm sad that I let it get to that stage. I was too wrapped up in trying to sort out my work life that I ignored my personal life, I couldn't split myself enough to be everywhere I wanted.
I have been working since I was 16 and worked so hard to climb the ladder at work to become management, so talking about taking redundancy was a no brainier for me. I love to work and with a new house to pay for I wasn't going to let myself be jobless for any amount of time but I have had to be a little selfish and put my happiness first this time around.
Right now I am enjoying the sunshine, spending time with friends and family and doing things that I enjoy. I have dug out my book I kept putting off finishing because I didn't have any time and I am full of ideas for my blog because my head is free.
I am on every job site that exists right now and I am going to go to my local agency to meet with recruiters who might have a new path for me to down. I have loads of experience in retail management but I think I want to move into office work now with a Monday to Friday week so I can spend proper time with Cal and my family who all work Monday to Friday.
While I am looking for my new job I am going to spend a lot of time getting myself back on track and try to figure out what I want to do with my life. I've never felt so unimportant and unaccomplished in my life but I did what I had to do and I already feel so much better.
Now I've had my rabble and got my feelings out it time to get back to happy posts! I have a lot planned in the next few weeks which I'm excited about including a Royal Wedding party at my house next Saturday!
My life has changed completely this year all for the better but it still feels strange to think about how much it has.
At the start of the year Cal and I were waiting for our mortgage offer to be accepted which was a very anxious time for both of us. I get nervous speaking to new people anyway so having to talk to different mortgage accountants and solicitors was a bit nerve racking, plus I don't sound very professional at the best of times. It didn't take very long to get all the legal side sorted so it was just a waiting game after that. I can't explain what emotion I felt when we were told we finally had our mortgage offer and just needed to wait for our completion day. I have wrote a few posts about the process and although it can be a really hard and draining process for some people, we were quite lucky that we didn't have a house full of stuff to move or kids and pets to get settled. Because it was just us two we could do it all at our own pace which made it more fun.
Then moving into a new place for the first time with my partner was a very strange feeling, I am a big home person and I am the kind of person who if I got the choice to go out and do something or stay at home... I would stay at home. My room in my parents house was my favourite place so leaving that behind to live with someone else was a big step for me. I am quite an independent person in that I am happy to do my own thing on my days off or evenings so spending every evening with someone is different. Now that I have lived in my house for 7 months it feels completely like home and I love it so much. Cal and I have found our rhythm living together now and our house is coming together and by the beginning of next year we hope to have the final touches done.
If that change wasn't big enough Cal proposed to me the first night we slept over in our new house and I really wasn't expecting it at all! I know some people say that proposing means nothing it is just a piece of jewelry but it has definitely changed our relationship. It still feels weird walking around with a sparkly ring on my finger, it definitely makes me feel more grown up. I have forgot to wear it a few times because it is still new to me which Cal doesn't let me forgot haha. I have wrote a post on our engagement story for you to read.
They say good things normally come in threes but this year I had a fourth big change happen to me! I have been working in retail management for 4 years now and like in most retail jobs, to get to where you want to go you have to move up the ladder which can take years. Over the years I have been a Sales Advisor, Supervisor, Sales Manager and Deputy and finally I am a Manager of my own store!! I love working in small stores, I love smaller spaces so I can do more things in a shorter time and I find working in smaller stores I can do more. When I have worked in larger spaces I find I am just people managing all day rather than merchandising ect. I love all my staff that I have who are all lovely girls and am so happy in my store!
At the start of the year Cal and I were waiting for our mortgage offer to be accepted which was a very anxious time for both of us. I get nervous speaking to new people anyway so having to talk to different mortgage accountants and solicitors was a bit nerve racking, plus I don't sound very professional at the best of times. It didn't take very long to get all the legal side sorted so it was just a waiting game after that. I can't explain what emotion I felt when we were told we finally had our mortgage offer and just needed to wait for our completion day. I have wrote a few posts about the process and although it can be a really hard and draining process for some people, we were quite lucky that we didn't have a house full of stuff to move or kids and pets to get settled. Because it was just us two we could do it all at our own pace which made it more fun.
Then moving into a new place for the first time with my partner was a very strange feeling, I am a big home person and I am the kind of person who if I got the choice to go out and do something or stay at home... I would stay at home. My room in my parents house was my favourite place so leaving that behind to live with someone else was a big step for me. I am quite an independent person in that I am happy to do my own thing on my days off or evenings so spending every evening with someone is different. Now that I have lived in my house for 7 months it feels completely like home and I love it so much. Cal and I have found our rhythm living together now and our house is coming together and by the beginning of next year we hope to have the final touches done.
If that change wasn't big enough Cal proposed to me the first night we slept over in our new house and I really wasn't expecting it at all! I know some people say that proposing means nothing it is just a piece of jewelry but it has definitely changed our relationship. It still feels weird walking around with a sparkly ring on my finger, it definitely makes me feel more grown up. I have forgot to wear it a few times because it is still new to me which Cal doesn't let me forgot haha. I have wrote a post on our engagement story for you to read.
They say good things normally come in threes but this year I had a fourth big change happen to me! I have been working in retail management for 4 years now and like in most retail jobs, to get to where you want to go you have to move up the ladder which can take years. Over the years I have been a Sales Advisor, Supervisor, Sales Manager and Deputy and finally I am a Manager of my own store!! I love working in small stores, I love smaller spaces so I can do more things in a shorter time and I find working in smaller stores I can do more. When I have worked in larger spaces I find I am just people managing all day rather than merchandising ect. I love all my staff that I have who are all lovely girls and am so happy in my store!
Related Posts
Working in retail can mean a lot of your time is spent pulling your hair out at a messy shop, throw in manager duties and it can get a little crazy. I have recently got a promotion which means in the next few weeks I will be moving to a bigger city store to work which is 40 minutes away. I am quite good at separating my work like from my home life but when I move that might become different when I getting home at 8 and leaving the next morning at 5. These are the 5 things that I do now and will continue to do to keep work from taking over my little life.
- Mute all my work chats - I have a total of 5 work chats on Whatsapp it is ridiculous! So apart from my managers work chats which I have to keep open in case anything important is said, I mute the other 4 so I am not constantly reading about the stores on my region. It can get really annoying when your phone constantly pings and the message isn't for you.
- Making plans on my days off - It is so easy for me to spend my whole day off in bed doing nothing. I am a not so secret sloth but then I go back to work and feel like I have wasted my free time so I try and make plans most days. Its usually seeing my friends who are off too or going shopping in another town. My days off are my only real free time to blog too so usually my morning in bed are spent doing that.
- Going out for lunch - Half the time I have to stay at my work during lunch because I am the only management in but the other half I can leave and sometimes it is nice to just get out the shop especially if I am working a long day. You don't even have to spend money you can take a packed lunch and go sit on a bench or a park, lucky for me my new store is right by a river with benches all along it.
- Not bringing work home - Sometimes it is easy to think 'I can finish that rota at home and then it's done' but every time I do that I end up having no evening and then it is time for bed so I've stopped doing that . Work is work and home is home, yeah sometimes I bring a little something home to start because I want to but I have stopped giving myself homework.
- Using my evenings to relax and have me time - After a long day at work I like to come home, get in my pj's and do absolutely nothing and it feels great! If I do have some energy then I like to have a little pamper sess to build me back up and if I have a lot of energy I like to see my friends and be sociable. Me and Cal love to go for a walk when it is nice weather in the evenings (see picture above from last nights walk).
I shall let you all know how my move goes when I finally do move! Change is exciting but also so so scary so I hope I enjoy the change of scenery!
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If you follow me on twitter you will know that me and my boyfriend Callum went to Bedford for the day last Friday. I went a bit camera happy at some points of the day so thought I would put them all together in a post for both you and me :)
The first thing we did when we got there was find the local Costa so that we could feel our limbs again, whenever we go on an adventure together we always start the day with a hot chocolate for both of us (of course mine is the cream one)
Then we hit the shops to nick some warmth because it was unbelievable cold that day! I have to say we weren't too impressed with the shops, the Topman was too small for Cal's liking and I didn't like anything in Newlook or River Island. I did find some cute underwear in Primark so I was happy, Primark underwear is the only underwear that I like and that fits me well.
After walking around trying to find our way to all the shops we found a covered lane called The Arcade which housed a shop for both me and Cal. I loved a cute home and gifty shop called Charisma (website) where I picked up two bath bombs for £2.50 and some 'little hotties' which you put on top of a oil burner. It was £6.99 for a full box of any that you wanted so I picked two of each and I cant wait to smell out my room with them. Cal found a little clothing boutique called Boutique Planet where he found some tops that me liked and the guy who was working was really friendly and a laugh to talk.
Next we went for a walk at The River Embankment which is super long and looked like it went on for a million miles. We couldn't walk a lot of it because the weather felt like it was artic conditions but we did enjoy a nice little stroll down it to relax us. Here is where i went camera mad so prepare for a million photos...
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Apparently I thought I was some kind of landscape photographer at this point...
While we were walking across the road we found a hut on a hill which you could walk up and see high above the road and river...
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We then drove down the road from the town centre to The Interchange Retail Park which was about 10 minutes away. Thank goodness we found this otherwise i would have wrote Bedford off for its shop choices. It has a Toys 'r' Us store which me and Cal loved walking round because we both are like little kids, it also has a Matalan, Boots and Outfit among loads other which we didn't go into. Outfit was a great shop but I just didn't see anything I loved which was a bit gutting.
Lastly before we drove home Cal took me to where his grand parents live just as you enter Bedford and I fell in love with all the houses there. Across the road from his grandparents house is a play park and a county park where you can follow paths all through the forest and fields and which would be a lovely walk (if it was much warmed!)
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