In my current job, I work with professors to create courses fully online. One day, I had a professor dressed up, prepared, and ready to record an on-camera course video. We get to the recording studio and the door is locked. This door is always unlocked! No one had a key in the entire office. I had to send him home, and not only was he not pleased, I was embarrassed and felt bad. Not a good image for me or the office.

You would think this is simple, just get a key, and problem solved. My manager attempted to get a key but has numerous other commitments and priorities and this is not at the top of her list for her to chase. I get it. I understand we have lots going on in our office. However, I have been waiting for 4 weeks for this key to our recording studio, and still no key.

Multiple times we could have used the studio, but no key. So today, I woke up and said to myself, I will take care of this.

I had to make several calls and emails, taking a few extra steps, to get to the correct department. But within 24 hours, I was moving in the right direction for the facility department to unlock the door for us.

It may take some of us extra steps, whereas others might get things done in one step. No matter the number of steps one must take, we all will hopefully get to the same solution or problem resolved.

Was I frustrated? Yes. Was this an inconvenience to myself and someone else? Yes. Was this a waste of time? Probably. Especially waiting 4 weeks when this could have been done in a day or two. So what can we take away?

Don’t think of things as wasted time or energy. Instead, think of it this way.

Did it help you grow as a person?

Did you learn?

Did you problem solve?

How would you have handled the situation differently?

For me, I needed to take the extra steps to get a simple task resolved, and I needed to learn not to get frustrated. Being frustrated solved nothing. So if you need to take extra steps to get things done, turn it into a positive and see what you can learn from the experience.

Today they unlocked the door and I had the studio ready for another professor to record. It was a good day. We still do not have a key, but I now have the correct contact person for unlocking the studio when needed. One day, we will have a key 🙂

Always remember to Be Yourself Be Strong and Be Beautiful®

-Alia Renee