Jobs and Memory

[Turtledove]

Has anyone ever felt overwhelmed by so many things one had to learn on your first new job to the point your mind basically shuts down? What about when someone tells you a task or something of that nature and your short-term memory loss kicks in and then you feel like something's wrong with you when you start drawing blanks? The thought of making a mistake bothers you? Is that a serious problem or is it just an INFx thing just not good with details? Tell me about your first job.

 

[King sns]

Has anyone ever felt overwhelmed by so many things one had to learn on your first new job to the point your mind basically shuts down? What about when someone tells you a task or something of that nature and your short-term memory loss kicks in and then you feel like something's wrong with you when you start drawing blanks? The thought of making a mistake bothers you? Is that a serious problem or is it just an INFx thing just not good with details? Tell me about your first job.

I honestly don't even learn or try to memorize much the first couple of days on the job, it's more about making an impression and getting friends, so then you're surrounded by people who are willing to answer your questions later.

 

[SilkRoad]

Yes, this has happened with me. It was in the first job I had with a significantly higher level of responsibility - and it was pretty high. I had to keep track of a bunch of schedules, attend at least eight meetings a week and chair/organise some of them, answer random questions on all kinds of subjects etc. And I got thrown in at the deep end more so than I might otherwise because it was maternity cover. I was basically ill with stress for a month. A few people who knew me better told me that my skin looked grey. And yes, I did have that mind-shutting-down feeling.

But...what I found after that month or so was that I let myself relax a bit, realised that if I made a few mistakes everything was still basically fine, and also realised that I was doing a pretty good job and people were happy with me. It's very easy to self-sabotage yourself in these situations ("oh no, I can't do this, I'll be exposed as an idiot, everyone will see how bad I am at this" etc). When you realise that objectively things are going quite well and you're doing better than you thought you were, it's a nice feeling.

That might not help much with the "memory" thing but just my 2 cents.

 

[FDG]

Actually no. Most jobs I've had were very easy compared to to the torture I was subject to during primary school, middle school and university.

 

[Such Irony]

Has anyone ever felt overwhelmed by so many things one had to learn on your first new job to the point your mind basically shuts down? What about when someone tells you a task or something of that nature and your short-term memory loss kicks in and then you feel like something's wrong with you when you start drawing blanks? The thought of making a mistake bothers you? Is that a serious problem or is it just an INFx thing just not good with details? Tell me about your first job.

Yes, this has happened to me. In a fast food job of all places! There's actually quite a bit of detail involved in the fast food joint where I formerly worked. Everything from the way the sandwich is wrapped to the number of pickle or tomato slices to put on and the order to put the ingredients on. Every little thing had a very specific 'right' way and 'wrong' way. I got yelled at by the manager multiple times for doing things wrong. I wasn't trying to do things wrong on purpose- it was just that I couldn't keep all those little details in order and in some cases I didn't know I was doing anything wrong because there are so many rules, it couldn't all be covered in one training.

 

[mmhmm]

not really. i went in with the thought that i probably knew nothing.
and i was right. so i just tried to learn what not to do. and i learned
something new everyday.

 

[Turtledove]

[MENTION=10653]SuchIrony[/MENTION] Oh my! Being yelled at never really helps others learn to do it right.

[MENTION=10491]mmhmm[/MENTION] Whatever works to learn, right!

 

[greenfairy]

IXXP's are not naturally good in restaurants. I did great in food preparation and being a hostess, but now I'm a server and it's totally different. This is exactly how I feel pretty much every day at work. I'm working on not being stressed, and so when I'm relaxed I make fewer mistakes; but the fact is in a lot of ways I suck at Te (managing time, prioritizing), Fe (being personable, knowing if people are done talking before I walk away, making it look like I'm listening, not being awkward and abrasive), and Se (paying attention to my environment, watching other people and noticing the details of how they do their job).

 

[kyuuei]

Sometimes it feels that way--but usually those details become muscle memory within the first week of work. Most of the details aren't meant to be soaked in immediately.. You DO the job, and you learn from there. You hear it all once, do it a couple times, and you've got it. Of course it seems like a lot to someone new, but you take it all in little pieces throughout the day. Most jobs you have the basics down after 8 hours.

 

[jcloudz]

if anxiety gets the best of me, yes. best way to handle things for me is to approach it as a problem to be solved and i love problem solving and juggling multiple task. i guess i like being overwhelmed with work and disaster

 

[Qlip]

I don't stress the details, they'll fill themselves in. They always do. Mostly I just make sure I learn the basic framework, and know where to find the answers when the questions come up: people, binders full of rules, notes etc. I expect to be slow and make some mistakes at the beginning. It works out.

 

[Ism]

YES.

Ugh. Haha. It's such a problem, so now I've gotten into the habit of writing down everything my employers say I need to do, word for word, or else I will fuck it up somehow.

But I usually get the hang of things by the end of the second week, and I can throw all of my silly notes away. I think it's mostly because it's a lot of information that I can't readily connect with anything else I've experienced (these jobs aren't exactly my forte), so it's difficult to arrange in my mental schema. Like I said, though, it doesn't take long for that information to build a nest and find a place to call home inside my brain.