Let’s Talk – Day 4

 

This week is National Women’s Health Week.  Their slogan is “Let’s talk!” and their logo is a delightful pink elephant in the room.  This week, I’m getting us talking about periods with an engineering spin.   Have a look at yesterday’s post to get up to speed.

 

We will continue to use the Engineering Hierarchy of Controls to examine this topic each day of this week.

 

Just a note that some of the health and medical things discussed here aren’t the right solution for every one and your doctor might have some really good reasons why it won’t work for you (like, you might have a stroke), so treat this information as if it were a casual gossip with a girlfriend and not tailored medical advice.

 

Today we’re up to Administrative Controls.

 

Administrative Controls

 

If you have ever met with me, chances are it was scheduled as an event in my calendar.  Everything is in my calendar.  And I mean everything.  There is a four-weekly repeating event marked as “EOM” for End of Month so I know when I’m likely to not feel crash hot.  With this information, I can manage my life (to a certain extent) so that I’m not doing highly stressful, high stakes or physically demanding stuff when I’m cramping, bloated or could have an emotional response range anywhere between an overtired toddler and The Queen of Hearts.

 

 

The most significant professional memory I have of avoiding scheduling something on a Red Letter Day was when I was booking my CPEng interview.  I was offered 9am on the first day of my period or 11am the following week.  I chose the latter, specifically because I thought I would feel better and hence perform better.  I was incredibly relaxed, gave my presentation without a hitch, answered all of the questions, ethical and technical, and was granted my CPEng.

 

Is this sneaky and selfish?  I don’t know… but I think I’m going to continue to do this sort of thing anyway.  What do you think?  Do you even give it a second thought?

 

I want the best outcomes for myself, my company and my clients.  So I’m going to continue to give myself all the advantages I can by making sure that I’m in the best state I possibly can be when doing the hardest stuff.

 

Cycle times administrated!

 

Tomorrow, is the last level of the hierarchy of controls and we’re looking at Personal Protective Equipment.