She Is My Captain Cool, At Work And In My Life!

So, to first set the context, I am a professor in an Engineering college. A few months ago, at the beginning of 2023, one of my colleagues quit. And another colleague and a good friend of mine met with an accident and went on medical leave for 6 months.

Now this mattered a lot to me because we three had always been a close trio with a lot of camaraderie. Not that we weren’t friends with the rest, but the three of us had joined at the same time, shared the same staff room, similar subjects and interests. We would lunch together, share our professional and personal troubles, gossip… in short, we were an unbreakable team for almost 15 years.

Then suddenly we were separated and hypothetically speaking, I was kind of all alone at work. I am someone who’s not just all work and no play. I enjoy company, I forever want someone to share things with. And now there were other staff members who shifted to our room, one of them being the workplace bestie I am going to talk about here.

For starters, she is one person who doesn’t waste time stressing or procrastinating. There’s work coming in all the time, from all directions, unexpected mostly, with too close a deadline. The first thing I end up doing, unfortunately, is stress. Then crib about why it had to be me and spend hours trying to figure out ways to push it towards the target end time. I’m not generalizing here, but I’m sure there are many who could relate to this. She on the other hand, seldom spends a moment complaining. I mean, I’ve never heard her say, Why Me? There’s a lot on her plate that she heads and handles, smartly and efficiently. The good leader that she is, she delegates some, manages everything else, and makes sure the task is completed before time, with no grumbling whatsoever.

So much that I admired

I’m sure this trait of hers, time management and prioritizing, enables her to accomplish what I admire the most. Finding quality time. To spend on family, hobbies, and most importantly her health. She’s a cyclist, plays cricket, and works out on a regular basis, I guess that’s the reason she doesn’t tire out the way I do. A mother of two grown-up kids, she dedicates her weekends to shuttling between home and their hostels. The fact that she makes these trips fun and not plain routine, is indeed commendable.

All this stems from the basic fact that she doesn’t carry work home, her motto is to work diligently at the office and devote time at home for friends and family. I have to mention here that she happens to be an easy-going straightforward employee, she hardly engages in office politics or loose talk.

Moreover, she is a fashionista, up to date with the latest trends. In fact, many of us look up to her, getting handy tips about how to dress classy and where to go shopping. And that’s definitely because she finds me-time to splurge on herself, which I guess is most important. Something I can’t boast of. She enjoys a good social life too, with plenty of friends in the residential society, extended family, picnics, music, and movies.

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But… how to follow in her footsteps?

All these are qualities I would love to possess, but unfortunately don’t find the time and energy for them.

I feel I waste a bit too much of my time overthinking, fretting about consequences that might not even occur, spending sleepless nights, and ending up groggy all day.

She instead, always focuses on the positives. What if she has a bad day at work, there’s always something to look forward to in the evenings. What if the week was too hectic, there’s the weekend to go on a short break. What if someone at the workplace has been mean, there’s family and friends to cheer you up. And what if you fail at something, there’s always next time.

She is a Doctorate in Electronics Engineering, no less, the elder daughter-in-law of a joint family, doting wife and mother, connoisseur of chic Mumbai restaurants, good teacher, fitness enthusiast, and a smiling face, she dons many hats at one time. I wouldn’t call her a superwoman, because I believe it’s a label that unduly pressurizes women to be overachievers.

I would rather call my colleague ‘Captain Cool’. Because that’s what she is. Calm and focused, who knows where her priorities lie, who spreads positivity and leaves behind needless toxicities. I am so glad our paths crossed, there’s much to learn from her and I’m trying my best to imbibe whatever little I can.

This is my workplace story and I’m proud to have her as my Workplace bestie.

Image source: a still from the film Chalk and Duster

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