1) A lot less email each day to deal with. This was an unexpected bonus.

2) Fewer hurdles to jump through to get work done. This killed me at my old job. Swimming up a waterfall is what it felt like to move projects forward. How many people does it take to make one decision?

3) Great people who are creative, talented and hard-working. This is similar to my old job. I did work with great people. It was the myriad processes that made it hard.

4) More time spent on work that matters = more writing of curriculum, research and proposals. No more constant rewriting of, and agonizing over, PowerPoints for the president to use one time. We called it disposable work. Or, writing on toilet paper.

5) Fewer processes, which is good and bad. There is no on-boarding manual at my new job. No roadmap or thick book of “rules not to trip over.” No one-day new hire workshop. Luckily, I feel comfortable figuring out stuff on my own. Otherwise, I would have been hosed.

So, that’s life at my new career. It doesn’t mean it’s been frustration free. Every new job comes with challenges, but I’m glad I made the move.

I haven’t blogged because I worked every day for the first three weeks to make a good first impression. But I enjoyed it. That was the best part.

I’m more engaged and the effort I give feels like it matters more. Whereas at the corporation, constant turnover at the management level meant starting over often and the complete destruction of past successes and sacrifices. Here, I think it will be different.

On the downside, my medical costs will be higher, but it seems like a small price to pay for a happier work life.

So far, so good. Luck is on my side. Knock on wood (I’m tapping on my head right now).