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Going crazy or just getting old?

Posted: Jun 19, 2015

I had to take a fulltime job in the world and found a job as a front desk gal. I'm 55 years old, so I consider it lucky. It pays much better than I expected too. Now, here's the deal... I keep making goofy mistakes! I sent out reminder cards to the patient's with 34 cent stamps rather than adding the 1 cent stamp to make it 35, I put the financial statements in the doc's box instead of the accountant's box, I add a patient to the schedule but forget to pull their chart, have to look up insurance fees because I can't remember then; just a bunch of little things, but to me it adds up!

I feel stupid because it seems that there is so much to do that I can't manage it all, but that's what a front desk person is suppose to do! I am embarassed and ashamed that at my age I HAVE to start a new type of job, and I know that they could probably hire a younger person with a sharp mind that could run circles around me. I wonder if there are effective brain exercises? I'm pretty sure menopause plays a role in this, I hear that some ladies get a "foggy brain" and I hope that's all it is. I also don't think that I received enough training on any level! After they were comfortable enough with me answering the phones and taking appointments, everything else I've done I've had to learn alone or figure out by going online or calling up anyone who can help me; insurances, the software people, the people who installed that multiline phone we use, even down to how to do a refund on a credit card machine! I learned that alone.

I wonder if anyone has had similar problems and what they did; or am I just working in a young person's world?

By the way, I haven't got into any "trouble" with the doc or anyone else, but I don't want to either! I just have higher expectations of myself.

Thanks a lot! ~ goofy

;

My thoughts - Sm

[ In Reply To ..]
How long have you been there? I used to work front office and I know it can be very hectic at times.

Just take it slow and take it easy on yourself. It's okay to make mistakes and be a human being. We all feel goofy doing something new. I applaud you for your courage. I'm in my 50s and don't know if I could go back to an office. Once you've been there awhile and get used to the routine, it will all become automatic. My favorite part of the job was talking to and getting to know the patients, so different from MT. Anyway, enjoy it and let yourself feel goofy, I'm sure you're doing fine. Good luck.

I had that problem - when I was

[ In Reply To ..]
Made manager of a small retail store and at the time I was young, in my early 30s. What I did was make notes and have a schedule. I was calling wholesalers twice and ordering the same items, and I never even remembered calling them the first time. My mind was just overloaded. The notes helped me get through it. I checked everything off as I finished each job. You will be fine. Just give it time.

My thoughts on that - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I think that your erroneous beliefs about this are the main problem!

You are in a new job that has many different responsibilities. You are learning and getting accustomed to it. Anyone in that job would have difficulties keeping things straight at first, regardless of their age.

You are coming from a job you had done for years. It did not involve a lot of task switching. But, because you had learned all of it to the point that it was comfortable and you didn't "forget" anything, you now think that something is wrong with you when you forget something or become distracted in the office confusion.

The worst is that you are jumping to the conclusion that this is AGE! You are leaping to the assumption that something is WRONG with YOU!

I can't tell you how frustrating it is for me to see people here get good jobs and give up on them a few weeks later because ... there is a learning curve.

"It is too hard!" "I made a trivial mistake!" "I forgot to put water in the
coffee maker!" "I'm afraid I will get yelled at! I have to quit before that happens!"

And your AGE concerns are only at 55!

This past week, I locked myself out of my office, tried to pay for my lunch with someone's business card, went to the printer twice without printing the document, forgot to prepare for a meeting, forgot to bring a sign in sheet to another, and goodness only knows what else. Was it my age? No. Does this happen to anyone else? Yes. Am I worried? No.

I am not concerned at all because most people cannot do my job at any age, nor could they do yours.

I think you need to stop thinking you have a problem. Accept that this job has a learning curve. Make a list of task instructions. Keep a running list of what you have to do. Do not rely on memory.

If you have brain fog, that might be a problem. It is not caused by age, however. It usually clears with a gluten free diet. If you want to be rid of the fog, try that. If you do not want to exert that much effort, you won't exert the effort and can continue to be impaired by it.

I agree with you about checking things off on a - list. That can serve two purposes:

[ In Reply To ..]
1) You get things done, and you know when they've been completed when you check them off.

2) Making lists as you think of things you need to remember frees up your mind to do other things. For instance, for several days before I have something important to do, or before I travel, I carry a slip of paper around with me in my hip pocket. Whenever I think of something I have to do (have a certain outfit ready; go to the bank; pack this or that; call a petsitter; put gas in the car, etc.) I write down, and then I can forget about it until it's time to start checking things off the list.

It makes getting to sleep at night a lot easier, too!

Oh, Brother, Can I Relate - see msg

[ In Reply To ..]
Oh brother. I got out of MT after doing it from home for 15 years. I know that horrible office feeling. I had not worked on office equipment (like a dang photocopier) since the 1970s.

It is extremely common these days for offices to not offer training--or they think it's training because they showed you a few things. It is unfair, to say the least. I think most of what you are experiencing is nerves. You want to do well, but you were thrust into a position with pretty much no training.

I finally found a job where they understood they didn't have the time to train me, and they were very patient with me and answered my questions as best they could when they arose, and nobody "came down on me" when I made mistakes.

You also may have a situation where they've been doing this for a gazillion years, so they don't even realize how many little details there are that they neglect to tell you.

I would go to your supervisor and tell her you really appreciate this opportunity, and any mistakes she notices are simply because you are trying to figure things out on your own and it will take some time.

Best of luck to you. I finally found an office job that I love--it didn't come easy---did a lot of phone calls, going to interviews pounding the pavement, but I'm there 3 months now and couldn't be happier. If nobody is giving you a hard time, just stick it out and things will come together.

Did I post this yesterday? I can't remember! LOL! You just told my exact story! - Me

[ In Reply To ..]
Seriously, you went from being at the top of your profession to starting over and learning a new job. It's a major transition and a tough one, so don't be too hard on yourself.

A few years ago, I was in the same boat. I was 20-year veteran acute care MT. I had just gotten laid from yet another MT job and was completely frustrated. So I applied for a medical receptionist job at a local doctor's office. I came home and cried everyday for the first two weeks. There was just so many details and little things that I had to learn and remember and on top of that I had to answer the phone that NEVER stopped ringing. It seemed that I answered to everyone in the office from the doctors, to the billers, to the medial assistants, to the other receiptionist. Whenever I would make a mistake, one of my co-workers would throw the check in sheet down in front of me and say "what's wrong with this?" and basically wanted me to find my mistake. God it was horrible!

One day I had an epiphany. The doctor who owned the practice told me I was diong a great job and he was glad he hired me. The patients loved me because I was friendly and always smiling. I realized that the only person who could fire me (the doctor) liked me. So I just kept on learning from my mistakes and eventually I was great at the job. Now I run the front office. The billers love me because I took the time to learn their jobs so I could better understand what they need from the patients and the insurance companies.

So see, it will get better. You just have trust yourself and tell yourself that you are doing the best that you can do and that's all you CAN do.

Good Luck to you!

Thanks! - Goofy

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks for the pick-me-ups and pep talks, and even the tough love! It honestly made me feel a lot better. You're all right, this is new to me, very new and it WILL take time to get it all down, but I'll learn and get better at it!

Ps and Qs - Goofier

[ In Reply To ..]
People who have not gone through the mid life "fuzzy" changes do not understand. You swear you will remember something and the next day it can be like a dream.

I agree with all of the above on just doing the best job you can with a good attitude, but if you need some other boost:

There is a brain training program you could try called Lumosity. I did it and it did seem to help my concentration.

Meditation: I did some recorded meditations and positive affirmations, and again it seemed to focus and calm me.

Sleep: Develop a good pre-sleep routine--perhaps shower, read a book (no electronics, computer or even TV if a problem). I now drink a half a cup of a concentrated cherry juice an hour or so before bed. It has a natural melatonin and I sleep better which makes my day go better.

Exercise: I made it my routine to get up an half hour earlier and rev up my metabolism by doing an exercise video step-bench routine. Again, felt better able to tackle the day with energy and keep my mood up.

It is hard to do all of this, but the more you try, it will become a habit. Good luck.

The same sorts of things happen to me. - I once read somewhere that the - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
reason many of us middle-age-and-older folks sometimes have trouble with remembering the small things is that we already have a lifetime of things to remember crammed into our brains. It's kind of like your computer: It runs fast as lightning when you first get it. Then you fill it with additional programs, photos, emails, bookmarks, cookies, etc. and it doesn't pull things up as quickly as it once did.

A long time ago I was training a new MT in our department, and he was an older guy. He didn't learn things quite as quickly as one might have liked, and you had to correct him more often than you would a 22-year-old, but once he had it down, his reliability and quality of work was bombproof. He didn't do things as fast as other people, but he was unflappable, and did excellent work.

I think for a lot of us, short-term memory becomes more problematic because of the same things above - all the long-term memory that's already hard-wired in our brains. I find this annoyingly true just in daily life around the house, such as misplacing car keys, glasses, that cup of coffee I just made, etc. I think it's because I'm doing those things less consciously while thinking of other things at the same time. If I make an effort to consciously think, "I am putting my car keys down here on the table", I can remember it later. So maybe all you need is a little fine-tuning in how you process what you're learning. I also share your observation that when lots of things are going on (such as in a busy office) I get distracted easily and tend to make more mistakes. Hang in there, you're not crazy - just have more life experience!

I Agree - See msg

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm the now-happy office worker who wrote above about most offices not willing to spend time training.

I think part of what is going on with we MTs is that we were blind-sided by the downturn of our field. I don't know about everyone else, but I had planned on doing MT until retirement--only to find out at the age of 57 that it just wasn't going to happen, that it was too far down the tubes. I really, really wanted to stick it out until age 62 when I could collect SS, but...

So, anyone in our age group struggling in a new office job, I think we're just exhausted at the mere thought of having to learn a new skill set at our age. I have all I can do to remember one task to the next. It's very tiring for our age group after what we've been through with MT.

So, go easy on yourself. I had ups and downs in my 20s and 30s in terms of switching jobs, and I bounced with it like a rubber ball. Not so in my late 50s.

That explanation is based on a joke - and is ageism.

[ In Reply To ..]
That isn't really true. Our brains do not run slower because they get filled up like a computer. Our brains actually remodel themselves throughout life.

That explanation is based on humor, which is fine, but when used to explain an individual's difficulties with a job, it is ageism. It perpetuates inaccurate and damaging stereotypes.

When you point to one man whom you felt was a slow learner and you attribute that to his age, you are using a convenient explanation based on popular stereotypes. If he had been female and blonde, would you have attributed it to that? No, because you recognize that as silly. Would you attribute it to race? No, because you recognize that as racist.

The fact is that he was probably that way all his life.

There are many very competent people who are older, just as there are many older people who are still just as incompetent as they were at 20.

Cognitive changes to occur, but they are not necessarily the reason you forget your keys. Studies are showing that we have too much competing for our attention today. It makes little difference how old you are.

Please stop blaming all of this on age.

I got a second bachelor's and a graduate certificate, passed several exams that have failure rates in the range of 60 to 70%, and changed careers into informatics and data analytics after turning 50.

And you know what? Most of the 60-70% who failed those exams are people under 30.

EVERYONE becomes distracted when a lot of things are going on. Technology is making the problem worse.

slower learning versus wisdom - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I disagree. I believe it is more difficult for some/most people to learn new things as you get older. There are many studies on how quickly children learn versus changes that occur as we age.

However, as you age, you have compensating mechanisms such as experience and wisdom and understanding of your self and others that keeps you valuable in the working world.

When I was younger I could read something once and "get it." However I did not have the best judgment or what some now term as "emotional intelligence." I have much more emotional intelligence now, but now I might have to read something 3 times and practice, practice, practice.

Yes, everyone has distractions but when you are having trouble perhaps with vision or hearing issues, arthritis pain, all that adds up to more stress.

That is more ageism. Not everyone has vision, hearing, - or arthritis problems.

[ In Reply To ..]
Some younger people do, too.

Realitiy -vs- ageism - old lady

[ In Reply To ..]
Bifocals, hearing aids and knee replacements. This is the reality of the added stressors older workers might be facing. Call it ageism, its a fact.

The three most common causes of disability continued to be arthritis or rheumatism (affecting an estimated 8.6 million persons), back or spine problems (7.6 million), and heart trouble (3.0 million). Women (24.4%) had a significantly higher prevalence of disability compared with men (19.1%) at all ages. For both sexes, the prevalence of disability doubled in successive age groups (18--44 years, 11.0%; 45--64 years, 23.9%; and ≥65 years, 51.8%).

Oh boy! - SmileyChica

[ In Reply To ..]
At 51, haven't ventured out yet, but I can see this being me. I called my baby grandson every name but his own last night. **eyeroll**

Now, add the fact that I can't make a decision to save my life these days (so frustrating and out of character), and I would say that YOU are doing fine compared to how I will be.

Someone told me once that retention of tasks of a new job is 10% at a time. I would say that sounds about right.

Hang in!

~Chica~

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