Focus

This is crunch time. There is a lot of work to be done. Client projects have been dragging on and I'm almost done with them. Exciting ideas and activities for “Sprysoft” are coming along. The tax man cometh. So many things to do. Only so much time is given in each day.

I'm doing my best to try to maintain a healthy work/life balance. It's so very easy for me to get sucked into work. Some days, things just need to be done. Other days, I just juggle the clubs as they are tossed my way.

I remember a year ago being totally clueless about what 2002 would bring. In retrospect, what it brought was an education. So many lessons learned. So much opportunity to experiment and test. So many trials and pain. So much joy.

The lesson I'm learning these days is focus. When there are more activities going on than you can simultaneously deal with, you must learn to spend time focused on each one without distractions, but the key is knowing when to move to the next — and which task should be next in line. It is a tough lesson to learn, but I'd like to think I'm getting better.

What I have learned so far:

The Human Clock

Beginning last Monday, the wife volunteered for the early shift at work. (7:30 – 4:30) To many, this wouldn't be that big of a deal, but her previous shift was 9-6. Her old shift usually meant that by the time I realized she was awake, it was around 7:30. Piece of cake – even for a nightowl like me.

The new schedule means that my wife rolls out of bed around 5:00 a.m. and begins her day. In my attempt at being a supportive husband, I try to trudge along right behind her (in a dazed, zombie-like stupor), crank on some tunes, and start whipping up some breakfast.

As the week wore on, it was a bit more difficult. By Thursday night, we were in bed, asleep, by 9:00.

Reflecting back on the events of the past week, I realized that in many ways, it had been a VERY productive week. While I had been working roughly the same number of hours each day (12+) I began to see a pattern emerging that was a bit exciting to my productivity meter. On most days, by 6:00 am, I had eaten my breakfast, read the news, and had begun my daily work routine. On my old schedule, this might have been 9 or 9:30. By the time noon came around, I had already packed in nearly a whole day. In addition, around 3 o'clock, I continued to get my second wind and zip through my afternoon activities.

I have never been an early-morning person, but I've always wanted to be. We'll see how week 2 goes and if I'm able to get just as much done. In the meantime, I'm tired! I can hardly wait until 9 tonight.

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