Title Image

Work, life and things in between – Day 28: The catch up game!

Work, life and things in between – Day 28: The catch up game!

I am up at 05.30 and this is a good thing.  I still have a lot to do.  The cab pulls in the drive way at 09.30 and I am just barely ready.  I was trying to catch up on my e-mails before heading East today.

Funny thing is, all along while you are in that fast mode wanting to catch up and staying on top of things (mostly at work) you do not ever, ever catch up unless you play alone while nobody else is .  The only time to get ahead are the week-ends or the middle of the night.  Then of course you may win the catch up game but loose on other fronts…such as sleep, relationships, health just to name a few.

Turns out you have only so many beads.  You can put them all on the work game and have none left for other things…or you can spread them differently.  The art is not to spread them too thin.

Reality: everyone has the same number of beads…and everyone decides how to play them.

This is the part I struggled with the most when I came to realize what my Coach was trying to tell me all along.  In the end, you choose where you are and what you do.

An ugly thought when you happen to dislike where you are!

So, if you don’t like what you do, you just change.  If you don’t like where you are, you just move.  Sounds simple? Well of course there is a myriad of logistical issues around this, but bottom line is: she was right.  This is your call.

Speaking of call, while waiting for my flight I call Tania.  She is a former employee of mine.  Her and I got to know each other quite well in the last stretch as we worked so many long hours together.  Were we to live in the same city I think we would visit regularly.  We have been trying to connect for over one week.  Finally, we can talk.  I miss her.  I miss her and a few others as well.  In the end what you miss from the work place is the same as what kept you going back day in and day out.  In my case, as it relates to this last job, it is the relationships.  The friends.

I sit in business class, as I frequently do, thanks to my frequent flyer status.  The upside of being on the road so much.

It is still difficult not to reach out for my laptop and catch up on my e-mails.  To sit still for five hours and simply read, watch a movie or even more challenging, simply listen to music.  This again is such a novelty, one I need to train myself to get comfortable with.  There is that incredible sense of “must do”, “must take advantage of that idle time”  syndrome.

I am actually surprised.  I thought I was always that calm, easy going person.  I find I can be quite wired.  Unwiring myself is not as easy as I thought it would be. This will be on going, I can tell.I am up at 05.30 and this is a good thing.  I still have a lot to do.  The cab pulls in the drive way at 09.30 and I am just barely ready.  I was trying to catch up on my e-mails before heading East today.

Funny thing is, all along while you are in that fast mode wanting to catch up and staying on top of things (mostly at work) you do not ever, ever catch up unless you play alone while nobody else is .  The only time to get ahead are the week-ends or the middle of the night.  Then of course you may win the catch up game but loose on other fronts…such as sleep, relationships, health just to name a few.

Turns out you have only so many beads.  You can put them all on the work game and have none left for other things…or you can spread them differently.  The art is not to spread them too thin.

Reality: everyone has the same number of beads…and everyone decides how to play them.

This is the part I struggled with the most when I came to realize what my Coach was trying to tell me all along.  In the end, you choose where you are and what you do.

An ugly thought when you happen to hate where you are!

So, if you don’t like what you do, you just change.  If you don’t like where you are, you just move.  Sounds simple? Well of course there is a myriad of logistical issues around this, but bottom line is: she was right.  This is your call.

Speaking of call, while waiting for my flight I call Tania.  She is a former employee of mine.  Her and I got to know each other quite well in the last stretch as we worked so many long hours together.  Were we to live in the same city I think we would visit regularly.  We have been trying to connect for over one week.  Finally, we can talk.  I miss her.  I miss her and a few others as well.  In the end what you miss from the work place is the same as what kept you going back day in and day out.  In my case, as it relates to this last job, it is the relationships.  The friends.

I sit in business class, as I frequently do, thanks to my frequent flyer status.  The upside of being on the road so much.

It is still difficult not to reach out for my laptop and catch up on my e-mails.  To sit still for five hours and simply read, watch a movie or even more challenging, simply listen to music.  This again is such a novelty, one I need to train myself to get comfortable with.  There is that incredible sense of “must do”, “must take advantage of that idle time”  syndrome.

I am actually surprised.  I thought I was always that calm, easy going person.  I find I can be quite wired.  Unwiring myself is not as easy as I thought it would be. This will be on going, I can tell.