For over 25 years I’ve been working 25/8/366. It’s the nature of the beast for an agent in the maritime industry where ships move constantly and you’re continuously communicating with clients globally. I’ve burnt the candle at all three ends for longer than I can remember and yet, I am simultaneously a big advocate of wellness and work ethics. The job is to get them ALL done and it’s not easy threading the eye of that needle!
Add to that life itself. I’m married to a beautiful functional nutritionist (who also happens to be a pastor’s wife), am the father of three amazing teenage divas, sit on five boards and since I was bored during the pandemic shutdown, decided to co-found a greentech startup. I feel the time crunch with the best of them.
A few months ago I was really feeling that pressure and dove into a book written by my friend, Dr. Eugene Wilson, titled “Rhythm” on the subject of finding life balance with time management. Huge help to me and I’ve recommended it to dozens of people along with giving out copies to several friends personally. I clearly believe in being a good steward of our most precious commodity and encourage it strongly.
So hear me when I say this: YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO HAVE MORE TIME! You’ve got to be more efficient in how you handle the little you’ve got left (we’re all running out of it.) As employees and volunteers, we’ve got to push aside the distractions during work hours so we can focus on fulfilling our duties. As employers and leaders, we must ensure our staff have the resources they need to be most effective with the time they’re giving to us. We owe it to us to ensure they can best serve us and to them to ensure they’re satisfied in that exchange. It’s either about all of us or none of us because it doesn’t work if everyone can’t work well!
So let’s not get too lost in the HOW MANY hours someone worked WHERE and WHEN. That’s semantics at some point. The job must get done. I hear people whining because they worked 60 hours one week and laugh thinking about my first part-time job. When you hit 120 hours a week for a few months straight, come upstairs to talk.
And that doesn’t mean we can’t all appreciate why that’s not healthy, wise, etc. We get it. We don’t encourage it. But we understand that sometimes it has to be done. The job must get done if we want to keep our jobs so we can fuss about them.
Here’s the key: finding that sweet spot where everyone is able to find that work/life balance, enjoy a healthy income in a job they like with a culture that supports them and in places where they best check all those boxes. Not easy. Especially not on the heels of a global lockdown that forced innovation most people weren’t prepared for. But we came through it, scarred but smarter and now able to apply the lessons learned.
And if one of those is we let people work from home some so they can get more done better, BOOM, done! Make it happen and move on. 2020 proved it can work in many, if not most, cases. It’s going to work best with good management and measurables, something everyone has to accept and support if they want to see it happen. The job must get done.
But employees demanding more money, benefits and remote options is a stick that can only bend so far in an increasingly automated work world. Don’t over flex that thing or swing it too wildly. We all want more but that means we all have to give more and there’s only so much give left. We can innovate more give through tech advances but that’s exhaustible too. Pun intended. Rant over. Get back to work. :)
Add to that life itself. I’m married to a beautiful functional nutritionist (who also happens to be a pastor’s wife), am the father of three amazing teenage divas, sit on five boards and since I was bored during the pandemic shutdown, decided to co-found a greentech startup. I feel the time crunch with the best of them.
A few months ago I was really feeling that pressure and dove into a book written by my friend, Dr. Eugene Wilson, titled “Rhythm” on the subject of finding life balance with time management. Huge help to me and I’ve recommended it to dozens of people along with giving out copies to several friends personally. I clearly believe in being a good steward of our most precious commodity and encourage it strongly.
So hear me when I say this: YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO HAVE MORE TIME! You’ve got to be more efficient in how you handle the little you’ve got left (we’re all running out of it.) As employees and volunteers, we’ve got to push aside the distractions during work hours so we can focus on fulfilling our duties. As employers and leaders, we must ensure our staff have the resources they need to be most effective with the time they’re giving to us. We owe it to us to ensure they can best serve us and to them to ensure they’re satisfied in that exchange. It’s either about all of us or none of us because it doesn’t work if everyone can’t work well!
So let’s not get too lost in the HOW MANY hours someone worked WHERE and WHEN. That’s semantics at some point. The job must get done. I hear people whining because they worked 60 hours one week and laugh thinking about my first part-time job. When you hit 120 hours a week for a few months straight, come upstairs to talk.
And that doesn’t mean we can’t all appreciate why that’s not healthy, wise, etc. We get it. We don’t encourage it. But we understand that sometimes it has to be done. The job must get done if we want to keep our jobs so we can fuss about them.
Here’s the key: finding that sweet spot where everyone is able to find that work/life balance, enjoy a healthy income in a job they like with a culture that supports them and in places where they best check all those boxes. Not easy. Especially not on the heels of a global lockdown that forced innovation most people weren’t prepared for. But we came through it, scarred but smarter and now able to apply the lessons learned.
And if one of those is we let people work from home some so they can get more done better, BOOM, done! Make it happen and move on. 2020 proved it can work in many, if not most, cases. It’s going to work best with good management and measurables, something everyone has to accept and support if they want to see it happen. The job must get done.
But employees demanding more money, benefits and remote options is a stick that can only bend so far in an increasingly automated work world. Don’t over flex that thing or swing it too wildly. We all want more but that means we all have to give more and there’s only so much give left. We can innovate more give through tech advances but that’s exhaustible too. Pun intended. Rant over. Get back to work. :)