Working at odd times….
It’s getting to be a bit late at night, yet I find myself working. This is partly because I’m sitting in a hotel room as I and a consultant will be visiting a client site tomorrow. While it is getting late and I could be doing some pleasure reading or vegging in front of the television, I opt to work instead. Why?
Hotel time is generally uninterrupted time. I’m not dealing with client phone calls or random interruptions that can typically interrupt your train of thought when in the office. I remember hearing a statistic that a typical manager gets interrupted once every 7 minutes – it can sometimes be difficult to maintain your focus!
The prime reason I take advantage of this time is that it will free me up so that I can spend more time with my family when I get back home. I’m working on tasks that need to be accomplished sooner rather than later. By doing them during non-standard business hours when I’m on the road and away from my family, it helps to ensure that I can dedicate my home time to my family, and not be distracted by the tasks I still have to do.
Another benefit is that it also helps free my up to provide direction and mentoring to the consultants while I’m in the office. As a manager, that is a prime responsibility, but it can often get lost in the shuffle of all the other tasks, commitments, and responsibilities I have. So, freeing up some time in the office to focus more on mentoring is also of significant value and importance.
Just a few of the reasons I take advantage of the solitude that comes with being on the road…