Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Back To The Salt Mine

OK, so this is kind of a study in work- life balance so now I'm tipping the scales too far today. I spent the day traveling a couple hundred miles to see customers and now some schoolwork. I did take 25 minutes to decompress- boy did it help!

It was some bad weather driving and my rig is not so good in the snow (rear wheel drive) so it was a bit tricky.

Now I'm back researching articles for a benchmarking assignment at school on cash management strategies. Hopefully it is more interesting than it sounds.......

I heard Bill Gates will be on the Daily Show today (Vista Launch) so hopefully that will be good for some laughs.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Fried Router Anyone?

I forgot to mention I think I fried my old fashioned Linksys router. Couldn't seem to keep it on and would not reset so I replaced it with a Linksys WRT54GS. Setup was like 30 minutes of work and 28 minutes of my over-thinking it. Well it works great and my company brick was able to connect for more than 4 minutes ( the previous record ) to the wireless network. So I pulled one of my APs off and reshuffled the antennas and bingo - back in business.

I love WiFi....

36 Hours of Bliss

I was fortunate enough to power through some classwork while traveling this week to carve out 36 hours of time this weekend with no firm demands on my time. It sure was unusual and I'm glad I could do it. Quite a sanity-saver.

I'm digging in to a supply chain / business optimization course right now so I'll be chewing on more numbers and formulas for a little longer.

I'm posting this and then going to kill some time on iTunes or something...

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Cover Bands Don't Change The World

I heard a great quote this week. I was listening to a new podcast and the content was about being creative and solving problems. The quote was mentioned in this context and really is true. I can't begin to tell you how I can relate. Going down the same path is comfortable for us but seldom gives an original view.

One of the best things I used to do before I started my MBA ( and it sucked up all my spare time) was just to reflect for 20 minutes in the early morning. I found as I skipped this time, new ideas were hard for me to come by.

I'm going to try and get started again this week just to regain my sanity during the next 24 weeks. Wish me luck.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Getting ready for the next class.

I'm pretty happy with the end of my finance class. Pretty tough as I still hate the math part. I understand the concepts and was pretty happy that I could run all the calculations and make sense of it all.

Hopefully they still have accountants for the heavy lifting though.......

Starting a course on supply chain right after this one. Not even 24 hours off. Got to stay on track to make my deadline ( self-imposed of course).

Press on..

Saturday, January 20, 2007

26 Pages Later!

In my attempt to finish my MBA finance class paper early I find myself blearly eyed but satisfied with the 26 pages. No one will ever accuse me of being Warren Buffett but I'm cool with that.

It really brought the class together and I certainly learned a great deal. Looking forward to relaxing the rest of the weekend before turning in the paper.

Halo anyone??

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

WACC, CAPM & the lightbulb time of my MBA

I have been spending a great deal of time this week preparing for my final paper in a finance MBA class. I was up late last night and early AM this morning to crunch numbers for an acquisition case study I'm doing.

Every time I think I'll like math I find out that, no. I don't. Still don't, probably never.

I was certainly lost at C. Jean Shepherd fans will understand that one....

But early this morning I crunched and crunched and think I finally made sense of it all. Now I have to develop the paper due in 5 days. It is only about 20 pages so it should go quick. Once my thoughts are in order I can really run with it.

That is it for today.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Work Life Balance?

I have been reading a great deal about the whole work life balance thing and it seems like some focus on the "balance" notion and that for each part of work you add, then you have to remove something from your life part ( or vice-versa).

I don't believe that has to be true. As a remote worker I find the incredible power of flex-time is often overlooked by those that work from home ( or the field). This was the basis for my "checkbook theory" concept of deposits and withdrawals but this does not always mean equality. It is more of a general notion of equity between the often warring camps of work and home.

Overall each of us has the power to make those types of flex-time accomodations but feel tremendous guilt about doing it. I've been doing this for years and even I feel that tinge of guilt at times.

I had prepared my year end review just before Christmas ( yes we write our own reviews and submit them to our supervisors) and it really made me consider this past year in a positive light. I traveled less, earned more and was generally happier about my career and career prospects than ever before. I'm 4 courses away from finishing my MBA and obtaining one of my major personal goals.

So I consider the effort in 2006 ( substantial) and the reward ( substantial). I have squeezed out many of the fun things but gained so much more. I am looking forward to Saturday mornings in my workshop ( I am a woodworker) once my MBA is done. That is one luxury I look forward too along with more family time.

We'll see how it goes.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

What a difference a day makes!

I pushed early this week and finished my school stuff for the week yesterday. Just gotta check on a team project but the hard part is done for this past week. Now I am enjoying a day off ( mostly) just to hang out and catch up. Hopefully I can really press on this week for my class final paper ( due in 7 days).

I spent time relaxing, watching Steve Job's keynote speach from MacWorld on my iPod and noting how he really can deliver a pitch. That is a topic for another day because if he is forced out due to the Apple stock questions that is more damaging to Apple than anything ( I think).

I'm a new blogger so I've been hunting around for some good blogs and hope to post a list soon.

That's all for now!

Saturday, January 13, 2007

One Week To Go!

OK, so I have about one week left in this course and then the remaining ones should lighten a bit. So I consider the next 7 days as my final push and then I get a bit of a breather. This MBA program has been tough on my time but I've learned so much. I'd briefly considered extending for a concentration but think that may be too much right now so I'll stick with the general MBA.

I've really liked working with all my teams ( we change every 6 weeks) so I learned how to settle in and get things done quickly. A good set of skills to have in this mobile / virtual / matrix world...

Sometimes it does seem like my head will explode...

Friday, January 12, 2007

The Perfect Home Office?

As a remote employee I work from a home office ( and have for most of the last 16 years). I can't really imagine why you would need to go to an office these days. With high speed internet ( wifi of course), a cell phone and / or Skype, you can work from anywhere.

That being said I have not found the "right" layout and equipment for my current home office. So I'm going to treat myself to an office re-design soon. I build furniture as a hobby so I can cover the construction of it just fine but I've been browsing Flickr for home office ideas. All I can say is my office looks like a neat freak by comparison to many of them!

I keep telling myself that this is the "year of the Aeron" so perhaps I can finally just get one.

I am on a constant search for the perfect home office so I keep looking for ideas wherever I can find them!

Little Minutes

Ok so I'm waiting for one of my machines to restart so I'm using my "little minutes" to post before I dig into prep for a day of conference calls. Sometimes I enjoy then ( I'm a remote employee) and others ...not so much.

My mother ( a supreme multitasker) used to say "use your little minutes". I would not come to understand this until I was much older but it has paid off. It really means to have something to do in all those "little minutes" in between things like while you are on hold, while waiting in line at the store or your computer to reboot (apparently applies to windows users only).

I frequently juggle two computers, two phones and many tasks during the day ( I have a split role at the company doing sales and marketing both) so it definitely means a bunch of little minutes can add up.

I must admit it does feel like there is too much to juggle sometimes so you have to prioritize between urgent and important ( and nice to have but not either).

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Holding on, 2 more weeks and the scales tip!

Since this is a life-work balance experiment, I've been considering that balance this week. Pretty much work and school but this class ends in just under 2 weeks so I hope to gain some breathing room. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel ( it is 6 months or so) but I can see it.

I've been pretty pleased that this whole MBA thing has proven to be very applicable to my job ( in sales and marketing). It has really thrown my precious balance way out of whack. In fact, during the Christmas holiday I was off work and school for a week. I got up early ( out of habit) to do schoolwork and there was none. It was a hard adjustment, weird.

I'm determined that this work-life balance thing include quality of both and not just quantity but only time will tell.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

iPhone...really

I read the news that Apple really will release the iPhone this year. Guess I'll be saving my money for that... Also Apple becoming Apple Inc and not Apple Computer. Smart move in my book, becoming a poster child company for the digital lifestyle.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Windows machines ( all 5 of em). But I'm thinking a Mac is in my future. Can't wait til home media servers really work cause I'm going to get one.

Can't wait...............

Monday, January 8, 2007

Dispensing some Indispensable Stuff

I enjoy reading and learning about the topic of leadership and motivation and how it applies in the business world. Too often there are too many "managers" and not enough "leaders". I'm reading a good book these days called "Becoming an Indispensable Employee in a Disposable World" by Neal Whitten. It is quite good and is written in a workshop type format. A really good quote in the book attributed to someone named George Crane ( I have no idea who he is) says"

"There is no future in any job. The future lies in the man who holds the job."

I like this quote for the forward facing nature of it. This takes a possibly negative idea ( that of no job security) and spins it into a positive solution for the future. I've read so many business books that preach the mantra of "lifetime learning" as a way to always stay fresh.

I'm a believer. Beginning my MBA was easily the most positive thing ( and one of the hardest) I've done in the last several years. It really provided me the motivation and ability to throw off the blinders and be open to new ideas and concepts.

Hopefully a good "future" lies in this man.......

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Just plain waaaaaay out of balance

I've had the luxury of some reflective time recently. During that time I've been considering my desire to start this blog to capture some comments on balancing work with life. Man it can be a drag. But on the upside it has been tremendously good too. This past year has swung pretty far away from what most people call "fun" but the payback has been pretty good.

I'm currently working on my MBA and work full time plus spend time with my family. It isn't anything different than what thousands of people have to balance but it feels pretty good to look back on the personal accomplishment of it all.

So that's it for this one....

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

The Roots of Checkbook Theory

I am starting this blog to explore the whole concept of work-life balance. I believe it is rooted in a basic concept of deposits and withdrawals between all those involved in your life. I consider these to be recorded in a "checkbook" of sorts and the entire thing revolves around the balance in this checkbook.

I think sometimes you have to make deposits and sometimes you have to make withdrawals. The key is to never go too far in either direction.

It may not be famous like "Game Theory" but "Checkbook Theory" works for me.

Hope to learn a bit about myself and others with similar ideas!