Comments on: Work Blitzes http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/07/08/work-blitzes/ Musings of a Balding 29 Year Old Business Owner Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:11:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Adam McFarland http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/07/08/work-blitzes/comment-page-1/#comment-5739 Adam McFarland Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:44:21 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1726#comment-5739 Definitely. I've been there. I personally can do that for 3-6 months, any more and I go insane or it becomes very counterproductive. In the meantime try to get half a day off here and there to get away and keep yourself sane :) Definitely. I’ve been there. I personally can do that for 3-6 months, any more and I go insane or it becomes very counterproductive. In the meantime try to get half a day off here and there to get away and keep yourself sane :)

]]> By: Tim http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/07/08/work-blitzes/comment-page-1/#comment-5738 Tim Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:39:51 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1726#comment-5738 I know you're right and I do see light at the end of the tunnel, in the mean time however, it seems like there is an endless list of things that need to be done. A lot of what we are doing is laying a solid foundation so we can focus on growth over the next 6 months, which takes a LOT longer than if we were just planning for a single location, we plan on growing 10-18 fold in 6 months from launch, and while this is a HUGE goal, with solid infrastructure it's totally possible. Creating this infrastructure(processes and systems) is very time consuming and we run into countless hurdles along the way. The difficult part is I'm functioning as our corporate attorney, CFO, CTO, CIO and all while keeping an eye on operations/sales. As we grow we will be able to hire an attorney, and some of these various other positions can be spread over other personnel. The nice thing about this project is that I have very little to do with daily operations so it frees up a ton of time so I can focus on more demanding work. I've learned so much in the last few months, and grown this so rapidly it's pretty remarkable looking back already I can hardly wait to look back in 6 months and again in a year! The flip side of this is there have been a number of 16 hour days worked in the last few weeks, days that the only thing I do aside from basic human functions(such as eating and sleeping) is going for a walk in the afternoon. Even I know that is not sustainable for too long. I know you’re right and I do see light at the end of the tunnel, in the mean time however, it seems like there is an endless list of things that need to be done. A lot of what we are doing is laying a solid foundation so we can focus on growth over the next 6 months, which takes a LOT longer than if we were just planning for a single location, we plan on growing 10-18 fold in 6 months from launch, and while this is a HUGE goal, with solid infrastructure it’s totally possible. Creating this infrastructure(processes and systems) is very time consuming and we run into countless hurdles along the way. The difficult part is I’m functioning as our corporate attorney, CFO, CTO, CIO and all while keeping an eye on operations/sales. As we grow we will be able to hire an attorney, and some of these various other positions can be spread over other personnel. The nice thing about this project is that I have very little to do with daily operations so it frees up a ton of time so I can focus on more demanding work. I’ve learned so much in the last few months, and grown this so rapidly it’s pretty remarkable looking back already I can hardly wait to look back in 6 months and again in a year!

The flip side of this is there have been a number of 16 hour days worked in the last few weeks, days that the only thing I do aside from basic human functions(such as eating and sleeping) is going for a walk in the afternoon. Even I know that is not sustainable for too long.

]]> By: Adam McFarland http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/07/08/work-blitzes/comment-page-1/#comment-5737 Adam McFarland Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:03:23 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1726#comment-5737 Tim I know you're the master of doing this type of thing. At times I get away from it and don't "allow" myself any free time until I'm done with work for the day. What often happens though is that I get caught up doing something and get 15 minutes of reading in at the end of the night. So for me, making myself do something fun in the morning (usually working out) and also in the afternoon (usually reading or taking a walk) is really critical to my balance. Also in re-reading this post I'm not sure if it's entirely evident but when I say 3 hours I mean 3 hours of "producing" - usually programming, but sometimes other stuff like analyzing data to report back to the team. That's not the only 3 hours I work for the day. Like you, I split up email and daily tasks, learning new skills, business planning, etc into other portions of the day. In your case I think things will settle after the launch phase ends. Eventually the problems stop...or at least slow down. The nice thing about your business model is that there aren't 1000 moving parts and it should be profitable from the start. It seems like it will be manageable once you figure your processes out. The funny thing for me is that being overworked is stressful, but then it's hard to wind back into normalcy when you become used to overworking yourself. I have a harder time gearing down to taking a day or two off per week than I do gearing up to working 24x7. Not a good thing really, but it's the way I am. Tim I know you’re the master of doing this type of thing. At times I get away from it and don’t “allow” myself any free time until I’m done with work for the day. What often happens though is that I get caught up doing something and get 15 minutes of reading in at the end of the night. So for me, making myself do something fun in the morning (usually working out) and also in the afternoon (usually reading or taking a walk) is really critical to my balance. Also in re-reading this post I’m not sure if it’s entirely evident but when I say 3 hours I mean 3 hours of “producing” – usually programming, but sometimes other stuff like analyzing data to report back to the team. That’s not the only 3 hours I work for the day. Like you, I split up email and daily tasks, learning new skills, business planning, etc into other portions of the day.

In your case I think things will settle after the launch phase ends. Eventually the problems stop…or at least slow down. The nice thing about your business model is that there aren’t 1000 moving parts and it should be profitable from the start. It seems like it will be manageable once you figure your processes out.

The funny thing for me is that being overworked is stressful, but then it’s hard to wind back into normalcy when you become used to overworking yourself. I have a harder time gearing down to taking a day or two off per week than I do gearing up to working 24×7. Not a good thing really, but it’s the way I am.

]]> By: Tim http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/07/08/work-blitzes/comment-page-1/#comment-5736 Tim Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:53:29 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1726#comment-5736 I've been busy for the last few days, I saw this come through my feed but haven't had a chance to comment to now. I'm big on the work blitz concept of work, the only way to squeeze more into a day is to have completely separate areas you can blitz on, which is what I've been doing. One session I'm focusing on long range strategy, next I'm doing some Social Media work, then I'll bounce to management, etc.... I've got so many separate tasks I can work on right now that when I get burned on one I just take a short break and get back at it in a different area. I do hope things settle a little after launch, because I don't think I can maintain this pace for much over a year. What I envision happening is hiring professionals for some of these tasks and focus on the work that only I can do best for the business - I am probably living in a fairy tale world, but if I can focus on just business development I would be very happy. I’ve been busy for the last few days, I saw this come through my feed but haven’t had a chance to comment to now. I’m big on the work blitz concept of work, the only way to squeeze more into a day is to have completely separate areas you can blitz on, which is what I’ve been doing. One session I’m focusing on long range strategy, next I’m doing some Social Media work, then I’ll bounce to management, etc…. I’ve got so many separate tasks I can work on right now that when I get burned on one I just take a short break and get back at it in a different area. I do hope things settle a little after launch, because I don’t think I can maintain this pace for much over a year. What I envision happening is hiring professionals for some of these tasks and focus on the work that only I can do best for the business – I am probably living in a fairy tale world, but if I can focus on just business development I would be very happy.

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