Take a day off

I took most of today off after a conference call first thing this morning with a potential business partner in India. We used SKYPE so the call was free and spent about an hour on our “Internet phone”.

Technology is certainly making things easier for us and bringing us closer together. Just 10 years ago, many of the things we take for granted today were not possible.

Just 20 years ago, the Internet was an infant, , , just a baby with so much promise. Well, the results are significant and I think all the time about, “what a great time to be alive”.

Yes, it’s great to be part of what’s going on with technology, but it also creates some pretty challenging issues for CIO’s and IT managers. Any of you have clients or users who want the latest and greatest and they don’t seem to care how much it costs? There is a fine line between being aggressive and state of the art versus fiscally conservative and “just enough is good enough”.

There are times when you need to get away from the grind of supporting the technologies in your company. We all need diversions from time to time. Vacations certainly help. You might also consider sprinkling in a 3 or 4-day weekend from time to time.

I took today off to play in a charity golf tournament to support my 1st cousin’s high school football team, the Riverdale Warriors. I played with his Dad (my uncle) and two of his buddies. I was the youngest in the group and we had a great time even though it was mighty hot out there. My golf game hasn’t been all that great lately if you’ve been reading, but it’s starting to come around, , , hit more good shots today and made more putts than I have been doing. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The nice thing about my work is that I can work at night, weekends, or essentially whenever I need to. The downside is that the work is always there. I love what I do, but too much of a good thing can also become a problem. Soooo, , , I’m better now about taking a break, , , a day off here and there, , , to give myself a breather. It helps me stay fresh and improves my focus, , , plus after 30 years or more of working in the technology field, , , I have come to believe I’ve earned some time off now and then.

I highly recommend it. Take a day off when things are getting too tough or too stressful, , , your IT staff and your family will appreciate the fact that it helps loosen you up.

As a young manager and IT professional, I rarely took time off. Even when I did, Dorine will tell you that I spent a lot of our vacation time working , , , or even ending it short to make a special trip to support something going on in the company.

Be careful with this type of mindset. Your company can get along without you; if it can’t, you have built the wrong type of IT organization and you need to rethink some things.