work

i just put the finishing touches on some of the most challenging work i have ever had to do. i've had work that was more technically challenging, more complicated, and even work that had to be done faster. but i've never had work that was as demanding and requiring of as much adaptability and flexibility.

why was this work so challenging? constantly changing requirements and objectives. typically, when you plan a project, you determine in advance what you are going to do, what you need to get it done in the time and budget that you have to do it, and then you execute according to that plan. this last project has been constantly shifting, changing scope, amplifying effort, redirecting attention, demanding that we alter our approach and our solution, right up to the very last minute. i had to lead the project, so i had to demand the sacrifices of all of my teammates, coerce them to work late nights and weekend, and require their full participation. all the while, i had to try and manoeuver the impossible path to completion that had us reworking, revisiting and redesigning our solution over and over again.

two months of overtime and weekends have passed and i am finally on the other side of the project, close to being on time and not quite as close to being on budget. the client and my company feel that the project was a success. however, i crossed a line for myself in work-life balance that i promised myself never to cross again, so was i, personally, successful? more importantly, if this is the cost of professional success, is that a price that i should be willing to pay? is there a way that i can ensure that i don't repeat this same kind of mistake again in some other similar project?

i am sorry to my friends and family for not being better able to fulfil my personal commitments over the past few months. i have some time now to get re-centered and re-focused, here at the end of the year. i'll have some thoughts about the year in retrospect, and about how next year will be different.

happy holidays everyone!

- g

song of the day for putting too much of yourself into things: everything counts, depeche mode