Consulting Skills: Hiding

I left the world of independent consulting for the agency life because I wanted stability as my family prepared for our second baby. I thought: Enough feast and famine! Enough 12 hour days! Enough wondering where next month's dinner is going to come from.

Little did I know how crazy the agency life is, and little did I know how much fun it would be. It's both, and I don't think I'll ever give it up.

All consultants share one thing: Passion for the work. So avoiding loss of productivity (I'd call it smolder-out rather than burn-out) is a crucial skill. Your colleagues can reach you any time, anywhere. So can your clients. People want to know your opinion, and you'd better, by gawd, have one. You're only as good as your last meeting, your last launch, your last deliverable. Keep up. Stay sharp.

I do a few things that help. I work from home a couple days a week, and I'm careful about whom I tell how I can be reached. I put on my headphones at the office, sometimes with no music so I can concentrate on work without being interrupted, sometimes with music so I can concentrate without being interrupted by work. I start early and leave early or I start late and leave late. I hide.

On that note, I'll disappear through the new year with these last few words. No more posts, no more responses to comments, no email, no SMS, etc. Don't call me.

But if you're reading this because reading blogs over the holidays relaxes you, drop me a comment with more ideas about how to take time off, how to refresh your brain, how to stay sharp. I'm really curious!

Just don't expect a response from me before January 2nd. Enjoy your holidays, and for goodness' sake read, if you aren't already, The CHO at http://positivesharing.com/

Cheers!

Comments

[Justin]

Great post, Ry.

I have to say, your comment: "You're only as good as your last meeting, your last launch, your last deliverable," will stay with me for a long, long time. (Let's just say it's a top-5 candidate for a tattoo on an undisclosed body part.)

How do I stay fresh? I ride.

Someone once told me, "You have to suffer every day." Naturally, to suffer I ride my bike as much as I can. It allows me to sort my day and dream a little bit while the blood is flowing. And, fortunately, some of my best ideas have happened while painfully climbing the 12th street incline up Beacon Hill.

How do I stay sharp? I draw.

I've found that putting pen to paper has been one of the best ways for me to both conceptualize and vet ideas in rapid succession. Sketching offers me an early vision of a concept, often unearthing issues or advantages I wouldn't otherwise see until later. Plus, it's always fun to look back in the ol' sketch book and see what crap came out of my head. Scary.

Happy New Year, man.