I was having trouble determining what my “normal” work day looks like when I realized that I have very little consistency in my schedule. With the early days of pre-launch IdeaPaint years behind us, my role is now much more focused as I head up our international sales and business development. Naturally, this means that my time is largely spent on the road, exploring the far and near corners of the world.
On the Road
As the road has become my home, I have grown adept at forming and maintaining a healthy and fulfilling routine while traveling. It looks something like this: I have a bag that always remains half packed, I grab sleep on any flight or train whenever I am not working and I only drink alcohol if out with customers. I also avoid unhealthy foods and eat as much of the local staples as possible. I choose stairs over escalators at the airport when not in a rush and almost always wake early before meetings to go for a run, as it helps acquaint me with my new home for the day and better adjust to the time change. I used to be picky about my running gear, but now I just bring shoes and shorts since I like to pack light– in fact, it would not be unusual to see me running through the streets of Seoul in shorts and the previous day’s dress shirt and argyle socks. I always try to schedule time to talk with my wife based around time differences, so we can catch up and know what each other are up to. Connection to home is really important to me as I am often gone for weeks at a time—spreading the IdeaPaint philosophy throughout Europe and Asia. I also try to fit in one or two intense hours of emailing before bed to catch up with my team and customers on whatever I missed during the day.
Close to Home
Even when not on the road, my days are not exactly typical. For a long time, I struggled with my work/life balance and tried to conceive a way to draw some hard lines between the two. Recently, I have actually found success by embracing the fact that the two are incredibly interwoven. For example, my most important times of day while stateside are 5-10AM and 6-11PM so I can communicate real-time with our current and potential partners around the globe. Fortunately, my wife understands the need for an occasional mid-dinner call.
Striking a Balance
I get cranky if I go more than two days without exercise, and I much prefer playing outdoors than being confined indoors. As a result, the typical “9-5” workday combined with early morning and late night emails and calls was a struggle. I have since learned to focus my time when most effective (early and late) and give myself a break during the afternoon to do some cycling, climbing or anything active. Depending on the day’s work load, I might begin working at 5AM, play outside from 2-6PM and catch back up on work later in the night. Yesterday, for instance, I had an important call with a partner in Australia while sitting on a cliff top and watching the sun set, which wasn’t too bad.
My role at IdeaPaint requires tremendous travel, but it is a huge priority to remain connected with the IdeaPaint team. I typically reserve early mornings for customers and save communication with the IdeaPaint team for after 10AM. Following this approach, I am able to take care of customer business immediately, and then catch up with my colleagues on new initiatives, take part in brainstorming and remain fully entrenched with broader company initiatives.
Shutting Down
I am a much better morning person so I try to finish my night calls by 10PM, and it’s a rare night if I’m not asleep within 30 seconds of hitting the pillow—which I consider to be one of my best skills.
