Work Emails On The Weekend

Some have the thought that you should never look at your email on your time off or over the weekends. It is your time and not work time. Personal down time is necessary. Yep, I have read these before and certainly respect peoples desire to their own time. Family time is family time and work time is work time......got it......except when you are the boss! At least for me as a boss.

I cannot help myself. I stay connected all the time. That is just what I do. I want to be responsive to my clients that reach out to us. I want to be aware of any issues the others in the office are having. I just want to feel the pulse of the work all time......for fear that it might slow or even stop......Economic Cardiac Arrest!

For me it gives me peace of mind. I can see where others may certainly need that downtime. If there is a problem, then I would to know what I need to do first thing Monday morning to fix it. Or even better, I love getting an email that says I have just been awarded another project......that makes my day no matter how small the projects are.

Just like this weekend. My Wendy's client emailed me Sunday morning. TWICE! The first email told me that another location had been approved for renovation and to submit my paperwork. Great news! And then the second email.......another had been approved as well......even better news!

Some may certainly not give much credit to those small projects but we feel we have been blessed this year by all the work. All those small projects have certainly added up. They have given us the opportunity to add more wonderful staff to the family. They have allowed us to expand and renovate the office. They have given us some comfort and security that we will continue to be busy.  Sure it may not be museums or schools or other high profile buildings that architects dream of. But right now they are a dream come true.

My goal as the principal of the firm is to never have to go back to that dreadful time a few years ago where everything fell apart and we struggled so much. Never. Never. So, if that means I keep answering the emails over my weekends or evenings.....then so be it. I will do it whether times are good or bad. I owe that to my staff to make sure we all have work.

So my friends.....test me and send me a new project over the weekend......I will be sure to answer you right away. Cause that's what I do.

Success and happiness are not a place but a direction.......and I am on that highway.

IONIC DEZIGN STUDIOS

D. Eugene Thompson, AIA

www.ionicdezigns.com