Preferred work pace
Does anyone else have a mostly project based work setting, with (somewhat) definite beginnings and ends to each project?
For some odd reason, I was thinking about work this morning as I drove to meet a friend for a run, and how one project, which was supposed to be a 5K effort project, had turned in to a marathon. Or maybe an ultramarathon. A poorly executed one.
In the running world, I prefer the comfortable steady pace of longer distances, over the sprint of a 5K, or even a 10K.
In the work world, I do well under pressure, and enjoy a “sprint” 5K effort from time to time. But I prefer* to stay around half marathon effort most of the time – going along at a decent pace, still having time (or enough glucose in my system) to think things through.
What I apparently don’t like at work, is the longer distances. Getting lost on the course. Losing my timing chip and starting over. Deciding to run the course twice. Dragging things out. That would be fun doing it with a friend… but I didn’t sign up for an adventure race. It just feels inefficient.
And maybe that is where I am getting off track. Comparing charted courses to something un-charted. Bad metaphor, bad! Oops! I have no excuses for the connections my brain makes in the early morning. Or why I decide to share them here. It looks like I just wanted to get a little frustration off my chest.
What’s your preferred work pace? Or life pace?
As I was thinking about this more, I started to think about the things that hit us in life at such a fast pace there is nothing we can do about it. Ugh. But I won’t get all morbid.
*My preferences don’t mean anything, I realize, just dreaming, here.
Themocracy
I like a pace where I’m able to carry a convo. Both in running and in life. 🙂
My work is project-based and is supposed to have definite start dates, but those are almost always pushed back by the other responsible party (or stuff is sent to me super early when I’m not expecting it), which throws my pacing off completely. But in general, I actually seem to thrive when I’m sprinting to meet a deadline. Like, I actually enjoy my busy season. The last few weeks have been slower, which I guess is a nice break, but zzzzzz – boring. But that’s just what works for me. And is obviously not how I run 🙂
I know you are super busy year end but do you have mini sprints like that throughout the year? Are you on an up and down roller coaster where you can’t find a very steady rhythm (that is what it’s like at my office)?
Yeah more or less. I’d prefer to just be busy all the time, but some part of my job is still a little cyclical, so that would probably never happen.
I really like this analogy! I definitely work in a project-based environment, and I think I like a 15K or 10 mile pace the best (though I suppose I haven’t actually ever run a 15K, so maybe it’d feel different than I think it would feel 😛 ). It’s slow enough that I don’t feel exhausted or have to put in a sprint-like effort, but keeps me busy enough that I don’t feel bored and has a near enough “finish line” that it doesn’t feel like things are dragging on forevvvveeerrrrrrrrrr. I’ve never been someone who enjoys cramming at the last minute to get everything done (I was totally that person who began studying for exams/writing papers two weeks before the due date in school haha). It stresses me out!
Thanks! I am not a “crammer,” either, but I know that is the only way some people can get things done! I like that steady flow. Man, if only work was that constant, ha ha.
Some of my work is projects and some isn’t and I don’t really know when or if it will be either from day to day. Wow. That really explains it well, huh?
I like working at a half marathon pace, just like you. I like steady, but not slow but not overwhelming either. I HATE when someone procrastinates and then needs something right away and it falls on my shoulders. That seems to happen often enough around here. Grr.
I can’t stand the “rush because someone else procrastinated.” It makes me nuts! Especially when they share documents and I see they have sometimes had the information for YEARS.
Oh $hit…this is an extremely timely post for me! My work is predominantly project based and my boss and I were talking yesterday about a couple of projects that we have going that have become marathons with a constantly changing course, rules being made up on the fly and no apparent finish line. Mind you, these should NOT be that way and we have done everything to find solutions—but a couple of “areas” act like “course marshals”/”race directors” (to keep the analogy going!) when it’s really not their place to do so. One project–which should have LONG been launched I’m afraid is reaching “TRAIL ultra-marathon status”! aghabshkjh&YA(*Y&*Y(Y*(YU (that’s me screaming! haha)
All that being said, I think I prefer a work pace somewhere between 10K and half marathon status 🙂 I have enough of a portfolio that I usually get a variety of paces but I realize that I refer to the multi-year projects openly as “the grind” which probably says something! That’s why I like my role in “strategy and business development”–by its very nature I shouldn’t be mired in long-scale implementation.
Oh gosh. We only need one race director, thankyouverymuch… right?! And isn’t the worst part is that people are like, “Well, it will be over eventually, right?” and you’re all “I have NO IDEA when. CRY!!!” lol
Multi-year projects are tooooooo long. I do know of some people who get assigned one project like that and it’s all they work on for that time frame!!!
That’s a great comparison! I think that work for me varies – while the academic year should be a marathon, at times I find that we are sprinting towards various points, to meet deadlines, finish up one thing or another. Right now – April – it’s a sprint to the end of the year, without a doubt!
I love this. I would have to say that my preferred pace (in everything I do) is 10k, half marathon pace. Slow enough to talk/think, but fast enough that it doesn’t last forever! 🙂
Personally, I want a 5K pace 90% of the time. I need to be busy, busy, busy. I need short projects that I can tackle quickly and see results quickly. Looks like I’m in the minority, though.
Great analogy! I think most would agree with you, that they prefer a steady pace (less panic and stress) to a foreseeable goal. Projects too far in the future seem vague and out of focus. Quick projects are fun from time to time for that immediate feeling of success and sense of accomplishment, but a steady diet of it is too fractured, frantic, and doesn’t provide a feeling of overall purpose.
I fill my time with hobbies, so I guess I like to be busy, but I also hate feeling overloaded and like obligations are encroaching on my free time. So yeah, I guess half-marathon pace for me too!