Working 9-5 (or 24/7?)

On the days that I’m working from home, trying to get in touch with potential sponsors, I have adjusted my schedule to the people that I’m trying to get hold of. Marketing people are often out and about and in meetings and at fairs (if I didn’t know that before, I’ve learnt it now) but they usually do the normal office hours, 9-5. Since I know it will be hard to get hold of anybody before 9, I usually get up at about 7, have breakfast and watch the morning news and then do some research or work on other things or go for a morning walk until 9 o’clock. I then start calling, emailing and contacting people. At noon I give them a break since most people have lunch then and can’t be reached for an hour, although I’m sure most of the people I’m trying to get in touch with grabbed a subway on the go between meetings or had a business lunch earlier or… Well, I also need to have lunch so I decided to have a lunch break between 12 and 1 and I sometimes go for a walk then if I haven’t already in the morning and the weather is nice. After 1 o’clock I continue trying to get hold of people. Oh, they want me to email them rather? Oh, he’s on holiday? Oh, I need to call your other office? Okay then. And so it continues, phone call after phone call. But then sometimes you do get through to the right people and get to chat to some really nice men and women.

However nice they are, they sometimes have to say no to my cooperation proposal. But from one guy the other day I also got some positive feedback, without asking for it. He spent five minutes explaining why he unfortunately can’t sponsor us and then told me things like I have the right approach, I read his signals very well and come up with new ideas, I make a good impression, we have a great deal to offer and we are gonna make it. That totally made my day.

Taking those morning or lunch time walks, like I mentioned earlier, is meant to become a steady habit since I find it hard to have time for or afford going to the gym and really need to add some exercise to the usual horseback riding twice a week. And the walks are not only workout, fresh air and well needed sunlight, they also give me a chance to clear my mind and wind down from the stress I build up these days.

It became clear to me the other day that we are sacrificing things and restraining from old habits these days, just to focus on the trip planning. There are three things we prioritize; trip planning, work and exercise. And that is pretty much what life is all about right now. To save money, we don’t go out for beers or movies or parties with friends. And we’ve even sacrificed many of our beloved movie nights at home in order to do research for the trip. But with the clock ticking we have to, and it will all be worth it in the end.

Lovely, sunny morning walk today.