Right on… United way looks a little more my speed
fxguy1234 great post I am definitely trying to gain some leadership skills as well and may just start with some simple community service and go from there. And I have the same constraints as you, I can’t really do much on the weeknights as work is taking up all my time so I have to look for stuff on the weekends. I was thinking coaching a little league team but I think that involves commitments during weeknights which may be difficult. Let me know if you find anything good. Anyone else have suggestions?
I think if you really like whatever community or leadership activity you’re involved in, you’ll be able to make time for it. Granted, time constraints are certainly a real thing – in my case, if I were working 70-80 hours a week, I probably wouldn’t have much time to volunteer. However, since a regular week for me these days is about 60 hours thanks to the slow deal environment, I have more time to do other stuff to round out my “character” (or MBA profile, depending on how you look at it). For example, if you want to coach little league, is it possible for you to leave work earlier on those days and then just finish the work when you go home? As an example, once a week, I want to go out and lead tennis practice. On those days, I leave the office around 6:30PM for practice and then head back to the office around 9:30 and work for a couple more hours. I don’t get home till midnight, but at least I’ve gotten some time to do my personal activities and have also taken care of my work obligations. If your employer offers you this flexibility, consider taking advantage of it. You’ll feel a much greater sense of fulfillment, even if it means having to “get back to work” late at night.
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think if you really like whatever community or > leadership activity you’re involved in, you’ll be > able to make time for it. Granted, time > constraints are certainly a real thing – in my > case, if I were working 70-80 hours a week, I > probably wouldn’t have much time to volunteer. > However, since a regular week for me these days is > about 60 hours thanks to the slow deal > environment, I have more time to do other stuff to > round out my “character” (or MBA profile, > depending on how you look at it). > > For example, if you want to coach little league, > is it possible for you to leave work earlier on > those days and then just finish the work when you > go home? As an example, once a week, I want to go > out and lead tennis practice. On those days, I > leave the office around 6:30PM for practice and > then head back to the office around 9:30 and work > for a couple more hours. I don’t get home till > midnight, but at least I’ve gotten some time to do > my personal activities and have also taken care of > my work obligations. If your employer offers you > this flexibility, consider taking advantage of it. > You’ll feel a much greater sense of fulfillment, > even if it means having to “get back to work” late > at night. Why do you go back to your office to work - you can’t wrap it up at home? Do you have face time at work, or you just don’t have a work computer at home to finish?
Projectplatnyc, I’m more efficient when I’m at the office. When I’m at home, I just want to relax and not think about work. I only live five minutes from the office so technically I could work from either home or office…it’s just a personal decision. You?
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Projectplatnyc, I’m more efficient when I’m at the > office. When I’m at home, I just want to relax and > not think about work. I only live five minutes > from the office so technically I could work from > either home or office…it’s just a personal > decision. You? Oh ok - cool. I am flexible to either working in the office or at home, but would rather come home and make an espresso and chill if burning the midnight oil. . . I guess just personal preference -
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think if you really like whatever community or > leadership activity you’re involved in, you’ll be > able to make time for it. Granted, time > constraints are certainly a real thing – in my > case, if I were working 70-80 hours a week, I > probably wouldn’t have much time to volunteer. > However, since a regular week for me these days is > about 60 hours thanks to the slow deal > environment, I have more time to do other stuff to > round out my “character” (or MBA profile, > depending on how you look at it). > > For example, if you want to coach little league, > is it possible for you to leave work earlier on > those days and then just finish the work when you > go home? As an example, once a week, I want to go > out and lead tennis practice. On those days, I > leave the office around 6:30PM for practice and > then head back to the office around 9:30 and work > for a couple more hours. I don’t get home till > midnight, but at least I’ve gotten some time to do > my personal activities and have also taken care of > my work obligations. If your employer offers you > this flexibility, consider taking advantage of it. > You’ll feel a much greater sense of fulfillment, > even if it means having to “get back to work” late > at night. Good point Numi but the problem with my work is stuff comes up last minute and needs to get done on strict deadlines so something could completely come out of nowhere. But it may at least be worth a try.
If you’re worried about stuff at work blowing up, then it’s really hard to take time off and expect to be out of pocket without interruption. I wasn’t able to do this when I was in equity research. Hoewver, I now have much more autonomy and control over my own work schedule. My happiness and life outlook have improved considerably since I left the sell-side, which is probably why I’m able to put more time into outside activities.