Unplanned Work
It's not the best use of your time but it's going to happen in and out of your business.
I will probably cover the topic of unplanned work in a future newsletter.
For now, let me tell you a story, you might find it useful someday.
Of the 4 types of work, unplanned work is my least favorite. I hate emergencies and I hate firefighting.
Over the years, I’ve put in contingencies on how to be able to manage them in my SaaS business. It’s still not 100% there but I can at least sleep well at night and not be anxious all the time expecting the worst.
Today was unusual to say the least. This time, it was unplanned work at home.
The wife needed some emergency care, so I had to be the one to pick up the work that she covers day to day.
It might not sound daunting but juggling it all: the kids, their needs and their schedules, then include my critical planned work, well, it will drive me crazy and will stress me out to the max level.
As an entrepreneur, my most valued advantage is freedom and I really needed it today.
I was stressing out at the start of the day because I had many things planned to be executed today, but I took stock and calmed down.
During my morning routine, I thought about my priority for the day and promised to stick with it. I love my kids and I will always put them first, so I picked 1 (instead of my usual 3 big things) and set out to accomplish that even before the kids woke up. Then I promised myself to focus on what they need and squeeze in work in-between ONLY if possible.
Sure, shit hit the fan at one point in the day where I had to step in (thank you for the help Netflix) but things worked out pretty much without me. I’m proud of the systems we’ve built in the company and I’m sure our users are thankful as well with our years of stability.
My lesson for today:
Identify unplanned work early, whether it’s in your business or out
Plan around it.
Learn and plan for it.
Remember, shit happens but it’s not the end of the world.
It will save your sanity. You’ll thank me later.
Anyway, it’s now 11:15pm. Kids are finally asleep. :)
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