The art of timing

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Singapore 6^th October 2011

Back in Singapore for a few days before heading out again next week…its gonna be some busy and interesting weeks of travelling including the upcoming PLDC in Madrid. Time is definitely our commodity and planning your time wisely is therefore crucial for our survival, as a business person and simply as a human being! I only had 3 “airplane” hours of sleep but decided to hang in their for today rather then to catch up on some sleep this morning. I often find that these extra hours somehow make me more tired. I’ll catch up on my sleep by taking an early night off.

With still a few deadlines looming there was plenty to do back in the office, but planning my next few weeks was really one of my main activities. Consulting with my clients, my travel agents and my team to see how best to spread myself and the rest of the team to satisfy the demands of our clients and the needs of our projects. The art of timing is not easy as you cant please everybody (though we do try)…as the saying goes he who tries to please everybody satisfies nobody. Do we really need to spent 3 days on site or can we do with 2? Do we actually need to meet or can we handle by phone or teleconference. Do I fly overnight and have a full working day or do I sacrifice half a day for traveling after or before a good nights rest?

I am not sure about my colleagues in the business but I am pretty sure that certainly overseas travel is somethng that needs to be planned well ahead. I generally require 3-4 weeks noticce and even then I am not sure. Right now I already have commitments for March next year! So planning my time is an art, and certainly the negotiations with my clients (as wel as those with my private friends and family) require a clear head and understanding wat I wish to achieve during that time that I a committing myself to someone else. In generally involves other people so you assume ( never assume anything!) that the party you are committing your time to will have the same commitment to you. It wouldn’t be the first time I travel several hours by plane to find out my
client suddenly decided that he had other more important priorities!

In Light Watch today a look at bridges. As it happens I have also been working on a lighting concept for a suspension bridge…may as well look around a bit what has been done before….