I'm in the office all day today. Now that I'm in a PM role on a large project for the first time I'm finding the only time I can get the PM duties (updates to team, scheduling, invoice reviews, etc - all the boring stuff) done is to come in when no one else is around.
Anyone else?
Miles Jaffe
Aug 17, 19 11:51 am
It's Saturday? All those little boxes on the calendar look the same to me. Maybe because every day is a work day.
Erik Evens
Aug 17, 19 12:00 pm
I took home a roll of drawings for the redesign of a house. My days during the week are so filled up with contract squabbles, HR headaches , CA controversies and marketing that the weekend is the only time I can find significant time to design.
I’ll be thinking of you Donna. :)
joseffischer
Aug 19, 19 7:57 am
I'm with you Erik, my weekdays are PM and CA stuff, design is left for the weekend.
Erik Evens
Aug 17, 19 12:13 pm
During the week, if I have some important design work that I need to knock out to keep my team going, I like to get up at 4:00 am, long before my family is up. It’s really quiet and serene, I am fresh and sharp, and between 4 and 7 I can really get my best design work done. A design task that seemed unresolvable to me the night before is often solved early in the am.
tduds
Aug 19, 19 1:50 pm
I hear you. It seems masochistic sometimes but there really is no better time for feeling optimistic and creative than the extremely early morning. The best part is wrapping up something big before 10am and feeling like you've still got a whole day ahead of you.
citizen
Aug 17, 19 1:27 pm
Donna, how was the movie?
Donna Sink
Aug 18, 19 11:10 am
Thank you for asking, citizen! I don't think a movie can ever be completely satisfying for someone who loved the book, but even so, the movie was definitely not great. Cate Blanchett is compelling to watch no matter what she's in, but I didn't like how the story unfolded very linearly, when the book was a constant looping back of letters and articles and reports and whatnot. And while the built imagery of Beeber Bifocal was *perfect*, the 20 Mile House just looked like a sketchup model, no interest. And the icebergs weren't nearly majestic enough. It was great to have a dozen women architects all together to watch it!
Stasis
Aug 18, 19 9:14 pm
Hi Donna, I just watched this movie yesterday with my wife without knowing anything about the book and the main character. I was chuckling throughout the movie and was entertaining for me (but i completely understand why it wasn't for you. I should read that book).
Ever since I became a PM, just like you, I don't create anymore. I create multiple versions of fee proposals, schedules, and invoices. I am working this weekend to revise the fee proposal per my client's feedback. After the movie, my wife pointed out that i was happier too when I actually designed something...
drums please, Fab?
Aug 17, 19 2:07 pm
I'm working today to, Donna! How's it going?
Non Sequitur
Aug 17, 19 2:13 pm
I probably should be working today... but am not. Same prediction for next weekend.
Steeplechase
Aug 17, 19 5:53 pm
I’m doing lots of work but I don’t get paid when my wife is telling me what to do.
drums please, Fab?
Aug 17, 19 6:27 pm
Hope you had a productive day, Donna!
Cheers!
curtkram
Aug 17, 19 6:38 pm
I brought home work. Got everything nice and set up, but never really started the actual 'work' part. On the plus side, carpet got cleaned while I was procrastinating.
bowling_ball
Aug 17, 19 10:29 pm
I'm working more and more on weekends recently. Same story. Just a couple of hours on Sunday (tomorrow) for a tiny project that of course needs way more attention than the fee allows. Awesome.
will galloway
Aug 18, 19 12:29 am
What is this thing you call a wee... kend?
Days off are few and far between for the last 10 years.
The older i get, the less time I have for myself, and when there is free time it is when I do all the work that I couldnt do before because of all the emails and meetings. This is something I'm working on. I have come to think of it as a search for the time and state of mind to get into a flow state, something that I used to find much easier.
It might be that my job as head of an office or whatever is to make sure everyone can get to that place so they can be productive. And I need to do the same for myself. This latter bit is the hardest somehow. If you figure it out I would love to know how you do it
Donna Sink
Aug 18, 19 11:11 am
It's Sunday and I'm working again - from home this time, thank goodness - on some marketing stuff I need to catch up on. Oh well.
zonker
Aug 18, 19 3:27 pm
we're working through the weekend too - could be an all nighter - got to print tomorrow -
x-jla
Aug 18, 19 4:13 pm
Saturday and Sunday :(. On top of it, my 16yo son had 5 of his friends sleep over last night and they were running through the house like wild maniacs at 2am with bike helmets on their heads like gladiators. I yelled at them to calm down...shirtless and in my draws. After, I felt like I passed some milestone of DAD-ness...Bad week to have work to do...Mindhunter season 2 is on Netflix and I haven’t had the chance to watch yet...
Wilma Buttfit
Aug 19, 19 8:09 am
I worked every weekend but maybe 3 of em this summer. I take a lot of time off during the week though so isn't the same.
OddArchitect
Aug 19, 19 10:02 am
I adamantly refuse to work on the weekends unless their is a major deadline. Oh wait there are always major deadlines.
atelier nobody
Aug 19, 19 1:42 pm
I really should have, but didn't. Now that Monday has come, I'm feeling acutely the results of my laziness (not too much to take an Archinect break, of course).
senjohnblutarsky
Aug 19, 19 1:47 pm
I leave work at 5:30 and hope to keep it that way for as long as I can.
tduds
Aug 19, 19 1:52 pm
Thankfully I haven't had to "work" (at my job) many weekends this summer. It's given me more time to "work" at my home, planning projects, planning marriage, cleaning up after myself...
Not much time left for "fun" this year. Next year I'll make more time for fun.
citizen
Aug 19, 19 6:55 pm
Honestly, it's comforting to know I'm not the only one around here with an eccentric, shifting work schedule.
sameolddoctor
Aug 19, 19 7:53 pm
And you call this a "good" lifestyle? Seems very American to keep working on weekends, and then boast about it.
citizen
Aug 19, 19 8:51 pm
So very, very American.
tduds
Aug 20, 19 12:30 pm
++ It's all about balance. I work when I can be most productive - even if it's a Sunday morning. I also take time to enjoy my life, which sometimes means leaving a 2pm on a Tuesday. Unless you have meetings, keeping a strict 9-5 M-F can be detrimental.
Donna Sink
Aug 20, 19 12:49 pm
(I wasn't boasting, sameold. Just stating a fact. Everyone is very busy right now.)
zonker
Aug 20, 19 12:38 pm
As construction costs have gone up due to tariffs, schedules get compressed, and consequently, architects have to work faster and over longer hours including weekends -
Non Sequitur
Aug 20, 19 12:59 pm
or not.
Steeplechase
Aug 20, 19 9:10 pm
Or not indeed. I only work weekends to not use PTO for time I
ditched during the week.
archi_dude
Aug 20, 19 9:15 pm
As some one who has first hand seen the difference in costs and rushed submittals to beat some of the costs. First off the increases have been pretty minor. The real increase in cost is everyone is so busy they are throwing numbers to lose the work but still get invited to future bids. The schedule compression is a phenomenon that has been occurring since end of the recession
archi_dude
Aug 20, 19 9:17 pm
This thread touches on why we probably aren't seeing the schedules grow back along with price increases. Everyone in America thinks $ instead of quality of life. I'd rather see a smaller bonus and and larger free hours than, "your bonus will be so much bigger if you do this 6/10 scheduled job."
archiwutm8
Aug 21, 19 10:06 am
No, we have bank holiday this weekend in the UK.
whistler
Aug 21, 19 2:32 pm
Went for a bike ride with my wife and several clients on Saturday then a long trail run Sunday by myself. Back to work Monday.
Sorry folks, gotta learn when to "hustle and when to float"!
I'm in the office all day today. Now that I'm in a PM role on a large project for the first time I'm finding the only time I can get the PM duties (updates to team, scheduling, invoice reviews, etc - all the boring stuff) done is to come in when no one else is around.
Anyone else?
It's Saturday? All those little boxes on the calendar look the same to me. Maybe because every day is a work day.
I took home a roll of drawings for the redesign of a house. My days during the week are so filled up with contract squabbles, HR headaches , CA controversies and marketing that the weekend is the only time I can find significant time to design.
I’ll be thinking of you Donna. :)
I'm with you Erik, my weekdays are PM and CA stuff, design is left for the weekend.
During the week, if I have some important design work that I need to knock out to keep my team going, I like to get up at 4:00 am, long before my family is up. It’s really quiet and serene, I am fresh and sharp, and between 4 and 7 I can really get my best design work done. A design task that seemed unresolvable to me the night before is often solved early in the am.
I hear you. It seems masochistic sometimes but there really is no better time for feeling optimistic and creative than the extremely early morning. The best part is wrapping up something big before 10am and feeling like you've still got a whole day ahead of you.
Donna, how was the movie?
Thank you for asking, citizen! I don't think a movie can ever be completely satisfying for someone who loved the book, but even so, the movie was definitely not great. Cate Blanchett is compelling to watch no matter what she's in, but I didn't like how the story unfolded very linearly, when the book was a constant looping back of letters and articles and reports and whatnot. And while the built imagery of Beeber Bifocal was *perfect*, the 20 Mile House just looked like a sketchup model, no interest. And the icebergs weren't nearly majestic enough. It was great to have a dozen women architects all together to watch it!
Hi Donna, I just watched this movie yesterday with my wife without knowing anything about the book and the main character. I was chuckling throughout the movie and was entertaining for me (but i completely understand why it wasn't for you. I should read that book). Ever since I became a PM, just like you, I don't create anymore. I create multiple versions of fee proposals, schedules, and invoices. I am working this weekend to revise the fee proposal per my client's feedback. After the movie, my wife pointed out that i was happier too when I actually designed something...
I'm working today to, Donna! How's it going?
I probably should be working today... but am not. Same prediction for next weekend.
I’m doing lots of work but I don’t get paid when my wife is telling me what to do.
Hope you had a productive day, Donna!
Cheers!
I brought home work. Got everything nice and set up, but never really started the actual 'work' part. On the plus side, carpet got cleaned while I was procrastinating.
I'm working more and more on weekends recently. Same story. Just a couple of hours on Sunday (tomorrow) for a tiny project that of course needs way more attention than the fee allows. Awesome.
What is this thing you call a wee... kend?
Days off are few and far between for the last 10 years.
The older i get, the less time I have for myself, and when there is free time it is when I do all the work that I couldnt do before because of all the emails and meetings. This is something I'm working on. I have come to think of it as a search for the time and state of mind to get into a flow state, something that I used to find much easier.
It might be that my job as head of an office or whatever is to make sure everyone can get to that place so they can be productive. And I need to do the same for myself. This latter bit is the hardest somehow. If you figure it out I would love to know how you do it
It's Sunday and I'm working again - from home this time, thank goodness - on some marketing stuff I need to catch up on. Oh well.
we're working through the weekend too - could be an all nighter - got to print tomorrow -
Saturday and Sunday :(. On top of it, my 16yo son had 5 of his friends sleep over last night and they were running through the house like wild maniacs at 2am with bike helmets on their heads like gladiators. I yelled at them to calm down...shirtless and in my draws. After, I felt like I passed some milestone of DAD-ness...Bad week to have work to do...Mindhunter season 2 is on Netflix and I haven’t had the chance to watch yet...
I worked every weekend but maybe 3 of em this summer. I take a lot of time off during the week though so isn't the same.
I adamantly refuse to work on the weekends unless their is a major deadline. Oh wait there are always major deadlines.
I really should have, but didn't. Now that Monday has come, I'm feeling acutely the results of my laziness (not too much to take an Archinect break, of course).
I leave work at 5:30 and hope to keep it that way for as long as I can.
Thankfully I haven't had to "work" (at my job) many weekends this summer. It's given me more time to "work" at my home, planning projects, planning marriage, cleaning up after myself...
Not much time left for "fun" this year. Next year I'll make more time for fun.
Honestly, it's comforting to know I'm not the only one around here with an eccentric, shifting work schedule.
And you call this a "good" lifestyle? Seems very American to keep working on weekends, and then boast about it.
So very, very American.
++ It's all about balance. I work when I can be most productive - even if it's a Sunday morning. I also take time to enjoy my life, which sometimes means leaving a 2pm on a Tuesday. Unless you have meetings, keeping a strict 9-5 M-F can be detrimental.
(I wasn't boasting, sameold. Just stating a fact. Everyone is very busy right now.)
As construction costs have gone up due to tariffs, schedules get compressed, and consequently, architects have to work faster and over longer hours including weekends -
or not.
Or not indeed. I only work weekends to not use PTO for time I
ditched during the week.
As some one who has first hand seen the difference in costs and rushed submittals to beat some of the costs. First off the increases have been pretty minor. The real increase in cost is everyone is so busy they are throwing numbers to lose the work but still get invited to future bids. The schedule compression is a phenomenon that has been occurring since end of the recession
This thread touches on why we probably aren't seeing the schedules grow back along with price increases. Everyone in America thinks $ instead of quality of life. I'd rather see a smaller bonus and and larger free hours than, "your bonus will be so much bigger if you do this 6/10 scheduled job."
No, we have bank holiday this weekend in the UK.
Went for a bike ride with my wife and several clients on Saturday then a long trail run Sunday by myself. Back to work Monday.
Sorry folks, gotta learn when to "hustle and when to float"!
Yes, working on weekends is a routine now :)