Stress management

I’m going to have to do better, somehow, at managing my stress levels. Over the past few years my work has been fairly solo, and the challenges mostly technical – activating some extra neurons, putting in a few extra hours, I was able to tackle what was thrown my way. Right now is different; working on a larger team than in recent years where I’m not in control – and thousands of miles away – at times I’m unable to feel the kind of progress that lets me relax. More and more frequently, I’m waking up extra early, compensating for the time zone differences with many of my colleagues and customers. It’s 5am now, I woke up an hour ago and am still trying to stop myself from checking email and getting on Skype.

I owe it to my family to figure this stuff out; we’ve got enough to contend with and I ought be able to earn a living and still get to sleep, and not bring the stress home – my office is our attic, so those boundaries are extremely blurry.