CEO Journal: Battling Time-management Challenges
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Chuck Hall is founder of Charles Hall Construction, a $26 millioncompany in Clarendon Hills, Ill., which provides national at-riskdesign/build and general contracting services for the commercial, industrialand institutional markets.
Lately I've really been struggling with what I should be focusing on.There always seems to be so much for me to do and somany people pulling me in different directions. Keepingmy family and work in balance has become a verydifficult task. I'm torn between spending extra timewith work to ensure the company's continued strong,profitable growth trend and the joy I get from spendingextra time with my family.
For the past few weeks, I've been rising at 4:30 a.m. so I can havesome exercise time — and organizational time — at home. I've foundthat my desk, in the early hours of the day, is the best place for me tothink and lay out my day. Also, these early hours are my most creativethinking times. One of the great points about doing this at home isbeing able to see the children off to school.
To keep staffing lean while we see what happens with the economyand Iraq, I've saddled myself with additional responsibilities, such asbeing the project manager for a project in Salem, Mass. Although I'mthoroughly enjoying the day-to-day aspects of overseeing our staff inSalem, it's draining time away from my other duties — reporting, planningand sales.
Sales continue to go extremely well in our self-storage niche as wellas with our assisted-living projects. Our 2003 plan is written, but onlyin draft form; I really need to finish this to present to some potentialequity sources. I've always had our yearly plan completed by now, soit's frustrating to be behind here.
Yet the bright side of my involvement at the project level is that I'mimproving productivity. As a result of me "managing" a project andhaving so little time, I've been tweaking our existing financial reportingtools, creating a Web-based project reporting system and working withoperations to teach my new findings. Our internal reporting is nowmore efficient and more accurate.
My brother's wedding was on Friday. We arrived on Wednesdayevening and festivities didn't let up until Sunday morning. I had a difficulttime not checking voice mail and e-mail. The kicker for me was thatI forgot a Valentine's Day card for my wife. After spending so muchtime getting ready to be out of town and preparing to be my brother'sbest man, I forgot to make my best friend feel special.
Still, the reception was amazing. My son, the ring bearer, and mydaughter, the flower girl, were in rare form. I was so proud of them.
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