My son, August Henry, enjoys breakfast

Working at an ambitious company that feels like a start-up in all the right ways can be demanding. You’re getting pulled in a hundred different directions, so you need to be incredibly efficient with your time. I’m involved in every aspect of daily life here in the Philadelphia office, from logistics, to sales, to management and people development.

Balancing all that is tough enough, but throw a family into the mix and you have to be really sharp to keep it all together. My wife and I had our first son 14 months ago. He is pretty much the man. The best part of my day is right after I change the little guy and put him in his PJ’s, toss him around on the bed until he giggles and drools all over me. Then my wife and I sit him down on my lap, give him some milk and cheerios, and read a couple stories.

Here’s how I’ve handled the balancing act:

1. I got some perspective. At the end of the day you have to recognize what brings you deep satisfaction. And for me, it’s the ones waiting for me when I come home. And if things are bothering me at the office, I can’t take that home with me.
2. I increased my efficiency. Work naturally expands to fill the time you give it. You don’t necessarily get more done just because you take more time doing it. Like a lot of people, I work better under pressure. So if I give myself a lot of things to do in a shorter amount of time, I get a lot done, and I don’t waste time. But you have to plan ahead.
3. I let them overlap. As much as you have to draw boundaries in how you let the normal ups and downs of a workday affect your bearing at home, you need to make sure work isn’t another life that doesn’t include your family. I spend most of my waking weekly hours at the office. I’ve met some of my best friends through Meltwater. As with anything that’s important to me, I want to share that with my family. I’ve made a conscious effort to have Micha (my wife) and August (my son) over to the office to meet my colleagues, and we always try to spend time with my closest friends at work. So when I tell stories about people, my wife gets the joke, and she understands why these people are so important to me.

Meltwater friends/coworkers visiting Philly came over to cook, hang out and play with my son. No work talk, just friends catching up.

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