I was on a flight from Virginia back home to Seattle recently and the person next to me asked me what time it was. I went to my phone and told them the time. They looked at me puzzled and said, “why look at your phone when you are wearing a watch?”.
My watch being the wrong time when I travel is the best thing for me because it helps me keep my priorities. So why don’t I change my watch when I land in a different state? It’s pretty simple. I always want to know what time it is at home. My watch is a simple and easy reminder that what is most important to me is in a different state. Every time I look at my watch I am reminded to think about and pray for my wife and kids. When people ask me why my watch is wrong and I don’t change it, I can tell them about my family and whats most important to me.
On a practical note, it allows me to be aware of my families schedule. When I travel I am usually caught up in the conference schedule. But having my watch I am able to tell when my kids are getting ready to go down for a nap or when they are getting ready to go to bed. I can catch them before meals or join them via FaceTime for breakfast. I found early on that if I didn’t have these types of built in reminders the day could get away from me. The business of travel and conferences combined with my families own schedule often had us at odd’s for touching base and talking. This simple method keeps me connected to my family.
Why is it important to stay connected?
1. The traveling life has the ability to sap you of your time and energy quickly.
While it was fun traveling to different states early on, the cost on my family began to show itself. Like everything in life that is important, we need to put checks and balances into place to keep them important. I’ve had the opportunity to sit next to some executives of large companies. Most of these people are world travelers and like me, feel like they live on the road. Interestingly, many of them have broken families and all of them at some point in the conversation tell me to keep tabs on the work, travel, family balance.
2. It sets a precedent for my kids.
When they get older and start their own careers they will be influenced heavily by what they see in me and their mom. Everyone of our actions affects our kids. The way we dress, talk, interact with others, and our work habits. By making my family a priority and putting these practices into place my kids will grow up understanding that this is important for their own work and family life.
3. It reminds me of what is important.
I do my work for a variety of reasons. But most important is to provide for my family. If I slip away and begin to get disconnected from my family because of work, that seems a bit counterproductive. Staying connected and putting these practices into place keeps a healthy balance and sets the priorities in my life.
Regardless of if you travel across the world for work or have a 30 minute commute into the office make sure you do everything in your power to keep your family as a priority.
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