Working with DOS today was unbelievably frustrating. And yet … not so bad in the end. I worked on the problem last week, figured out what I needed, and after a three-hour marathon today, got it fixed.
I end those three hours feeling drained. I left the office, got a sandwich, and went to the park to eat. When I got back, though, I felt pretty good. And those good feelings pushed me forward and I got a lot done in the rest of the afternoon.
That sense of completion is one of the things I appreciate about the work I do with Mary Holste Design (and, apparently, fixing City Club's XP machine). Working with programs and websites is like working with puzzles, and when you get the puzzle solved it's incredibly rewarding.
You just don't really get that working as the director of a non-profit like City Club. Things are slow-moving, often in need of shepherding, and they are seldom "done." Great! You had a success year of giving … now do it again the next year.
But non-profit work has many rewards that I don't get from working on a website or fixing puzzles. I work in groups, I try to build consensus, I measure small changes over time, and I love the feeling of working to "get it right." That in particular is well-suited to City Club, with our regular events: have an event, make it as good as you can, and then start from scratch the next time and try to improve. Some people hate that kind of work, but I love it.
The end result is that I'm very grateful I can have both kinds of work. Puzzles, technical challenges, and a sense of completion on the one hand. Long-term visioning, group work, and leadership on the other.
It's a pretty great balance.