The 2 Day Work Day

I love burning at both ends, and working from Israel helps fuel that bad habit.

This week I’ve been working out of AnyClip’s Jerusalem office, at the JVP Media Center. At night, I stay in a boutique hotel, literally across the street. Our office, in the Media Center, is beautiful, and right next door to JVP, Animation Lab, and Double Fusion. It’s a great environment.

This brings me to the 2 day work day.

Having a team in Israel and a team in the US is a source of joy and intrigue, but also a source of frustration and pain sometimes. I love working in the same space with people, so having a relationship with people so far away is tough. So, when I’m here, I relish my time spent with the team. And, because of the time difference (7 hours), I get to spend most of my “Israeli work day” focused on Team Israel, while Team America is still asleep.

Evetually (around 7 or the day winds down in Israel and folks go home. But, I’ve just gotten started. Back in the US, folks have come back from lunch and are ready to work a long afternoon and evening.

So I work along with them.

In the end, my day winds down around 2am (7pm in the US), and I head back across the street to my hotel to try and sleep.

But it’s hard to sleep after working 2 work days with two teams from 2 of the most innovative countries in the world.

While I can probably only keep this up for the 7 – 10 days I spend in Israel each trip, I cherish this routine each time I come. Wake up, work with some incredible Israelis all day, and then work with some incredible Americans through the night.

The opportunities is a blessing and I’ve never felt more productive.

(I’ve also never felt so tired! But the sabbath is almost upon us, and this weekend, I may finally rest.)