Why the heck not?
You dreamt about this, am I right?
I did. I still do.
I started my career as a technology consultant. Working hours were long, and clients were demanding. But that never stopped me from daydreaming.
I fantasized that 1 day, I will,
- Close that 8-digit deal (haven’t happened),
- Be a managing partner (ditched that),
- Earn 7 digits a year (far from it).
I pushed and slogged, slogged and toiled, toiled and shoved… ad infinitum.
I thought I was near. I was crawling towards it with all my might… until… until…
… I scratched the wall of mental fatigue.
Timesheet is the most sinister invention I’ve come across.
I rate it a close second to needless certifications. They suck the life of me.
As consultants in professional services, we are trained to polish our timesheets to perfection.
- Cannot handle that client? Not a problem.
- Failed to submit the timesheet on time? Big problem.
Joke has it that John, a fellow analyst, hit the jackpot because of an assignment with a multi-national mining client. He was given one charge code for his timesheet.
“36782 — Diamond Client — 100% Billable”
He screamed and jumped when he saw the email from the project manager. It was good news. In fact, great news.
As the rumor goes, John never suffered from timesheet-triggered mental fatigue.
We, mere mortals, did.
It was for me.
Like the others, I had to wrestle with 2 things.
- Billable time — This means you get your clients to pay for service.
- Unbillable time — This means you got to explain why you are idling.
Striking a balance between billable and unbillable is about survival. If you are 30% unbillable —…
