It’s 4:15 p.m. on a weekday and my friend Jimmy and I are driving north on 95, heading to Philadelphia. Jim scored last-minute Pearl Jam tickets and invited me to go. If I still worked in an office with a strict set of expectations, I would have taken a hard pass and missed the fun. But given my work-from-home reality and the flexibility it provides, I am managing to be productive on the road while catching an awesome show.
Once upon a time, I reported to an office every day. I usually arrived before 8 a.m. and often worked until after 7 p.m., making sure my bosses knew I was putting in the hours. We called the need to be seen around the office “face time.” In hindsight, this expectation seems absurd. Yes, it’s important to build culture and relationships, and I valued the ideas that arose from organic hallway conversations, but the rigid hours and excessive amount of time spent in the office cancels out those benefits.
As a recovering workaholic, I view my time as a three-legged stool. One leg is the time spent on my career. Another leg is dedicated to my family and friends. The third leg is the time I invest in me—my intellectual and emotional development; the cultivation of my hobbies (come see my band sometime!); my physical health. They are not always equal thirds and the time spent on each ebbs and flows, but I have come to realize that I need to focus on all three and not just work all the time.
In our cover story, “The Big Reboot,” writer Helen Partridge examines post-pandemic and post-Great Resignation views toward work and how we spend our professional time. Record numbers of people are starting their own businesses (LLC registrations in Virginia have increased 61% since 2019) and the term “quiet quitting” is now en vogue. People are also placing a premium on flexibility and are seeking deeper meaning in their careers.
Speaking of a deeper meaning, what if you could take your skills in lobbying and business development and use them to tackle a rare form of cancer? What if this cancer afflicted your daughter’s best friend? Many of our readers already know Paul Romness, a lifelong Arlingtonian, but you may not be familiar with the mission-driven company he recently launched. You can learn all about it in our story “The Long Fight” by Wendy Kantor.
Before I let you go, we are hiring! We have open positions in advertising sales and editorial. Please visit arlingtonmagazine.com/job-openings to learn more, and share this information with anyone who might be a good fit.
I hope you enjoy our November/December issue of Arlington Magazine. This is issue number 67, which puts us at 11 years and a couple of months. We feel fortunate to serve such a great community. Thank you for reading the magazine, advertising with us and supporting our work. Also, we love hearing from you. I can be reached at greg.hamilton@arlingtonmagazine.com and our editor, Jenny, can be reached at jenny.sullivan@arlingtonmagazine.com. Thanks!
Greg Hamilton, Publisher