Around 1:00 PM this afternoon I got a request from my manager asking if I can deliver a document to him by the end of the day. This was a document I had been emailed over a week ago, and at the time it was not associated with any particular deadline. 

The task involves cleaning up a spreadsheet of “dirty” data and then pulling certain data elements from the spreadsheet to query our system and pull more details. It’s not particularly difficult for me, but it’s time-consuming, and apparently there are few if any people who have the required skill set needed to make this happen. My manager has to deliver a response to the COO early next week, so I told him I would not have the deliverable today but I would sign on tomorrow and finish it. So much for having a free weekend.

The reward for doing a good job is more work.

Since early May I have been working two gigs and putting in additional hours on Saturday and even some on Sunday. I’m finally at a place where I felt like I could take a breather with the side gig, and now I get this request that puts me right back in the chair tomorrow. For those keeping score at home, this week I tallied 40 hours for the main job, 8 hours for the side gig, and 10 hours for all the virtual conference sessions I attended. I’m likely going to work for 5-6 hours tomorrow. At least it’s all billable hours and that means more bonus. Might as well cash in while I can.