Business or Pleasure
- Madeira Team
- Dec 20, 2009
- 2 min read
When I was young and free (and stupid, let’s be honest – we were all quite stupid when we were young and free), I dreamed about living on the top of a hill, far away from any civilization, in a small wood cabin, building my own balcony and growing my own tomatoes. I thought to myself: “Who needs to work? I can just enjoy life by watching the sunrise every morning, taking a walk down the hill once in a while, picking my own tomatoes for dinner, watching the beautiful sky…” – you get the idea.
Many years have passed since then. The hill cabin is not that attractive any more. Actually, it sounds quite boring. It can be a great idea for a vacation, but not as a way of living. Besides, I have a family to feed and a house to pay for. I need to work. I have been working as a SQL Server DBA for the past 11 years in various positions. I learned to love this job. As weird as it might sound to you, I enjoy designing a new database, solving a performance issue or troubleshooting a deadlock. About 3 years ago I decided to take it one step forward. I started my own company. I had two main goals that motivated me to do so:
Pick the people that I work with and the projects that I work on, so that I enjoy work even more.
Work less, so that I can spend more time with my family.
Today I can proudly say that I achieved the first goal. We have a great team of experts, and the work is interesting, challenging and fun (well, most of the time). Regarding the second goal, well… There were times when I worked 4 days a week, from 09:00 to 17:00, or even 16:00, and I had plenty of time to play with my kids.
In the last few months, I’m working around the clock. I’m embarrassed to tell you how many hours I’m working in a week. There is a huge distance between the hill cabin dream and the way I live my life these days. Extreme is never a good thing. We should always find the middle path.
Last week, my 4 year-old son asked me: “Dad, why do you always come home so late?” Bang! It was like a slap on my face. That day I made a promise – to my son and to myself…
Balancing business and pleasure can be challenging, but finding a space that supports both is key. That’s one of the reasons a Yurt Retreat at the Celestial Center appeals to me—offering a peaceful accommodation that nurtures creativity and relaxation alike. Whether you’re seeking a mindful break or a serene environment to recharge between work sessions, this place blends natural beauty with spiritual calm. It’s refreshing to see how the Celestial Center prioritizes harmony and wellness, making it easier to escape the usual hustle and find clarity, no matter the purpose of your visit.
Interesting how the line between business and personal tech keeps blurring—especially with tools like accounting apps. I’ve used QuickBooks for tracking side projects and client invoices, and it works well once everything’s set up, but figuring out some of the backend reporting features took a minute. I remember having trouble getting a clear answer on payroll syncing and eventually found what I needed through https://quickbooks-intuit.pissedconsumer.com/customer-service.html . Helped point me to the right place faster than the help center did.