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I have moved my site and now have a wordpress blog. The new feed address is

http://feeds.feedburner.com/robhatch

Sorry I don't have a new button for you, but I'm looking forward to seeing you all at the new site.

Rob

I'm practically giddy.

Tomorrow is Podcamp. I am looking forward to meeting a lot of interesting and smart people. Actually, I have already been communicating with some of the participants with plans to meet up at the event.

"Shhh...do you smell something?"

Also, I am about to move this site and work with BIG boy stuff. My robhatch.com host (which is really a URL pointing to my blogger address) is letting me load Wordpress on the server to make this whole thing the real deal.

Much love to my friend Chris at Sheepscot Valley Computer Consulting here in Maine. Who loves you baby?

I'm going to Podcamp!

Stay tuned!

Working from Home in Maine

I don't do it often, but it is so nice when it happens.

I know there are those of you out there who have been telecommuting for years. There are many companies like Google who seem to have a free and open set of work rules. For me and for my organization, the expectations have always been different.

We are located in rural Western, Maine where the blue-collar, factory-work mentality of punch in at x:00 and out at x:00 and leave feeling as though you worked hard, did your job and can sleep well at night in the comfort of your home with your loving family is still very present. Ah the bucolic splender of it all.

Alas, I worked from home today. Truth be told, I wasn't feeling great, got ten minutes into my 40 minute commute and turned my car around. I didn't jump immediately into work, but plodded through the day a bit until I began to feel better. However, in the early afternoon, I sat down and began to churn out all kinds of work. Some of it was truly work, and some of it was personal. The change in scenery was great for me and the result was that I was more productive in those short hours than I had felt in the past few days in the office.

I also managed to tackle a slew of home "work" (financial, correspondence, home office organizing, planning) that had been building up and therefore distracting me even when I was at work. The funny thing about this, is that I have had a number of days at home on the weekends. What I really needed though, was a "work" day at home to take care of the home "work".

So, at the end of the day, I am feeling much better in so many areas.

I know that the working from home is second nature to most folks. As a provider of services to children and families, it doesn't always translate. But today it did and while I spent some of my time working on the home stuff, my focus and thus my productivity at work will be greatly improved because of it. Funny that.

Independence is hard work - Political Musings

I was speaking with a gentleman last week about state politics. It was clear that we approached issues in a similar manner...by examining them from many sides before making a decision. Our current topic was the Taxpayer Bill of Rights or TABOR in Maine. His comment was this:

'People often criticize those of us 'in the middle' by characterizing us as fence sitters. But the fact of the matter is that it is hard work being in the middle, because we look closely at each issue and view it from all sides. We don't view each issue through the lens of a particular party and discard or accept it based on how well it looks through that lens.'

I couldn't agree more.

The Independent Voter

Courting the independents has been a common refrain for the past several election cycles as the country has grown weary of partisan politics. Although lately, partisan politics are on the rise (red vs. blue). It is interesting to me how the pendulum swings and despite the fact that people are tired of partisanship they are taking sides more often lately.

The resulting blend of those realities is that the next two election cycles will be spent with each party trying to demonstrate how their partisan politics are less about partisanship and more about 'doing the right thing for ________ (America, the State)' and whoever manages to articulate this more clearly will win.

Value(s) Proposition

The challenge for Independent candidates in this partisan climate is to articulate positions on issues so that voters know what they are getting. Voters need to understand the product that they are getting when they buy it. In this way, Independent candidates also have to work harder for each vote.

With the myriad of issues facing candidates and voters, Independents who are void of a party affiliation, have to make a Values Proposition for voters to understand the candidates position on issues.

Reduce Burdensome Taxes
Supporter of Education
Business Friendly
Environmentally Conscious

One Issue Politics

I have always loathed one issue politics or specific litmus tests such as (abortion, gun control, etc.) particularly when it has no relavence to one's elected position (what can a State Representative do about the issue of abortion?).

Voting through the lens

It appears to be so much easier to just pick your candidate based on party and trust that they will represent your interests. I just can't get my head around that. I can't be satisfied that I have fully understood the candidate, or trust that they will fully understand an issue if they vote a party line.

For the record, I have voted for Democrats, Republicans, Greens and Independents for my entire voting career. I try to understand the person and not the party which by the way, is hard work.

My sense is that people, particularly in Maine, have always had a common sense attitude toward their politics and this is reflected in the balance of candidates that they elect to office. Our two Maine Senators are often referred to by those in their own party as RINO'S (Republican in Name Only). For me, they both represent an independent Maine spirit which desires candidates to think clearly about casting their votes and to be predictably independent. It is why I love Maine.

Once again, people on both sides may characterize this as lacking in vision. In truth, Independence considers a broad reality and requires a breadth and depth of vision that party politics fails to provide.

So, how do you align yourself politically?

A Little Recognition

I wrote a post a few months back where I mentioned that I like to take some time to revel in certain accomplishments. The gist was, that it helps me to envision success and the path I took to accomplish it.
For the record, with the exception of a three month period several years back, I have never in my professional career felt like I simply had a job or felt as though I did not want to go to work and when I realized my unhappiness in that position, I promptly resigned.
I love what I am doing, what I have done and all of the possibilities for what I hope to do.

As for the reveling, the past few weeks have been exciting.

My work in service to children and families is multi-faceted and involves aspects which are greatly impacted by state legislation. The primary program of my agency provides educational and therapeutic services to children with special needs between birth and five years. Needless to say, I am keenly interested in all aspects of the rules and regulations that impact the services which are provided to these children.

Two weeks ago, I received word that I had been appointed by the Commissioner's of Education and of the Department of Health and Human Services to serve on the Committee to Study Early Childhood Special Education Programs and Services for the State of Maine. Wow!

I was honored to have been selected and am humbled, because this committee is charged (in short) with determining the direction the state should take in providing services to children with special needs from birth - eight. It is an awesome responsibility.

About a week later, I heard that several Senators and Representatives had put forth my name to the Speaker of the House, for his consideration as co-chair of this same committee. Again, Wow! I thought, what had I done to warrant this?

A few days later, I received a call from the Speaker's office requesting my bio. I promptly obliged. A few hours later, I received yet another call from the Speaker's office informing me that the Speaker, John Richardson had appointed me co-chair of this committee. Once again, wow!

I find it amazing that in my two short years back in the State of Maine, that I have found myself in such a position, charged with such an enormous and crucial responsibility.

I know that in the beginning, I mentioned reveling. I can't even get to a place where I can do that, because I am still amazed, humbled and well, a little proud. I am also not really celebrating yet, as the accomplishment is yet to be achieved, but I am tremendously grateful for the opportunity to serve children and families at this new and exciting level.

It is experiences like this that emerge from the work that I do on a daily basis that excite me and keep me engaged, committed and passionate. A few posts back I mentioned that I always look for "what's next"....well I guess this is my what's next and yes I am doing more, not to be better, but to make something better for someone else...many someone's.

Challenge Check-in

A few weeks back I jumped on the Fat Guy Gets Fit bandwagon for Chris Brogan's 12 week fitness and nutrition challenge.

After a weigh in on Friday and a modest amount of exercise this evening, I thought I should check back with my original stats.

On June 12th, I sent along this email to Chris.

I am still working out the details of my measurable list, but it is likely to include:

Weight - I'm back at 164 from a recent low of 153 and a previous high of 174. I want to maintain a 148-152 range.

Nutrition - Getting back "on plan" as the saying goes in my house(WW)) I am guessing that I am consuming somewhere on the order of 50 points/day with a current allowance of 23. Portion control is the problem….I eat very well otherwise.

Fitness - 3-5 walks or runs/week, I fell off dramatically from a regular schedule. Push-ups and Sit ups (I need to establish a baseline on this).

Sleep - Lights out by 10:30 has to be the norm for me to be healthy and happy.

Holy crap! 164 lbs.! I started at 164.....I was thinking 161 for some reason. The great news is that I weighed in at 158 lbs on Friday! Wahoo!! 6 whole freakin' pounds! I am so psyched.

I have to say that the bulk of that has come from changing eating habits. Aside from the two hot summer weekends when I cooled myself with a few Sam Adams, not the light mind you, I've done pretty well.

My breakfast is a little more than a cup Hannaford's Get Trim Crunch (store version of Kashi's Go Lean Crunch..a lot easier to chew).

My lunch is a 3 point sandwich and a banana.

My dinner is whatever Meg is cooking up and is bound to be "on plan".

After dinner snacks have been cut back dramatically and usually involve popcorn (94% reduced fat) and a Weight Watcher's ice cream bar.

6 pounds!

So, the exercise has not been fantastic. My walks have not picked up much, but I am determined to get on that. The strength training (sit-ups and push-ups) is holding steady (don't ask at what).

6 POUNDS!

Oh, sleep...uh..much better the first few weeks, but the past week was a bit off.

S-I-X P-O-U-N-D-S!

I'd love to say "It's not the weight really, it's that I feel so much better, more healthy". That would be crap, like saying "I was happy just to have been nominated".

I lost 6 pounds...I lost 6 pounds...he-he-he.

Being Better = Doing More

I have a hard time saying "no". I am working on that.
Every so often though, I stop and actually think about all of the things (projects, committees, committments, boards, councils) I have going on in my life just to give myself some perspective and assess whether or not my plate is full. Of course, as full as it seems, I am always ready and eager to pile on something else.
Here though is my real problem. I have some genetic *tic* that does not allow me to stop. I cannot sit on the couch for extended periods of time. I cannot watch hours of television. I have to be doing something in order to feel productive and good. The result is that I am always looking for the next thing to be done: the next idea, the next action, the next opportunity.
Oh, I suppose this sounds good, but it's really very distracting. It requires that I exert a great deal of energy to focus my way through a project to its completion, because 'what's next' is clamoring for my attention and it's always more attractive. I know this about myself and have learned to focus, but it is hard work.
The translation of this 'what's next' mentality, is that in my 'quest to be better', I often equate being better with doing more. That can't be right, or good for me necessarily.

How do you balance your work, your projects, your life? How do you say "no" instead of "what's next"?

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