It’s Wine Thirty PM. Are You In?

By “in” I really mean on. If your connections, colleagues, and collaborators are anything like mine, you may have seen a growing trend in late evening communications over the past couple of years.  We all have dinner, spend time with family & friends, watch an episode or two of some binge-worthy show, put the kids to bed, take out the dog, fire up the laptop, and start our second work day. Adult beverage optional, but recommended.

It’s not that we’re ever really disconnected; emails and texts make sure of that. But when the world winds down, the call of full-blown, full-sized outlook / gmail, spreadsheets, and powerpoint is irresistible. 

Why do we do it? There may be an optimistic hope that each minute spent prepping for tomorrow’s meeting with ensure a better outcome. If we review that client’s data one more time, we’ll see the answer. And if we spend a few more minutes on the reports than Peterson does, it can’t hurt!

 

The Churchill Effect

Winston Churchill may have originated this behavior, though I don’t call it Wine Thirty just because he liked a glass or two or three of wine.  He did. He did indeed.

Sir Winston developed a similar work pattern. Martin Gilbert outlines this strange part of Churchill’s daily schedule in Churchill’s Wartime Leadership. During World War II, he knew that his advancing age and deteriorating health required rest and thus took a nap late each afternoon. This allowed him to restart his day again in the evening. He would work late into the night, in essence creating a second work day in each 24-hour period. While most of the world was winding down for the evening, Churchill was meeting by the fireplace with generals, ministers, and advisors. 

You and I are doing the same at Wine Thirty PM with CEOs, clients, and advisors! Only instead of chatting in-person at 10 Downing Street, we’re on chatting online, texting, emailing, and tweeting. Fireplace optional.