Five missed calls and 33 new emails. I slid the phone back in my pocket and stared at the Y in the trail contemplating my dilemma: go to work or keep looking. An October snow storm prompted me to take a couple of hours off in the morning to go hunt my favorite stand. The wind was right and I knew the rut was kicking off. It was a Wednesday and I told myself I would sit until 10:00 am. I could return phone calls on my drive back home and should be at my desk by 11:15 a.m. It was already 10:30 a.m. and I hadn’t been able to find a single speck of blood.
The morning started hot. A buck worked towards my stand at first light. I heard him coming before I saw him. A slight movement caught my attention and I realized he had veered off the main trail and was heading right at my stand less than 15 yards away. Slowly turning my body I prepared to draw. The slight move caught his attention and he stared right at me. I squinted through my eye lids and remained still. The standoff was on. Deciding it wasn’t worth figuring out what was perched in the tree the buck slowly turned around and quietly went back the way he came. It was a good start to the morning.
Later a small buck cruised the ridge to my left. The deer was small, so I left him alone. He stopped in the bottom and it looked like another deer had joined him. I grunted softly three times and both deer started to move in my direction. I saw the horns of the second deer as they passed through an opening and positioned myself for a shot.
The small buck stopped directly under my stand and looked around. The bigger buck trailed 30 yards behind and was coming in straight on. He stopped less than 20 yards from my stand and scanned the area for the source of the challenge. Not seeing another deer made the smaller deer nervous while the bigger buck tried to figure out what was going on. It was now or never. My shot angle was pretty steep, but I had a good view the vitals. I pulled back, anchored, and aimed, THWACK. Wheeling around the buck ran out of sight. I felt the shot was good, but there is a risk of only hitting one lung if the shot angle is too steep.
It was exactly 8:30 a.m. and I decided to wait an hour before getting out of my stand. Since there wasn’t an exit hole I knew it would take a while to find blood. However, I had two things going for me.
1. I knew the trail he headed down
2. There were patches of snow which would help in spotting blood
Replaying the shot over in my mind for 60 minutes seemed like an eternity. At 9:30 I climbed out of my stand and walked to the spot where he was standing. The trail he initially took quickly turned into two, then Y’d into three, then four. Staring at the ground I took every trail looking for a sign of blood or his track. Eventually I came to a north facing slope that still had snow cover. Surely if he crossed this patch of snow I would see blood. Carefully examining each track didn’t produce any crimson snow. I continued to work the trails questioning my next move.
Do I call work and tell them I won’t be in? Or do I back off? Maybe I only hit one lung and should give him some time before starting a grid search?
I sat down and started to think. I knew of one more trail that led into the stand that I hadn’t searched. Maybe he took that one. When I reached the trail I happened to notice a small dot of blood. Morale immediately improved and I searched for a second. Unable to find a second spot my confidence dwindled with each step. Twenty minutes later I was back at the original spot. Which way did he go?!?! That’s when I noticed my broken off arrow heading a different direction.
I picked it up and identified some more blood. Now I had his path lined out and it wasn’t long before I found a steady blood trail. Seventy-five yards later I put my hands on the deer. He had traveled approximately 200 yards from the initial shot.
I was ecstatic! This hunter high was quickly diminished with the looming emails and work calls hovering over my head. I snapped a few photos, field dressed the deer and dragged him to my truck. After hanging the deer I immediately went to work.
Finishing up work around 6 p.m. I built a fire. As the heart grilled over open flames I reflected on the hunt. On one hand I was thankful for my success and opportunity to be in the outdoors. On the other hand I felt I rushed the experience. Bow hunting is a spiritual connection. The feeling of recovering a deer cannot be quantified with words. This euphoric rush is what keeps me in the stand hour after hour even when action is slow. The time should be cherished and in this hunt I rushed it.
As I stared at the flickering flames I asked myself, “How do I find a balance?”
How Does This Apply to Business
2020 was unique. Covid-19 required us to change the way we do business and live our lives. My job traditionally consisted of traveling across the country conducting trainings and recruiting new insurance agencies. The in-person meetings came to a stop in March and I adapted to virtual meetings. The plus side of virtual meetings is I was home and had more opportunities to go hunting. The downside is a new expectation emerged of being available “virtually” 24/7.
A lot of personal stress is caused by worrying about other people’s problems. I understand that solving other people’s problems is how I get paid and I am thankful for the opportunity. However, sometimes I have to disconnect. Put the phone down and be present in the moment. Ultimately finding the virtual balance.
Regardless of your working arrangement (virtual or in person) these four tips will help live a more balanced life.
1. Top 4 – At the beginning of the week write down the top four personal and top four work tasks you need to complete to reach your goals. Then schedule time to focus on these tasks. I block off 90 minute chunks throughout the week to focus on my top four. This leaves me time throughout the day to respond to emails, calls, ect that need to be addressed, but still allows me to complete high payoff activities.
2. Get outside - Go for a run over your lunch break. Take a walk around the block in the afternoon. Just get outside! Staring at a computer for eight hours straight is not healthy. Try to go outside, even it if is only for a few minutes. You will be surprised how better you feel when you get back to work.
3. Dedicate time for emails – Don’t leave your email open all day. Instead schedule two or three specific times throughout the day to respond to emails. This strategy allows you to focus on your Top 4 and prevents you from getting sucked into being reactive all day (unless that is your job).
4. Turn off notifications – I have all notifications for apps turned off on my phone. After this hunt this includes text and calls. I don’t want my phone vibrating when I am trying to focus on something else. It is too tempting to check your phone. If it isn’t constantly vibrating or buzzing you are less likely to be checking it all the time.
Let’s make one thing clear. I would rather spend a couple hours in the woods than not. However, I think we can make adjustments in our lives to be present in the moment instead of being glued to our phones. Thus finding a virtual balance.
Until next time remember…you are going to have to earn it.