President's message: Maintaining a work/life balance

In a world surrounded by deadlines, demanding clients, emails, texts and every other type of distraction I, like all of you who actually take the time to read this, struggle with maintaining a work/life balance. Case in point, I managed to get an appointment 45 minutes early, so I'm sitting in a hospital lobby, frantically trying to get this month's installment finished. I'm sure an office or retail building has its challenges, but you should feel lucky that you don't have to manage the day-to-day operations of a hospital - unless you choose to. In my recent past, I had that responsibility - and literally lost sleep to the challenges of keeping such a complex machine running. Christmas morning water main breaks, Thanksgiving Day boiler failures, and literal "life or death" operational challenges made the days and weeks fly by. Although that sounds negative, it was also the best part of my job. Understanding the importance of that role and how our members, industry leaders and providers positively affect the process and results, is often underappreciated. Be proud of your contribution and the impact it has on the inhabitants of your building, their ability to provide for their families and the service you provide to the local and regional community. A major portion of keeping your facility up-to-date and fully functioning is centered on renovation and construction projects, so this month, we present the most important aspects to a successful construction project. Please check our calendar for additional upcoming events, including our "Nine, Wine & Dine" spring golf kick-off. We look forward to seeing you at this event and many others. Enjoy the imminent spring weather, take a day off and enjoy your family. You deserve it! Ron Goodin is the president of BOMA Greater Hartford, and is with Fletcher Thompson Architects, Hartford, Conn.