I'm finishing up my first assignment as an SAP consultant. The assignment was up in the Pacific Northwest. It was definitely a learning experience, which I knew it would be and is big reason of why I signed up to begin with. Only, sometimes the things you learn weren't the things you were expecting to learn. I thought I would learn a lot about SAP and payroll and accounting. Instead I learned a lot about consulting in general, travel and loyalty programs, life, family, and relationships. But mostly, I learned about myself and what I need to be happy with myself.
Since this was the first time I've traveled consistently and have been away from my family, every week - I knew there would be learning curve. For me, I learned I need to have and follow a routine - I need to follow my exercise program; I need to eat things that are good for me; I need to get sleep.
I also need to stay connected to my family and I need to have a lot of conversation time with my family. I need to send texts back and forth, I need to do a video chat with my kids, and phone calls with my wife. Those things I could've guessed. However, one thing I learned - I need a portion of my weekend (at home) to be downtime with my wife - just being together. If this doesn't happen, it makes the next week pretty bad. If it does happen, it makes a big difference.
I need to do work that matters - it makes it much harder if I'm not. This is important in any job but seems to be amplified a little bit while you're away from home.
I also need to do some other things - I need to spend time reading, listening to interesting podcasts, watching interesting YouTube videos, and listening to loud music. These things might seem like just things to do, but they keep my mind occupied and keep me growing and also give me some things to talk about.
It was a big learning experience and I'm glad to have it under my belt and behind me and I'm ready to move on to the next thing.