Since Goodhue's work isn't as deadline-driven as other types of IT projects, it's easier to set his own schedule, he says. Prior to consulting, Goodhue was a database administrator on the order entry system at Fingerhut Cos. in Minnetonka, Minnesota. He had to work a scheduled maintenance shift every weekend, from midnight Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday. Every third week, he was on call. That left him very little time with his family.
Trips are a good way to enhance the family experience.
There's always some sort of problem that crops up when you're traveling, and we work through it as a family. We're much closer than when I only had two weeks' vacation a year. The biggest challenge to his newfound freedom, Goodhue says, is the possibility that he may find himself with too much time on his hands. Although he's had only one week of unanticipated bench time since 1998, there's always the chance that he could have a dry spell. So you have to have nerves of steel.