Do you have busy times of the year that recur regularly? In some positions I've held, we had certain events or processes that always caused additional stress and headaches for employees. As a bartender, certain holidays (New Years, Halloween) were extra crazy. In one company, every quarter was an adventure involving a late, or a complete, night of work. Different industries and organizations seem to have different schedules that regularly stress employees.

Are there times that are tough for you? Or maybe slow times? In a few organizations where my wife worked, the week between Christmas and New Years was always so slow that they'd actually close the office and give people the week off, without it affecting their vacation schedules. That would be a nice perk to have.

This is the busy time of year for me. Spring sometimes gets filled, but this next couple months is somewhat crazy. The first third of September I was in the UK. I returned home, and I have a week and a half off, which I need because then life gets hectic.

The weekend of the 20th, I'm heading back to upstate New York to see my daughter play in a volleyball tournament. That's exciting since I've never seen her play college competition live, and I'm looking forward to the trip. A few days after I return, however, I head to Australia for work. Just a couple days, because I can't spare the time, which is disappointing to my wife. She's like to go, but since I'm in Memphis the first weekend of October, there isn't time for a week in the beginning of Spring down under.

I am home the second week of October, but with a pre-con and SQL Saturday, it will be a busy week of prep and trying to get other things done since the third week of October my wife wants to go back to New York to see our daughter. I'm tempted, but torn since the last week of of the month I return to London before heading to Seattle the weekend after.

I still have other work to do with SQLServerCentral and Redgate in addition to these weekends, and I have the feeling I'll be ready to knock off travel and just coach kids after the PASS Summit. Right now I'm looking at being committed for part or all of every weekend except for this past weekend until Nov 9.

A tough time, but really, it's a great job I have with amazing opportunities to see friends and places all over the world. I know I'll be tired, but it will be a good tired, even with the extra time spent preparing for travel and catching up on chores when I return.

Are there any wild times in your work world? Let us know today.