I wonder this often, it's a question I seem to have to ask myself every month or so. I sometimes feel like I am on a short list of people who enjoy thinking ahead. Don't get my wrong, there are some things I love just doing at spur of the moment, but those things are not related in anyway to work.
Tonight I'll be pulling an all-nighter not necessarily because I had no other option, this one was my choice. Monday is usually my day off, but with this workload I would have normally gone in today to do some last minute work that has to get to the printer by tomorrow afternoon. However, my sister has been in town these last two weeks and today has been her last full day of time here and I didn't want to spend that at work. I wanted to spend that time with my sister whom I don't get to see very often (and who also will be moving to Germany by the end of the summer). I guess that's part of being in the business of design and creativity. Sometimes you have to work ridiculous hours to get something done before the ever nearing deadline.
Living life by the deadline is kind of like the movie Saw (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7—Your choice). You know what you have to do to make "the bad thing not happen", but no matter how hard you try it often gets to the point where at the last minute you're finally getting the key in the proverbial lock to make it happen before your head explodes. (That was a messy example...)
All that to say, I wish I could avoid having to work such crazy hours, but when you're the only one on the "graphics team", you are it. It would suck if I hated what I do, because in reality I love it. I just wish sometimes there wasn't so much to be done so I could do a few things with excellence rather than lots of things at a mediocre level. Also, I look forward to the day when God brings someone who is ridiculously talented and passionate to be a part of my team, but until then this is the life for me for this time in life.
Does your job ever put you in the place of burning the midnight oil? Do you live and die by deadlines? Do you enjoy getting ahead and knowing what you've got on your plate before day/week of? How do you stay organized? Let me know...