Always Moving Forward

It’s been a busy month — who am I kidding, they’re all busy, right? I just returned from a whirlwind trip to South Bend, Indiana, where I visited several finishing shops. But I’m writing this during the dog days of summer as my kids are preparing to go back to school and I’m planning numerous fall work trips including the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS 2022), the Metal Finishing Association of Southern California (MFASC) Metal Finishing Conference, the Metal Finishing Association of Northern California (MFANC) Metal Finishing Conference, the Electroless Nickel Conference 2022 and FABTECH 2022. Throw in some facility tours and association chapter events and it’s shaping up to be a busy season.

As I think about all this activity in my own schedule, I am hopeful this ramp-up in trade shows and invitations to tour facilities is reflective of the amount of business being generated by the return of in-person events. Of course, the COVID pandemic continues to rear its ugly head, but thanks to vaccinations and other precautions, it seems more manageable. We recently had a few cases run through our editorial department at Gardner Business Media, but protocols kept it contained and we were able to still have an in-person sales meeting that we had planned to bring some of our staff together at our Cincinnati headquarters.

COVID is something we’ll have to continue to cope with, but it feels good to be able to meet with colleagues in a way that’s closer to normal than we have the past few years. The recent meetings at Gardner afforded me the opportunity to meet with other editors-in-chief who work in remote offices, including my former supervisor Jeff Sloan, editor of CompositesWorld. I had some great conversations over those couple of days that have me even more excited about the places where Gardner’s various subject areas intersect.

One great upcoming opportunity to explore those ideas is IMTS 2022. While I’ve worked at Gardner Business Media for several years now, this will be my first time attending IMTS. I’m excited to represent Products Finishing and talk to folks about the role surface finishing plays in all areas of manufacturing.

As I think about all of the opportunities on my calendar, the months ahead seem like they could easily veer into a frenzied pace — there’s still a monthly magazine to produce, there’s still a monthly installment of PF’s On the Line Podcast to create, and there’s a weekly newsletter to pull together. I’m sure all of our readers can relate, having your own job deadlines, turnaround times to meet, conferences to attend, or presentations to prepare.

How do we manage to make sure our “busy” stays “productive” and we don’t just find ourselves chasing our tails? That’s a question that’s on my mind a lot. If you’re like me, you’ve likely collected various bits of career advice from business books, motivational speakers and the like. Some of it is even helpful on occasion. 

Here are some things I try to keep in mind:

• Wake up 15 minutes early: It may not sound like much, but giving yourself an extra 15 minutes can help you get ahead of a few emails or simply have time to organize your thoughts for the day
• Take your break: Too often we scarf down our lunch in front of the computer or in a small sad room before returning to our work. But breaks aren’t just about meals. It’s a time to reset your thoughts. I’m often more collected and better able to focus after taking a short walk at lunchtime (no matter how many projects seem to be piling up).
• Clean your workspace: Before you end a shift, clean up your desk or your work area. Not only is it a way to transition from your work state of mind and leave some of the weight of work where it belongs, this practice also allows you to organize for the next day so you can more quickly pick up where you left off.

All of this to say, we’re all busy and the rest of the year has much in store. I hope to cross paths with some of you out there at some of the exciting event opportunities that lie ahead. If you’re making your own plans for some of these events you can find additional details in this issue:

• Dig into what’s in store at the Electroless Nickel Conference 2022 in an interview with ENC22 technical director Brad Durkin (listen to the complete podcast episode at short.pfonline.com/OTL23).
•  Interested in attending FABTECH 2022? Check out a preview of what you can expect at this year’s event.
• IMTS 2022 is an amazing opportunity to explore all aspects of manufacturing. Where does your business intersect with the industry at large? Learn more about the event at  imts.com. 

If you’re attending any of these events and would like to meet to discuss editorial opportunities with Products Finishing, reach out to me at sfrancis@pfonline.com. I hope to see you out there.