I just got back from the trip and honestly it was way more exhausting than I expected. The flights were fine but the time change really threw me off for the first few days. I kept waking up at 4am local time and then crashing by 8pm. By the end of the week I finally adjusted but then it was time to come home. Next time I think I'll plan for an extra day on either end just to settle in. The weather was beautiful though and we got to see some amazing spots that weren't even in the guidebook. That little cafe around the corner from the hotel ended up being our favorite place and we went back three times. The staff remembered us by the second visit which was pretty nice. I brought back a few things for the family and they seemed to really like them. The local market had so much to offer and I could have spent hours just wandering through the stalls. Anyway I just wanted to share how it went and see how you've been doing lately. Let me know if you want any recommendations for when you go.

I was thinking about what you mentioned the other day and I completely see where you're coming from. The whole situation with the project timeline does seem a bit tight and I wonder if we need to adjust expectations before things ramp up further. I've been looking at the schedule and there are a few places where we could maybe shift things around to create more breathing room. The team has been doing great work so far and I'd hate to see anyone get burned out from trying to meet unrealistic deadlines. Maybe we can chat about it over coffee this week and map out a more sustainable plan. I have some ideas about how to reorganize the workflow that might help. I also wanted to ask if you've had a chance to look at that article I sent over about workflow optimization. I found some of the suggestions really practical and I think a couple of them could apply to what we're doing now. Let me know when works for you to catch up. No rush on it but I think it would be good to align before the next phase kicks off.