I have only one foot in the present as I write this.

I have only one foot in the present as I write this. The other is in the not too distant future–the end of month or so, just a week away–and my mind is wandering to about three weeks ahead. Why am I having this much trouble focusing? Simple: there’s lots of change afoot.

My last day with Model Metrics, where I’ve worked since 2007, is Friday and my first day with my new employer, salesforce.com, is February 15. I’m in career transition mode. This is an exciting and turbulent time for me, so my mind is doing what it does: wander.

Model has been a great place for me the last few years and it has been a pleasure to be a part of such a great team. Over the last few weeks, since I announced this change, everyone has been very supportive. This week, with the transition nearly complete, I’m (mostly) extra. Code is getting written, sales are being closed, and we’re continuing to recruit new people. All of the things I have been deeply involved with for years are now handled without me.

Which means I’m mentally free to wander a few weeks into the future, to my first week at salesforce.com. There’s a part of that work which will be very similar to my current job, and there’s a fair amount that will be new. One significant change will be that for the first time in about 15 years, I won’t be billing my time to a customer as part of a services business. There are several other changes — all of which I’m looking for and sought out — I’ll share more about my new role once it kicks off. These new items render the future fairly opaque from where I sit today, and so my mind wanders forward in time, this way and that, to try to suss it out.

This career border area is a time of great curiosity for me — I haven’t had that many of them. My challenge for this week is to see how I can provide value to a team now well suited to operating without me. Starting Friday and for the two weeks after that, I will attempt to truly disconnect. Once over the border, my challenge when starting the new job will be to be completely present and open to my new environment and responsibilities.

This is so exciting! No wonder my mind is wandering.