A day split between Evanston and Al Khobar
How one working day stretches across two time zones, a classroom and a company that runs on agents.
By Ali Asif,
The gap between Evanston and Al Khobar is eight hours right now. Chicago is on daylight time until early November, when the clocks go back and the gap becomes nine. The overlap is narrow. Early morning in Evanston is mid-afternoon in Al Khobar, and that window is where most live conversations happen.
Here's roughly how a day runs. I'm describing the pattern, not a diary, so the exact hours move around.
Early morning in Evanston
I check what happened while I slept. My night is the Saudi working day, so by the time I open my laptop there's been a full day of activity: supplier replies, a quote or two, notes from the team in Saudi.
My agents have usually done the first sort. They've read the new emails, matched replies to the right bid, and queued drafts. Nothing leaves the building until I read it. That's the one rule I don't bend: a person approves every price and every send. So the first hour is mostly reading and approving, with a lot of "no, fix this" mixed in.
The call window
Before class, while it's still afternoon in Al Khobar, I get on a call with the team. We go through the bids, decide what needs a human push, and agree what the agents should chase next.
I try to keep these short. A call is the most expensive way to move information, so I use it for decisions.
Class
The middle of the day belongs to Kellogg, which is evening in the Gulf. I sit in class, work through case material and group projects, and talk to classmates about what they're building. I'm a member of the AI Club, the Consulting Club and the Venture Capital Lab, which means a fair number of hallway conversations are about deals and models.
It's a useful switch. After a morning of supplier quotes and tender clauses, a case discussion about pricing strategy is a different muscle. I find the two feed each other more than I expected.
Evening and the long tail
The evening in Evanston is the Gulf's night. This is when I'd usually write: a note for the site, a draft post, a reply that needs more thought than a quick answer. It's also when I read, which is a separate habit I'll write about another time.
Some days I'm up very early, or late, to catch a client or a supplier before their day fills. I don't love those days, but the timing is part of what the arrangement costs, and I'd rather pay it than lose the thread.
What makes it workable
Nothing clever. Written hand-offs, so nobody has to remember what I said on a call, and agents that sort while I sleep. Above both sits a team in Saudi that I trust to make calls without me, which matters more than any tool.
What it costs
Sleep, mostly, and some patience. I also miss things: a colleague's lunch, a classmate's side conversation. I decided that was a fair price for running a real company while studying, and I'd make the same choice again. Ask me in a year if I still think so.