A Spirit-Led Source of Worldly Wisdom.
BE(ING A)WARE OF THE DOG…..and other practices we’ll need to practice if we want to work at home for good
By: Liz Queen
Nestled within the hunkered down at home workforce is a cadre of you who aren’t at all dismayed. In fact, you’ve been silently and not so silently hoping and even advocating for your moment to make this move.
You mourn the pandemic-induced cause of this sudden surge to working remotely, but you’re enamored by the effect. You feel at home – literally – working at home.
Not everyone likes it like you do. You respectfully acknowledge the angst of those longing not to languish for long with kids at home, partners at home, pets at home, no workspace at home, feeling isolated at home, and chaos at home as the consequences of working at home.
The company guidelines that allow you to work virtually only as a policy exception are still in the pile of paperwork pending in your abruptly abandoned office. Could this be the opportunity to circumvent those rules on a regular basis?
Your biggest challenge to this coup may be those coworkers who are consciously consulting the calendar wondering when they can gleefully re-occupy your locked-up buildings. But the pervasive uncertainty of when that will be may allow time to make the current environment an acceptable option for those who do want to try to demonstrate its viability.
The shock has begun to subside now from the sudden surreal transition to a forced work-from-anywhere situation. Now the unexpected is being replaced by the unknown. We’re gradually accepting the sobering sense that our work practices will never quite be the same. From what we’ve experienced so far, consider these preliminary “do and don’t” thoughts on how to influence from your home office vantage point whether this will become a permanent view:
DO – Maintain the virtues of virtual meetings
It’s actually somewhat comforting to know that as much as things have changed, there are some things that can stay the same; most notably, the foundation of effective meetings:
A virtual meeting is still a meeting.
A meeting should still have a purpose. If there’s no purpose for the meeting you don’t need to schedule it.
The meeting purpose should be reflected in an agenda.
The meeting should begin at a certain time.
(Let’s say you’re someone who used to like to leave your office, stop and refill your coffee, go to the restroom, chat with two people you ran into along the way, and run back to your office to get something you forgot. That means you should have been on your way to the meeting at least 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. If the start time was 10:00 a.m., you wouldn’t expect the meeting to start at 10:10 to wait for people who are still arriving.
The same is true with a virtual meeting. If you anticipate you’ll encounter issues with connectivity “on the way the meeting,” log on ahead of time. If you’re the meeting organizer you shouldn’t have to wait to start a 10 o’clock meeting at 10:10 virtually, just as you wouldn’t do so in person.
The meeting should end at a certain time, too – as soon as practical, please. We’ve moved beyond our fascination with the virtual dynamics, so we no longer need to be distracted by
staring at each other and nervously adjusting the camera so we look our best when others stare back at us.
“Touch base” meetings can be fine, too, if there’s a reason for touching base. Otherwise, remember, extroverts, that one reason some of your coworkers feel more productive virtually is that it limits the lengthy “how ya doin’” touch bases and drop-ins encountered when you’re all in the office.
DON’T – get lax in your leadership
If during your normal routine you never discerned the difference between supervision, management, and leadership, now would be a great time to make this distinction.
It will take supervisors and managers to handle the tasks needed to pull organizations through this make-or-break business life cycle season.
But it will take leaders to instill the vision and move forward with the gentle tenacity needed to guide with certainty to a new uncertain place.
Those of us you have leadership titles must not squander this responsibility with the types of limitations that may seem to be part of your new virtual paradigm. To the contrary, technology offers a no-barriers, no-excuses way to reach out even to those who aren’t part of your inner circle or those you won’t just happen to run into in the hallway anymore. Those of you who are true leaders will find ways to lead regardless of the circumstances.
DON’T make us be(a)ware of your pet (and other household distractions)
Your phone call may be more productive if you’re lounging on your deck instead of lounging at your desk, but not if we can hear static from the wind howling or the whirring of neighborhood landscapers.
And someone has to say it, so here goes – not everyone is a pet person.
Others may have grown to respect the love you have for your pet. They likely know your pet provides you with loyalty, companionship, protection, exercise, and lessons for your life. They know you must have lovingly labored over what you named your Kibbles, your Caveman, your Muffin, your Bongo.
If they wonder (which they may do), if the quality of your pet interaction surpasses your human interaction (which it might), they do so privately so they don’t offend you (which it probably would).
But now you’re virtually bringing your pet into their homes.
So they’ve patiently enduring having the meeting start with the meeting organizer taking the time to quiet Patriot the Pup. They’ve been wholeheartedly good-humored when the presence of one pooch inspires others to go retrieve their retrievers as well. They’ve been tolerant of when the screen focuses on Smiley smiling, or into the lens of Lovey licking your lips, or when they have to pause to acknowledge that PooPoo’s, well, pooping. This is now not a one-time whoops vs. a pattern they respectfully ask you to stop now that the novelty has worn off.
And in exchange they should promise they won’t let their kids sing their ABCs during your presentation or interrupt when they’re having their own home schooling technology issues. Your kids are dreadfully cute – they really are – and we know you’d like to send them back to school as soon as it’s safe to. We would too. But in the meantime, we know it strains their tolerance to play in their rooms along with Rodney the Retriever or Cocoa the cat until the meeting ends. So what a great incentive for you to shorten the agenda so they (and you and the other meeting attendees) won’t get agitated. An efficient, productive meeting is a win-win for all.
DO stay focused – productivity is persuasive!
And yes, finally, there’s power in productivity! The bottom line is the bottom line. Finish your projects Start new ones. Participate in meetings. Meet your goals. Stay in touch with your colleagues. Manage your time. Be positive. Be innovative and thoughtful.
If your job or your personal circumstances don’t lend themselves to making this virtual shift a permanent part of your lifestyle, then we join you in hoping the ultimate resolution for you will be satisfactory and as swift as is safe. But for those of us who believe in what before seemed unbelievable, now’s the time to demonstrate with results that will result in the long-lasting home office we’ve long envisioned.
In other words, don’t act like you’re working from home. Instead, show that you’re at home, working.
When Seasons Change
By: Liz Queen
You’ve Already Done It A Lot!
By: Liz Queen
Dear Liz Queen:
OK, I’ve stuck to my New Year’s resolutions for nearly three weeks now. But it’s only the end of January and I’m afraid I’m going to fall off the cliff! I really want to stay on track this year. I don’t want to lose ground and I don’t want to get discouraged.
RESPONSE:
So you’re afraid you’re about to spend another year reading your book that someone else wrote? The best way to keep from falling off the cliff is to slowly back away from the ledge.
Assuming your goals are realistic, try shifting your focus from fear and diminish your discouragement by doing! Supplement your passive “To Do” list with your active “Look What I’ve Accomplished!” inventory. The former focuses on the stream of “stuff” that literally never ends – has there ever been a time in your life when there was absolutely nothing you needed to do? Turning your attention to what you’ve actually done is a real-time acknowledgement of the progress you’re making.
Try it: as you wind down each day, consider what you’ve done, both big feats and small tasks. Going to the grocery store today may not have resulted in a page being written. But it let you stock up on healthy snacks to munch on when you write those two paragraphs tomorrow (and yes, you can record all that as accomplishments!). Didn’t get something done today? Look forward to that as one of tomorrow’s accomplishments.
And don’t forget to applaud your biggest accomplishment of every day:
#KeepingYourFootOnTheRock
Photo by Emma Matthews on UnsplashKEEP YOUR FOOT ON THE ROCK
End-of January: Revelation About My New Year’s Revelations
By: Liz Queen
This year I’m focusing more on revelations than resolutions, and it’s working!
Hindsight’s typically sharper than foresight. So why not take advantage of our human tendency to look backwards, and learn from whatever that reveals about what worked and didn’t work for us (revelations)?
The alternative is to presume we have the supernatural skills to look forward to determine not only what we want (resolutions), but also how to plan for all the unknowns that will inevitably occur on our path from here to there (we can’t, and that’s why we often give up In discouragement when we try to fulfill those pesky, self-promising, prognosticating resolutions).
What’s already happened in the past though, is firmly there, for us to touch and caress and laugh at and lament and gasp and grasp and grow and give thanks for, and reflect on the revelations our past actions, inactions, and situations can bring if our new year celebrations turn to what we can learn when we revel in our revelations.
I respectfully disagree with cautions that you shouldn’t keep looking in the rear view mirror. Then why is it there? To see what’s gaining on you. To beware of what’s following you so it won’t overtake you. To get a gauge of your own progress. To stay abreast of what’s all around you.
You wouldn’t have a car without a way to look back for productive reasons, nor should you manage your life that way.
So at least glance backwards not for the purpose of staying there, but as a catalyst to trigger reflections and revelations that help you strengthen your resolve as you move forward.
I hit a pothole and I need to fix that damage so I can stay safe on my journey.
I ignored the detours and ended up somewhere lost where I didn’t want to be and wasn’t supposed to go.
I heeded the caution signs and it turns out I avoided an accident.
I crashed, but my life wasn’t totaled, so I walked away with only scars that now need to heal.
I quickly paused on yellow, but I should have waited more patiently for the red light so I could have stopped to check my route.
I arrived safely at the destination and now it’s time to keep moving on.
I cut in front of somebody I should have yielded to.
I picked up someone I should have left at the side of the road.
I left behind someone I thought was with me for the journey but was only good for a few miles.
I took a risk and sped ahead and now I need to be sure I know where this momentum is leading me.
I forgot to pull over for a while and just enjoy the scenery.
And then naturally, from these revelations, flowed my resolutions at the same time. I can’t predict what will happen but I know what already did.
I can’t change what happened, but I can use it as a firm foundation on which I can now stand to look out over was, what wasn’t, what still needs to be, what I won’t allow to be again, and what I want to be even more and in a better way.
This foundation of revelation becomes the rock for my resolutions.
I’m putting my foot on that rock of revelations. And resolving to keep it there.
That’s what Foot on the Rock means to me…today.
#KeepYourFootOnTheRock
New Year 2020
By: Liz Queen
Dear Liz Queen:
The optimism I had for a brand new year is already fading. It’s only mid-January! I really did want to keep my resolutions this year.
RESPONSE:
I know, Love.
Seems like the New Year’s Eve ball has just dropped and now you’ve already dropped the ball?
Chances are the same thing happened last January too, right?
That’s no surprise. There’s no magic that morphs you at midnight. The transformation you anticipated the second the clock struck 12:01:01 makes for lovely lyrics and memorable memes, but faulty planning.
And yes, I know this is supposed to be the year of “2020 vision.” So don’t lose your resolve. Just change your focus. Even those with so-called perfect vision can only see so far!
It’s not surprising that trying to look out over the entire year all at once results in a distorted view. And it’s inevitable something will happen to blur your vision of what the whole year will look like; there’s so much you just can’t see.
But don’t put away the paper party hats – stock up!
Because EVERY day is the start of a new year! And so is the next day and the next day and the next one.
Get it?
A series of short term steps is what’s needed to execute your long-term plans. What can you resolve to do or not to do THIS day? Or this day part, or even this hour or moment or second?
Start with actually doing what you can see right within your gaze. Let that lead you, one look at a time, to the long term goals you’re envisioning.
And since hindsight’s even sharper than foresight, use that to your advantage too.
Look back proudly at each forward step you took last year, and be motivated by a symbolic celebratory toast to your triumphs.
So Happy New Year, today and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow! This is New Year’s Eve,,,again,,,
KEEP YOUR FOOT ON THE ROCK