The realities of creating a guilt-free work week — week 7
Reflections from my 12-week Investigation Day experiment
What a difference a week makes! From what now seems like the relative calm of last week, to a week of upheaval personally and professionally for most Australians, including me.
Like many, last weekend I made the commitment to work from home, moving all my client work to virtual delivery. In my mind that was going to be a simple move. I was already doing a large proportion of my work from home via video conference — so no impact there. And my face-face clients were also in the process of transitioning their teams to work from home — so very supportive of my decision. Great — all sorted! Or so I thought…
In reality, I felt a bit lost this week. The work priorities I’d set myself for the week became really hard to focus on with the current levels of uncertainty. And this feeling was mirrored and magnified in the conversations I was having with my clients — when they didn’t reschedule. Overall, it was a really tough week for maintaining focus and positive energy so I was really looking forward to seeing how Investigation Friday would go.
Do I feel less guilty?
In short, no — although the guilt took a slightly different form this week. Given that I have been working virtually with many clients for years now, I expected my transition to 100% work from home to be seamless. When it wasn’t, (and let’s face it, it was never going to be) I found the little voice in my head saying “you should be doing better”. Now anyone who has ever experienced a coaching session with me knows that I regularly show disdain (understatement of the year!) for the word should — and here it was driving a really strong response in me.
During the week, thanks to the support of some wonderful friends and colleagues, I’ve begun to refocus my efforts. My focus is now on finding ways to help myself, my friends and my clients stay connected through all the craziness. I figured if it’s what I need most, it might be helpful for others too.
I also started working on an exciting new project with Phil Hayes-St Clair. Our new daily podcast, Remote Control, will give you tips to make working from home productive, engaging and fun. We’re launching next week and I can’t wait!
What observations have I drawn from today?
Today was a day for me to let some air out of the tyres. Conversations with 2 extraordinary women, some time building the content for our podcast, some structured reflection time and a chance to rest a little. A slower pace than previous Investigation Fridays. It’s what I needed this week — and with everything going on in the world I’m glad I had the chance to do it.
A very thoughtful client also invited me to hang with her team for their “Fun Friday (virtual) Drinks”. Most of the team know me pretty well but we don’t often have the chance to hang out with a beer in hand. It was a great way to end the week and another special reminder of the importance of connection.
How will next week’s Investigation Day be different?
Honestly, who knows?
The rate at which things are changing means it’s hard to predict what the end of next week will require. I know I have a plan for the day which includes a quarterly reflection and review of the progress I’ve made on my 2020 strategic plan. I’m also conscious that staying flexible and ready to adapt is going to be important over the next few weeks as the impact of our new normal begins to present itself.
So next week’s Investigation Day might be different in that I might need to change the plan at any time during the week or on the day itself — and that’s OK.
For now, I’m focusing on staying connected and giving wherever I can. With that in mind, I’m opening up my calendar. If you feel like a chat, pick a time and let’s talk to each other. No sales pitch, no obligation, just a chance to check in with each other.
Stay well and have a great week.
