Communication hygiene is something that I’ve only recently become aware of and committed to. Similar to daily hygiene, communication hygiene is having clean, consistent habits when it comes to both professional and personal communication. For example, I keep all Panacea-related communication in email, Slack, and/or Asana. Especially at an early stage, it’s tempting to have work conversations bleed into all different types of communication. I’ve found everyone has their preferred mode of communication and if I’m not careful, I receive iMessages from co-founders, Whatsapp texts from advisors, and IG/Snapchat DMs from influencers. You get the point. It becomes really hard to manage.
As a result, I’ve committed to maintaining all Panacea-related communication in email, Slack, and/or Asana.
The main benefit is paper trail and being able to effectively search for important information in the future. Also, communication hygiene allows me to maintain a level of sanity and keep Panacea contained within a manageable number of channels so I can be effective and prompt in my communication and follow-ups.
This is one of those small things that if we’re not careful turns into a big, ugly thing that becomes difficult to manage.
