Apr 28, 2020
Disconnect to Connect When It Matters
We’ve quarantined #AloneTogether; NOW what?
“NOW what?”
I uttered that phrase often when my mother yelled out my full name (middle name included). Hearing her call me by my full name usually meant one of three things: a) I had done something wrong/bad; b) I was in the act of doing something wrong/bad; or c) my mother needed me to complete a chore (usually one she previously had asked me to do, and I’d forgotten or ignored it, etc.).
Therefore, when I heard my full legal name screamed at me, I responded with a “NOW what?” with deliberate emphasis on the “NOW.” (And, yes, I am yelling NOW.)
Seriously, NOW what?
So, since COVID-19 reared its ugly head, NOW WHAT? We’ve been quarantined, we’ve been Zoomed to the point of insanity, we’ve been isolated, we’ve been confined.
I saw a funny note the other day that said, “Now that we’ve been quarantined for 4 weeks, I find my hobbies are apparently a) eating out at restaurants; b) going to non-essential businesses; and c) touching my face.” In addition, I received an email from a friend who said, “the most ‘essential’ people after this is over will be therapists!”
I find it amazing that we find it so difficult to be “unconnected” in a connected world. The invention of the cellular phone (or, as some call it, the curse of the cellular phone) opened up an entire world at your fingertips. Home computers, laptop computers, cable television/satellite television, and high-speed internet have made us “instantly accessible” — sometimes to our chagrin, not always to our advantage.
However, these innovations have made it possible for us to “work from home” and keep in touch with our clients in a virtual way. This definitely is an advantage, and it’s allowed many of us to keep our jobs and to truly help our clients even if we’re not physically there for them.
But, as I noted in a previous message, being so well-connected can drive us crazy at times. I’ve read of people who “unplug,” or set a specific time every week to turn off all their electronic gizmos. It’s for peace of mind — a time to be calm and relax.
However, many of us feel we HAVE to always stay in touch. We think we must be available for “the boss” or whomever. We just know someone important will try to contact us so we have to be ON — online, on the phone, on the internet, on alert.
Unplug on occasion
I remember the days before answering machines. (Seriously, I’m that old.) When the phone would ring, everyone in the room would look at each other and say, “Were you expecting a call?” If no one was expecting a call, we would either a) just let it ring until it quit, or b) try to coerce someone else into answering. I remember hearing, “It’s your turn; YOU answer it.”
Now we have the world at our fingertips, and we check our cellular phones CONSTANTLY. We even experience a “phantom ring syndrome,” when we feel vibrations or hear a phone ring, even when we don’t have our phone with us — or even when it’s off! Yes, “hyper-connectivity” is becoming a real thing.
And, don’t get me wrong, your clients WANT TO BE ABLE TO REACH YOU, especially in these tough times. (Sorry, yelling, but just for emphasis.) They want to know you care, that you are in touch, that you can assist them.
That’s fine — and you should be accessible — but you don’t have to be obsessively accessible. (I just made that up, but I like the way it sounds). Take time to relax, to think, to read, to — well, relax some more.
As my grandmother ( Nonnie, I wrote about her in another blog) used to say, “Trouble will still be there tomorrow.” Her point was that some things don’t have to be addressed immediately. She was right.
So unplug — get offline — and know you can handle it. Your blood pressure will thank you, and you’ll be around that much longer to assist your clients!
Mark Long has long experienced the intricacies of business incubation, acceleration, coworking spaces, makerspaces and other entrepreneurial assistance venues around the world. He shares his experience, outlook, background knowledge, studies, and observations in regular posts at the IncubatorBlogger. Feel free to follow him there — or follow him and UF Innovate right here.
University of Florida Innovate supports an innovation ecosystem that moves research discoveries from the laboratory to the market, fostering a resilient economy and making the world a better place. Based at one of the nation’s leading research institutions, UF Innovate comprises four organizations: Tech Licensing, Ventures and two business incubators, Sid Martin Biotech and The Hub. Within the UF Office of Research, the three organizations form a comprehensive system to take technologies from the lab to the public, bringing together the five critical elements in the “innovation ecosystem”: facilities, capital, management talent, intellectual property and technology-transfer expertise.
Originally published at http://incubatorblogger.wordpress.com on April 28, 2020.
