5 Survival Tips
Busy out your calendar for the first 30 minutes of every day. Reserve this time for yourself. This is a responsible, healthy, productive…
Busy out your calendar for the first 30 minutes of every day. Reserve this time for yourself. This is a responsible, healthy, productive decision that gives you the opportunity to start each day at a reasonable pace. Managing your own time well is a habit of successful people. You cannot get through the week by letting the incoming crush of meeting requests manage your time for you.
While we’re here, block out lunch time. I have many amazing abilities, but I have noticed that I’m not always able to remember to eat food or drink water at the appropriate intervals. If I do not get some exercise, I am more likely to get sick and die, which will not create shareholder value. So let’s also block out 30 minutes from the afternoon to go for a walk. I won’t get that walk in every day, but I will set my intention to have a minimum amount of time each day to myself.
It’s ok to turn your camera off. If you want to turn it all the way off and leave it off forever, I support you. You’re like one of those endangered leopards that have almost never been photographed, except not endangered. I worked with an amazing designer who almost never came on camera. Nobody complained about it, everybody just talked about how they’re an amazing designer. If somebody questions you, just say “I prefer it this way.” That should shut them up.
Check in on the new people on your team. Starting a new job is stressful even when there’s no pandemic, war, or pending global calamity. To spice that up, most professional people start new roles with endless amounts of training on topics only tangentially related to their work, like business integrity and data security. In 2022, it is not considered normal for newly-hired professionals to get any training related to the performance of their actual job. So, connect with a newbie and ask how they’re doing. Offer to answer questions that they’re embarrassed to ask their boss. You will make a friend for life.
Once a week, pick out somebody who you work with who is doing a great job. Go to Slack and DM them and tell them they’re amazing. If you can’t find anybody at work that did a great job, chance are that this week that person is you! DM the encouraging message to yourself. I’ll put a suitable message here so you can copy and paste it:
You are doing a great job. You’re amazing. Keep up the great work!
Ok, now everybody get back to work. And hey, let’s be careful out there.