As soon as word gets out that you're shifting gears to a career
working online and in cyberspace, a bevy of brotherhood appears, willing
and able to suggest both meaningful and frivolous ways to fill what
they perceive as your movement to permanent vacation status. So how do
you ward off these albeit well meaning predators eager to fill your day
with their priorities? Apply the axiom, "the best defense is a good
offense." Arm yourself with two power tools: Anticipation and Planning.
Let's look at a few scenarios that threaten to sabotage even the best of
intentions if you relegate Anticipation and Planning to a back seat.
The first scenario: take a hard look at the family calendar. It undoubtedly features the typical list of doctors' appointments, school events, sports venues, and social gatherings. Now that you've become a cyberworker, your misguided family members all assume that they now have first and permanent dibs on your 'free time'. Your 9-year-old forgot his lunch. He expects you to deliver it ASAP. Your spouse has misplaced his/her cell phone, and enlists you to join him/her in a desperate frenzied search. Somehow the family pet has 'flown the coop', and there appears to be no one to track the critter's location. What to do? Everyone is just assuming that you're the only one 'free' to resolve all these real or imagined crises.
Use this as your touchstone for whether you need to or should respond. Ask yourself: If I worked in the traditional brick and mortar world, how would I handle this? Is there any reason why I should respond differently now? Then proceed accordingly. Conventional wisdom suggests that, in all the above situations, you would not have felt compelled (or allowed) to leave your office desk or your production station to respond. Rather, you would have proposed alternative solutions that did not interrupt or interfere with your work.
The second scenario: your personal friends and professional colleagues are calling. They want you to meet for lunch and a movie matinee, go rock climbing, join them for that retirement planning seminar. Here's the two part Anticipation and Planning solution. First, publish and declare your work schedule, formally and informally. Let everyone know the extent of your workday and make it clear that you are not available for social rendezvous during those time periods.
Next, realize that it is not only possible, but recommended that you mix business and pleasure. But, to avoid impulsive, last minute decisions to 'play hooky' when that cell phone rings, employ Anticipation and Planning. Yes, by all means, schedule liaisons with personal friends and professional colleagues. The operative word is schedule in advance. In fact, you might find it practical to build into your monthly work schedule such activities as: an extended shopping spree with friends; a business luncheon with associates; a continuing ed course that advances your work and makes you more marketable; a lone trip to your favorite ice cream shoppe! But remember, all these excursions have been part of your Anticipation and Planning modus operandi. They do not in any way interfere with or disrupt your work. Rather, you should view them as enhancements and contributions to your professional productivity and success.
Lastly, as with all these situations, let reason prevail. Of course, you should respond 'yes' when your favorite nephew, who you haven't seen in months, calls you from the nearest airport. He has a four-hour flight delay, and wonders if you could meet him for a drink. Why would you ever refuse? Or just yesterday you learned that today your 3rd grader is being honored in a school-wide assembly with a state award for his creative, innovative science invention. Don your proud parent persona and head out that door! Again, let common sense and balance rule the day. As a professional, you fully embrace the concepts of responsibility, reliability, and accountability.
Next, stay tuned for Speed Bump No. 3 - Life.
The first scenario: take a hard look at the family calendar. It undoubtedly features the typical list of doctors' appointments, school events, sports venues, and social gatherings. Now that you've become a cyberworker, your misguided family members all assume that they now have first and permanent dibs on your 'free time'. Your 9-year-old forgot his lunch. He expects you to deliver it ASAP. Your spouse has misplaced his/her cell phone, and enlists you to join him/her in a desperate frenzied search. Somehow the family pet has 'flown the coop', and there appears to be no one to track the critter's location. What to do? Everyone is just assuming that you're the only one 'free' to resolve all these real or imagined crises.
Use this as your touchstone for whether you need to or should respond. Ask yourself: If I worked in the traditional brick and mortar world, how would I handle this? Is there any reason why I should respond differently now? Then proceed accordingly. Conventional wisdom suggests that, in all the above situations, you would not have felt compelled (or allowed) to leave your office desk or your production station to respond. Rather, you would have proposed alternative solutions that did not interrupt or interfere with your work.
The second scenario: your personal friends and professional colleagues are calling. They want you to meet for lunch and a movie matinee, go rock climbing, join them for that retirement planning seminar. Here's the two part Anticipation and Planning solution. First, publish and declare your work schedule, formally and informally. Let everyone know the extent of your workday and make it clear that you are not available for social rendezvous during those time periods.
Next, realize that it is not only possible, but recommended that you mix business and pleasure. But, to avoid impulsive, last minute decisions to 'play hooky' when that cell phone rings, employ Anticipation and Planning. Yes, by all means, schedule liaisons with personal friends and professional colleagues. The operative word is schedule in advance. In fact, you might find it practical to build into your monthly work schedule such activities as: an extended shopping spree with friends; a business luncheon with associates; a continuing ed course that advances your work and makes you more marketable; a lone trip to your favorite ice cream shoppe! But remember, all these excursions have been part of your Anticipation and Planning modus operandi. They do not in any way interfere with or disrupt your work. Rather, you should view them as enhancements and contributions to your professional productivity and success.
Lastly, as with all these situations, let reason prevail. Of course, you should respond 'yes' when your favorite nephew, who you haven't seen in months, calls you from the nearest airport. He has a four-hour flight delay, and wonders if you could meet him for a drink. Why would you ever refuse? Or just yesterday you learned that today your 3rd grader is being honored in a school-wide assembly with a state award for his creative, innovative science invention. Don your proud parent persona and head out that door! Again, let common sense and balance rule the day. As a professional, you fully embrace the concepts of responsibility, reliability, and accountability.
Next, stay tuned for Speed Bump No. 3 - Life.
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