Where are you going while doing all the things?
If remote work is the post-pandemic holy grail, why are people still so tired?
We saw one surprising stat (in the horrifying way) that a whopping 40% of one-on-one meetings are rescheduled. Who loves the time suck of finding a new time after you already spent time finding a time? Throw in the mental distraction from task switching, plus Zoom fatigue, and you have a perfect recipe for depletion.
Add to this, an incredible 500% increase in meetings during the pandemic from the year prior.
Even with more control over schedules, employees are still reporting high levels of fatigue and burnout. Let’s consider how adjusting to today’s work landscape is about more than simply “where” you are. Maybe it’s about where you are going while doing all the things.
Let’s take a moment to think about how we’d all like to spend more time no matter where we work.
Scatterplot or Throughline?
Last month, we explored energizing your power and play. Building on those ideas, one framework to consider is looking at how you feel about the activities, people, and communities in your life. Are your activities adding up to something meaningful and valuable? Does moving through the week feel random, like dots on a scatter plot, or can you see a “throughline” connecting how you spend your time to a greater purpose?
And speaking of all those meetings we’re having – do they pop up in reactive mode, or do huddles, all-hands, or offsites have an intentional, straightforward strategy to build a connection? In other words, a throughline that provides clarity, alignment, and growth?
We’ve seen a shift from “one-off meetings” and “one-off keynotes” to leaders seeing the vision of a more clear and impactful throughline. As one example, after our CEO Sally Thornton spoke to a Google marketing group during their offsite, they asked her to come back and build six months of content centered around – you guessed it – a throughline of key ideas aligning with their team’s goals.
Intersecting Throughlines = Relationships
Relationships are also a critical line (and you may recall, the number one correlation to our longevity). When our energetic throughline has a purpose that runs alongside others in work and life, imagine the energy you will feel… and spread to others.
Most of us have experienced an empty feeling after a large surface-level networking event, aka the scatter-plot approach to gathering that rarely has any through line from event to event. In contrast, intentional gatherings that create and build on strong connections will likely hit on the throughline of purpose and meaning that energizes you. Putting this idea into action, Forshay’s CPO community is building content that will harness a throughline to enhance the members’ power (and play!). The reason Sally created this community is her throughline is bringing together people and ideas that lift the collective good.
We’re curious – how are you investing (not spending?) your time, and with whom, as points on your throughline? Drop us a line or reach out for a coffee chat today.
