“Oh shoot, I’m late!”

A jolt of adrenaline hits you as you scurry to get to where you need to go. You reach for your phone. A stack of meticulously organized papers flies off your desk like the most disappointing confetti ever seen. A sigh of frustration. A look of anguish. “I don’t have time for this.”

If that is not one of the most relatable occurrences, I do not know what is.

Let us examine that pressure and how it applies in the workplace. What is the cause of this time-keeping anxiety?

The Issue with Numerical Time

As we know, numeric time is a construct, an illusion working to keep us all on the same beat. I believe the issue of our societal stress around time lies in how we think about it.

We “measure” time with productivity, efficiency, and busyness. We have methodical approaches to managing time like prioritization and workflow organization – it has been implanted within us during youth. There is pressure for kids to be potty trained before sending them off to school with timed tests and project deadlines. We learn “time management skills” so we can slap them on college applications and resumes.

While there is nothing wrong with measuring time, – it is imperative to advance as a species – our overreliance on it has been steeped in our culture, particularly in our workplaces.

Time & Workplace Productivity

A study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that many cultures view busyness as a sign of status. The question is: do we need to be overworked and overtired to feel accomplished at work?

When we anxiously race to beat the deadline, we prime ourselves for living in a “reacting” mode. Dr. Jim Taylor in Psychology Today explains that reacting is based on perceiving a threat, while responding flows from “deliberate and thoughtful decision making.” We, as people, need both mechanisms to survive. We need to run if there is a lion chasing us, but do we really need to blow up on an intern who didn’t complete a report on time? When we fall into the pressures of time crunches, we do not give ourselves time to be mindful – of ourselves and others. Constantly reacting to time pressures, we never hone our ability to respond. Think about the times you have reacted versus responded – how has your work or relationship with your team been affected?

Multi-tasking – it’s a skill in almost every job description. According to a study from the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, only 2.5% of the 200 people studied could multitask effectively without causing detriments to the work. Even without science to back it up, how has a distracted mind impacted your workday? Were you a little on edge? Did all the work get done well? While avoiding multitasking completely is impossible, why does it have to be a standard for every workplace?

What is Time Without Numbers?

Time without numbers is mindfulness.

Albert Einstein, a leader in the numbers game, said, “…the past, present, and the future are real illusions, that they only exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.” The truth is: we have only ever experienced the present. The past and the future are only thoughts. The present is here.

A present awareness can mean higher quality projects, reports, team synchronicity. A mindfulness study featured in the National Library of Medicine revealed that participants who practiced mindfulness perceived time passing more slowly than the control group. With the perception that time is longer than it is, we can catch silly proofing or computation mistakes and notice when we need a break. Living presently means we are not bound by the limitations of the past or expectations or the future.

Time without numbers is compassion.

Compassion can take on a myriad of shapes and forms. While it may not include full understanding of others’ struggles, it uncovers the openness to uncover what they may need. It allows people to be responsible for getting their work done but gives them help if it’s needed. Compassion allows for flexibility. In a Gartner survey of 10,000 digital workers, 43% of them attributed “work hours flexibility” as their main reason for increased productivity. The flexibility to work how, when, and where can help those with neurodivergence or other needs to do their best.

A New Approach to Time in the Workplace

A balance between numbers and mindful compassion can be struck. Imagine the glorious potential. Team members are mindful of what they need, while compassionate leaders can actively listen and implement solutions to deliver results.

The choice lies in whether we can embrace new perspectives of time in our own lives and workplaces.

Learn more about approaches on mindfulness in the workplace.

Inspired by Office Manager Extraordinaire, Stacy Sarno

Hello? Can you hear me now? We all remember those iconic “Can You Hear Me Now?” Verizon commercials from the 2000s. While it may not be as relevant now with 5G in places you didn’t know existed, it is increasingly important in the remote workplace. 

Gallup survey results report that only 28% of remote employees feel connected to their company’s mission, which is a record low since 2011. When employees aren’t connected to each other, it can lead to the job feeling “gig-like”, and potentially lead to less loyalty to the company, as Gallup states. 

We’ve found ways to jump these blaring WFH hurdles. We’ve got 9 strategies to stay in contact while miles apart. See if any work for your team!

How DBE Stays Connected

1. Email Sign-on and Sign-offs: Every team member emails when they are online and offline. In addition to saying hello in the morning, we let each other know about errands or breaks away from the desk. This method helps acknowledge breaks and maintain better work/life balance.
2. Two Weekly Scheduled Team Meetings: Not only do we run through client/project statuses, but update each other on what’s going on outside of work. The first 15 minutes of these calls are normally spent catching up with each other.
3. One-on-One Connect Meetings: Team members will often schedule one-on-ones when working together.
4. In-Person Lunches & Get-Togethers: Sometimes these are with the whole team. Other times, a smaller group will get together.
5. Share What’s New: When there’s something exciting going on, we’ll share it. We’ve shared vacation pictures and even brought puppies on camera for our status calls!

Tools to Stay in Touch

1. Kumospace: We use this free, virtual office for our Zoomraderies. Zoomraderies are our weekly non-work meetings used to get to know each other better. We use Kumospace for a specific type of Zoomraderie. A theme is chosen (i.e., “What’s your favorite comfort food?” or “What’s your favorite card game?”). Each team member changes their profile picture and name to their answer. Then, we take turns guessing who’s who via the chat. Kumospace can also be used to virtually work together in a conference room. You can screen share, chat, and even take a game break!
2. Whiteboard: We use Microsoft Whiteboard for monthly shout-out boards, birthdays, and anniversaries. Each team member contributes on virtual sticky notes, leaving positive notes to other employees. 
3. Skype: There are always a few impromptu meetings and chats throughout the day! It’s a quick way to get in touch with each other.
4. Zoom: This is another great place for team meetings. We prefer Zoom for screen sharing and recording meetings. Everyone is encouraged to appear on camera.

Getting Connected and Staying Connected

Just like when old friends get together for the first time in forever, they say, “Let’s do this more often” and the thought disappears amidst the business of life,… the way to get better at staying connected takes dedication (and strategic scheduling). Yes, sometimes things pop-up, things get rescheduled, but don’t let that deter you. Keep getting back up and trying it again. It took us a while before we found our stride, but now we’re grateful for the connection we have with our team.

P.S. To answer the intro question, yes, we can hear each other now.

Hey there!

I’m sure you missed your favorite digital marketing newsletter last week! Don’t fret, we’re back with all the juicy stories you’ve been waiting for. Commence the digital marketing nerd-out!

• ChatGPT’s got sick new features, including prompt examples and file upload (woot woot)! Search Engine Journal has got more deets.

• Is old content on your website helping or hurting your SEO? Search Engine Land weighs in on the practice of content pruning using a recent purge of CNET pages as fodder for discussion. Bottom line: we value how helpful the content is to users; not how old it is. So, if the old content isn’t helpful, bid it farewell.

• You, too, can earn this snazzy badge from Google. This Introduction to Generative AI course provides a good foundation for how generative AI works and its potential applications. It doesn’t explain how Generative AI can be used for paid or organic search optimization but, if you’ve been following along, you probably already have some ideas.

Hi,

How’s your February going? Mine’s kinda awesome. Celebrated another birthday (whew, made it!) and am excited about launching the Philadelphia chapter of The Connective. I’m going to be sending information to the business development executives and other leaders in my network. If you don’t see an email about this, and are interested in learning more, please reach out. I’ll be happy to tell you why I’m so excited and what it can mean for your business.

This week’s shares are a hodge podge but sometimes there’s a theme I don’t see, so if you see a pattern I missed, shout it out! 😊

• Let’s talk a bit about Imposter Syndrome, because it’s a topic that seems to rise and fall in the mainstream media, and for some reason, I’m seeing a lot about it again lately.

What I’d like to do this time around is to suggest that even if you aren’t currently, or have ever, experienced this phenomenon, please read these 3 pieces from different perspectives on the topic and think if there is anyone in your circle: on your team at work, among your friends and family, etc. who may be having bouts of confidence issues that they are internalizing and perceiving as unique. You may find opportunities to help them see around this common syndrome that affects people of all ages:

• From The New Yorker: deep, long piece that presents imposter syndrome in a different light that is all about 3 perspectives of self.

• From one of my marketing agency’s team members who presented their views without a byline for our company blog (three cheers for bringing up the topic and working through it with us).

• And this from one of my favorite communications coaches, Michael Piperno. It’s not specifically about imposter syndrome, but rather a call for honesty around a core truth: sometimes there’s no lesson in a failure—it just sucks. When we can be “real” about that and not seek to soothe ourselves by uncovering a lesson in the crap, we do ourselves and others a favor by dealing in the reality of the situation and not the “social media wonderful” view of it. Nobody is perfect, and sometimes there is no silver lining. That’s okay too. You can’t feel like an imposter if you’re facing the highs and the lows of reality with equal balance.

• EVERYONE appreciates being appreciated. That shouldn’t surprise any of us. But did you know that 74% of the executive women surveyed by Chief about leaving the workforce in 2022 said that feeling more valued would be a reason to make them consider staying. 74%!!! Other big issues: pay transparency and promotions. Insightful research and analysis, read more here.

• I had lunch with a business associate recently, and she arrived a little rattled by an incredibly rude person she had unfortunately, inadvertently ruffled. I felt for her, because it’s so seldom that we directly interact with a truly rude stranger. And then I saw this BuzzFeed piece with readers sharing similar experiences with people who are quite cluelessly going about their lives. Just had to share so we can collectively shake our heads and send some good energy their way in the hope they redeem themselves.

• Logitech has developed booths that provide more immersive video calls to better simulate being in a room with others. I think it’s cool, but somehow not cool enough. If we need the booths, it harkens to phone booths for me. Anyone else with me on this throwback innovation?