In the age of there are not enough hours in the day, but somehow Beyoncé still manages to do ALL THE THINGS…let’s put some things in perspective.
WE ARE ALL BUSY. We are all navigating this path of trying to figure out how to do “life” again in the most normal way possible. We are all cramming a million things into our calendars trying to make up for the time we have lost due to our Covid lock down. There is indeed so much to do, and never enough time. Yes, we have the same 24 hours in a day as Queen Bey, but she also has unlimited resources that the normal person cannot access. We lay people have to be ultra intentional with our time. With that said…respect people’s time.
If you reach out to set up a meeting, be there when you say you will. People do not have 15 minutes, let alone 30 minutes or an hour to waste during a jam packed working day. In a world filled with calendar invites (which are a love language for me), each of us is allotted one free pass [per month] of double booking, or missing the alerts to signal an upcoming meeting.
In the past year, I have encountered my share of “no shows” coming by way of the young professional (YP) group. They are the ultimate serial informational interviewers. I am not hating one bit, because the best way to connect and network is to have the conversation. YPs will reach out to connect and I wholeheartedly believe in making time to pay it forward. I love building relationships where I can continue to serve in different spaces and it is even more of a benefit when it extends beyond just a basic informational interview and moves into a mentorship-type relationship. However, I struggle when people do not show up on time, are not prepared, and do not communicate in the process. Gone are the days where I can do 4 informational interviews or connections each week. When I carve out space for them, and the person no shows with no communication…it is a hard one for me to digest. I am glad I can separate folks and do not blame the entire YP group, but I would be lying if I said it does not irritate me. In this instance I am speaking directly for myself, but I know there are other professionals who feel the same way.
Nonetheless the takeaways…be where you say you are going to be, when you say it, and come prepared. That’s the message.