My 2020 Productivity Hack
I never imagined a future in which I would be forced to give up traveling for work. But now, after having adjusted to the realities of COVID-19, this road warrior wonders if he will ever travel to an in-person client or team meeting again. Not only is it dangerous for everyone involved, but operating in this way wastes huge amounts of time and energy. And it contributes significantly to pollution. There will need to be a very compelling reason to take the risk and expend the energy to get on a plane again.
The shift to remote work will probably not be a one-time deal for many of us. In May, the media reported that 25% of Fortune 500 CEOs believe their company’s business travel will return to pre-pandemic levels by Q1 2022. But 52% think it will never return. Twenty percent believe 90% of their workforce will return to their usual workplace by January 2021. Twenty-six percent think they will work from home indefinitely. [1]
I just wonder how many of these senior executives, like me, are including themselves in these numbers.
I’ve been reflecting on the whole road warrior lifestyle. You know the drill. Get a car to the airport, wait in line to go through security, sit on the plane. Wait to go through customs. Get a car to the hotel, grab a few hours of sleep. Get in another car to go to the meeting room. Then get in a car to go back to the hotel, another car to get to the airport. Go through security, sit on another plane. Get into another car in another city.
I only have one life. Why would I want to spend my time and energy in this way, especially when almost everything I do can be accomplished virtually—without putting anything at risk?
The occasions that require my physical presence are now the exception, rather than the rule. Meetings are now virtual. We can train and test adults, even proctor exams remotely. On the personal front, I can watch my sons and daughter compete in baseball games via livestream from the comfort of my home office.
Perhaps one very compelling reason for me to travel these days would be to build trust.
But even then, I can establish new relationships over Zoom. If we’re starting from zero, it might be difficult to get to the level of trust required for a joint venture or a merger. As an aside, I’ve noticed that introverts and ambiverts like myself (introverts who can, on demand, play the role of an extrovert) tend to adjust to long distance, “from-the-shoulders-up” interactions remarkably well. They don’t seem to carry forward any unconscious expectation of necessarily getting energy from people or giving energy to them through a little screen. Extroverts, on the other hand, rely on getting energy from their interactions with others and tell me they still long for the chemistry that happens face to face. But if all parties are authentic and candid, open and engaged, willing and committed to dedicating as much time as it takes to build trust in the relationship, then building trust virtually from the ground up is possible.
To be honest, I am actually grateful for one aspect of the disruption caused by the pandemic. I’ve learned that I don’t have to travel to do business. And that means I get to see more of my family. Plus I’ve discovered that my personal productivity increases greatly when I’m not spending a lot of my energy and time traveling.
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- Alan Murray, “Fortune 500 CEO survey: How are America’s biggest companies dealing with the coronavirus pandemic?”, Fortune, May 14, 2020. Accessed June 22, 20202 at https://fortune.com/2020/05/14/fortune-500-ceo-survey-coronavirus-pandemic-predictions/.
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4 年Sandy Ogg Quello che ha fatto saltare fuori questo "maleducato COVID" è che non esiste sicurezza assoluta, l' unica certezza di questa vita è che un giorno finirà. Essendo credente, chi ha delle radici cristiane, ha anche una cultura alimentata dalla storia che ogni popolo ha. Qualsiasi tragedia sia capitata nel arco della storia, gli anziani, i saggi, ma soprattutto gli uomini di Dio, sapevano dare una risposta al popolo sofferente.Gli uomini di Dio, digiunavano, PREGAVANO e davano risposte, prima che qualcuno avesse ancora aperto la bocca. L' uomo, fosse il più grande scienziato del mondo, non potrà risuscitare una zanzara, esistono miracoli, ma noi crediamo più nella potenza dell' uomo che in quella di Dio, IL CREATORE. ALLORA LUI CI LASCIA FARE, perde Lui qualcosa? Aumenta la sua grandezza grazie a noi? Eppure forse basterebbe riconiscersi uomini, non sempre supereroi e magari, basterebbe solo dire:"Sia fatta la Tua Santissima Volontà! Pensaci Tu, a noi che ci crediamo i padroni dell' UNIVERSO per la tecnologia, ebbri, dacci un segno e ferma tutto questo caos.Tua la potenza di fermare ogni male, di trovare la soluzione ad ogni nostro dolore.SANTA TRINITà CON LA BENEDIZIONE DELLA VERGINE MARIA, MADRE mandaci la soluzione.Amen
Strategy Consulting - Getting things done - Capturing strategic advantages and supporting clients to Win and navigate China
4 年So we will be less busy with traveling...what will we do with so much time? ;-)
Chief Information Architect
4 年not sure I’m buying into a self-fulfilling prophecy of making lemonade from lemons, just because it’s the only thing currently available for the foreseeable future ... we may be more efficient in today’s model without the travel costs, but I challenge the relative effectiveness of today’s model
Retired at Aerojet Rocketdyne
4 年Great points, Sandy. My job as a defense & aerospace industry Supplier Quality Engineer for 30+ years put me on the road frequently. That type of work will always require a fairly high level of face-to face interaction and physical product verification... but distributed regional technical / assessment resources are helping to reduce at least the long haul trips. (Now retired for a year, I do miss the travel, but I’m doing just fine!) Bill CGA ‘76
Sales Growth Strategist @ Mid-cap Orgs | CRM Alignment
4 年Thanks for for your article and thanks for my own enlightenment that I now have a new name for my style, ambiverts. Hope you’re well and enjoying the family.