The present of presence.
Renee Connolly
Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer and Head of Innovation HR Engagement & Inclusion at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
Whenever my birthday rolls around, I can’t help but be floored by the fact that another 365 days has flown by. (Even that flew by – my birthday was last month!) Time is a funny thing. 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week – that’s not an insignificant amount! But somehow, like clockwork, that time slips away. Between meetings, events, dinners, presentations, family activities and organizing a household (I could go on), it all seems to pile up, doesn’t it? Even as so much of our activity has shifted to virtual or been restructured, schedules remain as crowded as ever.
I’ve always had a full calendar. Even as a kid, I grew up playing sports after school and can’t remember a time when I wasn’t running from one commitment to the next. I know I’m not alone. My team, coworkers and mentors all seem to have something in common: they are all busy, working their way through fully booked days and still trying to squeeze more in. Heck, usually in spring, I’m still trying to get my holiday card out!
As hard as we’re all working to check things off, why does the to-do list – or sticky note wall, if you’re like me – always seem to grow rather than shrink? The question inspired one of my recent leadership team meetings, when we had a discussion about how to maximize our working hours by leveraging the power of our teams and making sure we focus on the right tasks.
So, I’m not going to be the person who says not to be busy. I’m not here to tell you to slow down and build forced gaps into your schedule. That may work for some people, but it doesn’t work for me.
Instead, I want to challenge you, as I am challenging myself from now on, to be present.
Be present in each of your meetings, events, presentations and, most importantly, with your family and friends – virtually or in person. Put your phone down, stop trying to multitask and simply be present.
That advice sounds rudimentary and you may even believe you already practice this, but be particularly cognizant of it this week, and the next…and the one after that, for good measure. I think you’ll discover that being present helps time slow down (in a good way), giving back some precious moments in our days. I’ll be working on it, too. If you catch me getting distracted, let me know. We all need a reminder of the present of presence.
I’m working on being present. What are you working on to keep your days balanced?
Passionate HR Leader with a focus on Talent, DEI and creating actionable HR Strategies to deliver high impact.
3 å¹´This is fantastic! I've started plugging my phone in another room instead of next to me when I'm in meetings and on calls. The distraction makes me frantic. It's much better this way!
Global HR Business Partner, Healthcare, North America @ EMD Serono
3 å¹´Such great advice Renee! Thank you for sharing!
Head of Communications, UK and Ireland, Merck Life Science. Storyteller.
3 å¹´Really insightful piece Renee Connolly. As I always say, "my presence is your present" ??
Process Solutions eCommerce Team (Retired)
3 å¹´I've always bristled at the idea of "multi-tasking." Sure, it's not impossible to do 5 things at once, but you are in danger of not really engaging with anything your are trying to accomplish. When I need to complete a task, the best thing for me is to focus on that one thing. It gets done faster and I feel there is a higher quality in the results.
Global Manager, Product Recycling & Innovation
3 å¹´I find it easy to read an email or look at my phone as it buzzes beside my computer while we are in this virtual world. I rarely did that pre-pandemic and notice when I do, it kind of throws me off, so, thanks for the reminder and the challenge to stay present!