Finding a Rainbow on a Rainy Friday: Lessons in Making More Time for Connecting with Peers
Happy Friday, Ya\’ll!
It\’s a rainy, gloomy Friday afternoon. I don\’t care for rainy days. Those of you who are reading this simply because you know and love me, know that weather easily sets my mood for the day, the good and not so good. Ya\’ll more than likely are also familiar with my time-management practices. Time is perhaps one of my biggest challenges in many ways. I often cut things or simply don\’t add things to my schedule in order to have time in other areas, usually still failing in some aspect. But today, ya\’ll, I was lucky enough to grab a cup of coffee with a fellow graduate from Radford University to brainstorm business ideas.
Sometimes, I think we forget how refreshing it can be to take that extra time to connect and pick each others\’ brains. I know I do. Initially, it was a meeting for him to pick my brain. We used to share ideas as a teaching team, which (*gasp*) is now going on 3 years ago. It\’s that factor which led me to easily make the time I wouldn\’t ordinarily make. I think it is easy to get wrapped up in business, forgetting to reach out and lean on each other. I can\’t be the only one guilty of pushing forward and reaching for new goals without re-visiting the how I achieved the now. Not with someone else, anyways. It\’s mentally easier for me to make time for a client or potential client than it is to spare time for a peer.
I found myself sipping my delightful coffee on a rainy Friday getting excited and encouraged about my own business growth, simply by helping someone with theirs.
As business owners, we know that networking is important. However, somehow, we don\’t always prioritize the time to make it happen. Sometimes things that aren\’t an immediate focus should become more of a priority. There\’s plenty of studies out there suggesting to step away from things in order to better complete what you want, but how many of us want so badly to get something completed that stepping away feels like it will hinder us?
In retrospect to this mid-morning meeting, I encourage anyone who may actually read this: Take that extra time. As a society, we do discuss quite often the importance of taking extra time for your family, your friends, and even more self-care. We share how placing people and things of importance in our lives on the back burner hurts our overall life picture. I do believe our work culture has improved and we better understand achieving a better quality life as whole. But what are we doing about the quality of our \”work time\”? Are we carving out that extra time to connect with peers for growth? Or are you in a mindset similar to mine? Do you find yourself feeling burdened by that nonchalant peer meeting?
As a society, we are always on the great search for more time. And what do we do? We cut things to make time without much thought and get stuck \”going down the rabbit hole,\” continually digging away on our task lists. We could be better helping ourselves by stopping the constant digging and take that time we don\’t think we have for things that don\’t seemingly feel so important. But on this rainy Friday, I found a rainbow in a meeting and I just had to stop and share this experience.
I feel re-energized about my business goals simply by having a conversation. Discussing ideas, offering advice, hearing someone else\’s goals, and asking questions is such an easy way to get a refresher you may not even know you need. I don\’t like to admit my guilt here, but I am not the best at making time for opportunities to connect with business peers. I fight my own brain to not think it\’s time I could be spending performing work. I wonder how much better I could have performed on \”rabbit hole days\” had I taken time to connect.
In 2018, I had set a personal goal to make more time for my friends & family. I am happy to report that I did actively work on bettering that goal; however, I replaced that time with incredibly focused work time and I forgot to connect with any business peers. I neglected to remember that networking isn\’t always about growth because you find potential business. Networking is also about growth working with a community of like-minded people.
Those of you who have mastered your networking schedule, I salute you! For those of you who found yourself in too many deep, overly focused digs in 2018, join me in 2019. Join me this year in shifting how we think about our time. Take that extra hour for a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop. Pick up the phone or video chat and connect with like-minded people. Help someone who is just starting out in your field. Ask someone who has been in your field longer for some time to pick their brain. From today\’s gem of an experience, I can venture to bet that you may just remember some things you needed to help you. Listen to their questions. Ask questions. Maybe you will find fresh perspective that allows you to think outside the box with your own business.
And if nothing else, take the time to seek out a rainbow on a rainy day.