Disconnecting and reconnecting
Disconnecting and reconnecting are processes that complement each other and add value to us and the teams that we are a part of. Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash
How many teams are you a part of at work? For most of us, the answer is going to be more than one. Research suggests that up to 95% of knowledge workers are on multiple teams and some are on ten, twelve or more.
That means that our ability to shift our attention between tasks and the roles that we play across teams becomes an important skill to develop. If we don't, we run the risk of not bringing our best contribution to the team that we are a part of - and it also makes being a part of multiple teams an overwhelming prospect as our attention feels split across our teams and roles.
For those reasons, learning to disconnect and reconnect become important skills for all of us.
Disconnecting from teams when we are away from them can feel challenging. We all have finite attention, and our teams benefit from each of us bringing all of our experience and wisdom into the work. By definition, if we don't disconnect from Team A, we can’t bring our full attention to Team B (or Teams C to G).
My friend, Sian, shared on LinkedIn recently a quote along the lines of..."most things work better if you unplug them for a while, including you". Wise words and surprising how often they ring true - it's almost always the first avenue to explore any sort of tech problem.
This disconnection also means that we will need to reconnect. Of the two, this can typically be more difficult. With the speed that our work is racing at, the idea of having to catch back up on where the team is at can be daunting - and is one of the reasons that many of us don't fully disconnect. It's a version of FOMO - and that is almost never useful. The ability to "get up to speed" is also highly reliant on being able to give the task your full attention (which requires you disconnecting from other tasks).
Disconnecting and reconnecting are processes that complement each other and add value to us and the teams that we are a part of.
There are many ways to do this on micro and micro levels. I won't go into any solutions this week, but I will invite you to practice over the holiday period if you can. It will serve you, your friends, your family and your teams when you return.
Here are some questions to consider this week:
What do you need to do before you finish for the year to allow you to disconnect as much as possible from your teams and work?
How will how remain disconnected from work - and what will that allow you to fully connect to?
What can you do to allow yourself to begin 2022 more connected to your teams and your work?
I hope that you are able to disconnect and reconnect over the holiday period. I can't wait to reconnect in 2022.