?You can?t please everyone, so you?ve got to please yourself.? ? Ricky Nelson.
It?s been an interesting last 24 hours. Abusive emails, character attacks on Twitter and questions about my ethics. Just another day in the life of.
Time is an interesting commodity.
On the one hand, we love it when time passes quickly so we can see a new movie, or buy a new product, or see a new date. On the other, we complain there?s never enough time in the day.
Online connections simply increase this problem. As we connect with new people on new networks, our availability factor goes down.
You don?t mean it to; you try avoid it; but it?s a simple fact that as we connect with more, the less we can offer. This may be less time for people you used to converse with more; less time for generic conversations; and less time for things in general.
Sure, you can use tools to help you manage your time better. Yet at the end of the day, the tools are only as good as the person using them, so perhaps I need to brush up on my time management skills.
Yet the attacks/criticisms that came my way over the last 24 hours would probably have come regardless of time management, by the nature of them. The suggestion of ?having time for some people but not for others? being the main theme.
Again, it comes back to where to try and divert your time. While this isn?t an excuse as such, a lot of my time at the minute is taken up by:
- 12for12k
- Legal clearances for promotional materials for this month?s charity
- Conference calls with charity partners
- Social change events
- Client projects (since all 12for12k efforts are free of charge)
If you add in personal time, offering help where possible to people asking for advice and residency issues in Canada to name just a few, you might see where I can get sidetracked.
As I say, it?s not an excuse but an explanation. I appreciate the connections we have and I?ll try my best to manage them as best I can and help wherever I can. However, there will be times that some people and actions slip through the cracks.
So, here?s a suggestion.
If you?ve sent me something or asked me something and I haven?t responded in a couple of days, send me a nudge. Failing that, email me ? my contact details are on this blog, or my website, or on my Twitter background. I?ll try my damnedest to respond.
And if I haven?t replied straight away, please don?t take it personally.
With regards the ethics question, I certainly don?t always make the best decisions but I always believe that whatever they are, they are for the right and ethical reasons. Of course, it?s anyone?s prerogative to doubt this, but I?m happy to live with my decisions.
How about you? Are you finding yourself with less time for the stuff that needs more time? How are you managing your conversations?
photo credit: Joshua Davis