Missing Out
I saw a LinkedIn post from my friend Jennifer Gluckow recently about checking her phone while at dinner with friends. You and I have done it also, much to the chagrin of our dining partners, and other credit, she called herself out and asked her audience what they think the reason is.
I found myself checking in on work from time to time recently while I was on vacation too. Not to anybody’s dismay or the disruption of their experience, but I was a little disappointed with my inability to completely unplug. Sometimes it’s not FOMO as much as just a tic. It’s that thing we do with our hands almost reflexively when we find a spare moment. Still, whenever you do that, you’re looking for something that isn’t right in front of you, and a lot of times, that’s a problem.
That fear of missing out is rooted in a scarcity mindset. When you’re afraid you’re going to miss an opportunity, it’s because you don’t believe that another one is coming right behind it. This is a terrible place to operate, and the perceived urgency of the on-demand economy seems to dictate it further. Sure, you can have a lot of things any time you want them, but do you need them right now? I could riff on tech and long for the days of the pager, the payphone and answering machine tapes, but I didn’t grow up selling in that era. I have no interest in seeing the technology go back to the Stone Age either. With that said, just because we can be accessible all the time doesn’t mean we need to be, and I don’t think we should be.
You train your customers
They take their cues from you about how to deal with you. Do you set yourself to be run ragged and on-call? While it’s nice to know that you’re going to answer the phone, is it really necessary at night and on weekends? Unless you provide some kind of emergency service, then probably not, and though you may delight a customer by picking up when they planned to leave a message, when you consistently exceed expectations, the expectations change.
Sometimes this works out in your favor, but you have to ask yourself if your efforts are sustainable over the long haul, or if you’re just burning in the candle at both ends. I love the idea that you promote yourself as being available and doing the work when the other guys won’t, but have you given any thought to why they don’t? It’s probably worth a minute or two...
Boundaries are respected and appreciated
Nowadays, they’re even envied because people understand that they’re necessary, yet few are strong enough to establish them.
I get a lot of compliments about my outgoing voicemail message and the occasional out-of-office response on my email for these reasons. I don’t think enough people realize that they’re responsible both for the current state, and the solution to it.
The only bonafide, finite, and non-renewable resource in the world is time, and only so much of it can be spent on non-priorities before we become totally ineffective. Yes, some of those non-priorities look like clients (they take a back seat to the well-being of you and your family, right?) when they make calls after hours. As you stretch yourself thinner for your work, it’s easy to lose sight of the things you’re working for in the first place.
FOMO has everything to do with your priorities
When what’s right in front of you is the most important thing in the world to you, then you're not missing out on anything. Even when that most important thing (your family or even your pet guinea pig) is miles away, then there’s an implicit agreement that what you’re doing is the most important thing to be done at that time. So do that thing. Be present with it and give it your best effort. That moment deserves everything you’ve got to give it, and everything else can wait.
(Your actions speak louder than your words here, so think about this the next time you’re scrolling on Instagram).
I’ve personally found that the more time I depend focusing on what’s in front of me, the more there is getting in line behind it. I don’t think it’s coincidental, and I don’t think it’s a simple concept to trust. However, we all know that in order to be successful, we need to do our very best work. And we do our best work when we’re not distracted. You owe it to yourself, and your customers, to put the phone down sometimes.
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Jeff Bajorek
Real. Authentic. Experience.
There’s a big difference between knowing how to sell and being able to. Jeff Bajorek spent over a decade in the field as a top performer. He’s been in your shoes. He knows what it will take. He can help you succeed.
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