During Covid I was working full-time on LEGO projects, all of it from home (like many others). It went surprisingly well, and I believe it had a big impact on LEGO and many other companies’ attitudes towards remote work. A lot got done; even complex creative processes were possible using proper planning, training, and tools. Saved a lot of commuting. Having said that, there was also something dark and tiring associated with that way of working for extended periods of time. We probably all felt that bleak fatigue that comes with far too many awkward Teams-meetings (“Can you see my screen?” “You’re on mute” “Is that an old hand?”). To me, the Teams software became associated with that grim time period, and I have not had any particular wish to relive it. But on the other hand, there was something about with small groups of good people and the occasional positive one-on-one video dialogue that spoke to me.
So in 2024 I made a conscious effort to carry out a series of video conversations with people I hadn’t talked to in a long time, and in a few cases, never before. It was very, very enjoyable and something I would recommend doing more of.
Couple of points: Plan it well in advance and make it a ‘thing’ with a clear starting and ending time. An hour is fine, perhaps with an option to go another if things flow. As with many other activities, it helps a lot if you prep and plan a bit. This makes it much easier to be spontaneous once you’re actually doing it. Some quick notes with keywords on topics never hurt. But the conversation itself is key, no ‘outcomes’ or ‘conclusions/next steps’. That’s not the point!
If possible, I would also recommend using FaceTime; it just feels more natural than the other video chat platforms. The latency is a bit lower and the audio is a bit better, which makes a difference. One of the (many!) reasons that video meetings can feel tiring is that the poor frame rate and broken-up audio force your brain to work in overdrive, filling in the blanks, so to speak. So for those of us living in Apple-land, use FaceTime. And if you’ve ever had a long(ish) conversation with me, you know that often a mail with links relevant to our chat will arrive within a few days 🙂 And if you and I haven’t spoken for a long time, give me a shout and perhaps we can set something up..
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