I had been an advocate of remote work and home office, and when the pandemic hit I had the privilege of WFH.
In the first year, my productivity doubled. I kept the social part by hanging out with my flatmates and chatting with people worldwide about all the novelties and struggles of the pandemic.
In 2021, I became a digital nomad. Even with all the travel inspiration, my productivity and mood went from sky-high to below zero.
It was even more challenging when facing a zoom call with most of the webcams off, so I also turned mine off, unknowingly increasing my sense of disconnection.
One day, I finally realised that I was missing social connection and elements that needed to be present, such as facial cues when having a difficult talk with someone at work and being distracted while trying to multitask while on a call.
And as soon as that clicked, I started to understand that overcoming wasn’t that hard — I was just doing the wrong thing.
Here’s what I should have done instead:
Be present
I had to accept that some calls were easier for connecting, but I should always be present no matter what. If it was going to be an audio-only call, zoom into the other’s auditive cues and be as attentive and expressive as possible when the video was available.
Virtuality can be a great option, but mind the gap that a device can add to genuinely connecting with others by watching, listening and paying attention. 🙂🤝🙂
Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog
