I recently reset my writing and public address announcing schedules, but it became apparent to me yesterday afternoon that I need to do a schedule reset at work, too.
I had a brief Kubler-Ross change curve moment while I thought about it during my Friday afternoon lunch.
The Kubler-Ross change curve is designed to follow the grieving cycle in the same pattern but apply it in a business setting.
Some change curves take a long time to complete, but my change curve experience yesterday afternoon completed its course within the time it took for me to eat a bowl of soup and some wonton tacos.
I should not, and for the most part, shall not schedule meetings between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
I’ve worked for several companies since 1996 where meetings in the aforementioned period were common, especially the orthopedic industry (2011-2019) here in Warsaw. Additionally, I had treasury duties from 2019-2022 where it just made sense to be sure my workday included banking hours for Eastern and Central time zones.
I’ve been in my most recent role since last November, and it finally caught up with me that my current employer observes a meeting-free time span between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Interaction that felt like a meeting during that period were more like one-on-one learning curve sessions, or time spent rolling up my sleeves to solve a problem while sharing screens with geographically separated colleagues.
4 p.m. to 6 p.m. happened to be a convenient time span for getting together to learn and test things among a group of people who happened to be also close in age and experience level with me, not really a series of meetings.
I didn’t “feel” the relief of this unwritten rule until two days of on-site meetings with visiting corporate team members. Our meetings ended sharply at 4 p.m. The remainder of each day was used for everyone to catch up on e-mails, then get ready to regroup for an early dinner.
The timing of this pattern was close to the time I recently rad a Wall Street Journal article about the United States’ collective 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. “dead zone” – a period where people intentionally do not make themselves available for meetings.
I discussed what I read and what I experienced this week with one of the corporate visitors, and flat-out asked if 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. is reverently observed as a no meeting zone throughout my corporation.
It is.
This means, however, there are times later in the evening I’ll have to catch up with my colleagues or wait until the following morning for that matter. Throw some international interaction in there and the workday doesn’t get shorter, it is just cut up in different tranches.
I don’t care if it doesn’t get shorter, frankly, because these folks take exceptionally good care of me, and they’re the most collaborative group I’ve worked with since the 2000s.
I had a moment of consternation, nonetheless, so I decided to self-medicate with food. It was lunchtime anyway.
People who know how I’m wired understand why I experienced consternation.
If you know, you know.
I ended up, as I mentioned earlier, quickly coming to grips with the changes I should make immediately to feel in-sync with my colleagues and leadership team members.
The timing is perfect for resetting my day because anything I do to help my wife get ready for work won’t be a factor until early August when teachers prep for the new school year. I can use this time all to myself to figure out from wake-up to lights out how my new schedule will work best.
It was easy to see, with my event-working commitments and my professional commitments I’ll need to be in the habit of logging back in upon returning from sporting events to see what colleagues emerged from the 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. dead zone with questions, requests, approvals, and reports.
I’ve been doing that for several years, I guess when I worked in other organizations, but it’s like my company is saying the quiet part aloud.
“We are not even going to try to schedule meetings between these hours.”
I’m not leaving my office at 4 p.m. because of this, by any means. I am, however, comfortable in knowing if I must leave to work at an athletic event there is less pressure when I leave. Come to think of it, when I told these folks in my interview, I was a freelance writer and PA announcer they – representing a profitable, continually growing, profitable public company - did not flinch.
There’s your sports tie-in, weak as it might be.
Furthermore, when I don’t have events scheduled, I’m accustomed to staying around until or after 6 p.m. It’s a relief, in fact, to know I can use this time - unmolested – for deep-dives and for problem solving.
I reminded myself that the interaction recently during this time has been among those of us who get stuck on something anyway, impromptu, informal interaction. Other times it is a perfect time for anything I need to reset in my worksheets or in the accounting/manufacturing system.
Women’s FIFA World Cup action and NFL training camp will jog me out of the sports-dormant mindset I’ve experienced to date in July. Until then, wish me the best on the reset