NO WIFI. I know it’s a first world problem that we have all faced at one time or another. But the more and more we become reliant on being constantly connected the more heart stopping this can be. Especially after coming back to the first full day of work after the holidays.
You have deadlines to meet, appointments made, documents to share, a webinar to attend or conference call to make and let’s not forget all those e-mails to read and send!
This was my reality the other morning and a quick phone call to my internet providers technical support confirmed my worst fears; a major outage, no timeline on restoration of service except that it will likely be at least a few hours.
What would be your immediate reaction, panic or relief?
The good news is that having no internet connection can give you the time to illuminate your personal brand and perhaps even enjoy work a little more!
Here are 5 ways to move from wifi ‘adversity’ to analog opportunity;
- Understand that 99.9% of the time there is no such thing as a work emergency, especially one conveyed via e-mail. You likely still have access to phone and text if something truly urgent comes up. I was able to reach out to the appointments I had and either make it a phone call or reschedule if I really needed to screen share.
- Finish those projects that required some concentrated time and no interruptions. With no internet, many of the usual distractions go away. Just be sure you do not tempt yourself with trying to do everything via your phone. I was able to put my phone aside for a few hours and crack on with a couple of pieces of work I could get done.
- Get some exercise. As the day continued I realized that this was not going to be a quick outage so I took my laptop, went for a walk and stopped off at a local coffee shop to check in on email, take a quick look at LinkedIn and respond to anything time sensitive (which really turned out to be only one thing!).
- Make more personal connections by phone or even in person. When my brother worked in an office it amazed him how many times someone only a few doors away would send him an email question. He would always get up and go to their office and have the conversation face to face versus the back and forth e-mail always seemed to prompt. I ended up making a few more phone calls than I probably normally would and enjoyed catching up with a couple of people who I had not spoken to in a while.
- Get creative or personal, or both. When we rely so much on one communication medium (e-mail) our personal brands can become quite one dimensional. Apart from the
phone there are other ways you could you choose to communicate with people, like the ‘age-old’ handwritten note or card. Or take that lunch you had been promising to have with someone or go grab a coffee with them (just don’t be checking your e-mail at the same time!).
Losing internet connection is nothing new and it can happen at any time so be sure you have a few contingency actions in place ready to roll when it does.
Perhaps even an outage day every now and again may not be a bad idea, even if you can get access. Or even National Outage Day!
What do you do when the internet is down and you have plans or work you need to get done? Please comment below. Thanks.