I woke up on the wrong side of bed today - actually, I did wake up on the right side, it's just that my day was ruined by something that has been baffling me for the longest time: In the age of connectivity - where everyone is connected through mobile phones, internet, and other means of connections - I still cannot believe that people let their batteries on their mobile phones run out.
I don't have the statistics - but I am pretty sure that the strides that cellphone companies have made when it comes to battery life have made significant strides in the last several decades or years. If laptops have significant strides, then so must have these phone companies.
(In fact, the idea that one has to drain batteries completely before recharging is dubious. Again, no statistics and I could be dead-wrong - but I have been plugging my phones every other night whether or not they are empty, and so far, my battery life has not decreased significantly. So the practice of completely recharging phones before charging is not true in my experience.)
Even the GUIs of phones have improved significantly - one can actually see the number of bars representing the battery life of the phone left. Once it hits one- or two-bars, time to charge - it's as simple as that.
So it is no longer an excuse to have empty batteries.
Why people let their batteries run out and be out of touch - specially when it is the only means of communications available - is simply beyond me.
The only thing is I can't impose myself on others.
***
Saying that "it cannot be helped" is a flimsy excuse at best.
I am not a believer of "I am a victim of circumstances". That I am a "victim" of late deliveries, of delayed stuff, of non-deliveries of other people. Cliched as it may sound, but seriously, if there is a will, there is way.
Things don't get done because one doesn't want to get it done. Things don't get done because you - or I - don't want it to get done for whatever reason - valid or not, reaonable or not.
Not having the time is simply saying "No, it's not important to me" because if it were important to you, you'd find a way to get it done. It's as simple as done.
Customer service sucks? Get them to do it your way . Do something about it. Raise hell. Grab the manager. Grab the VP for customer service. Get it done in whatever way possible.
Your colleagues suck? Get your way done. Bulldoze yourself. Step on toes if you must. If it needs to be done because it is important for the company, for the shareholders, for your relationship, for your partner, for your friends - get it done. Whatever the cost.
Time is an illusion - and we all have 24hours. The world is not going to change just because you don't have time.
It's all about priorities. Not getting it done simply means it's not prioritized - and it's not important.
***
If an email is sent, read it. There is something in there that needs to be read - that's why it was sent. Get it out of the way - if it's not yours, then send a "thanks, but no thanks" note to the sender.
Don't let it rot away in the inbox with the sender thinking that you're mulling over your response - when in fact, you don't have plans of responding at all or acting on it.
If it's a prank, then get the guts to say "I don't need these emails".
If it's something that doesn't involve you, then get yourself out of the email loop.
If it's something that involves you but can be postponed, then postponer.
Just respond. It's as simple as that.
Emails have become a mode of conversation - for good or for worse. Though we may want to use face-to-face communications or meetings to get things done - well, it can be done by email. The onus is on the recipient - not the sender. It is a conversation.
Technology won't change just because you don't want to converse via email. Technology won't adjust because you can't adjust.
It's not a matter of "my way or the highway" - because you'll end up on the highway.
***
There is nothing worse than being a footnote - a "by-the-way" in somebody else's life. I am tired. You are tired. Everyone is tired. But everyone deserves some time specially when they need to spend time with you.
Footnotes are important - but rarely read.
