Okay...so although I've blogged on other sites, I'm a newbie at having my own site. I have plenty of questions, plenty of ideas, and tons of quips, but don't really know where to go from here!? Who will read this...any body? Who will find it even interesting enough to respond, any body?
My first thought is to write about what I know and what I'm experiencing in life right now; working and living life virtually. My business as a virtual assistant, now in its second year, is wondergreat, fantabulous, and autonomously challenging, pushing me daily to thrive in the virtual marketplace.
I learn new things every day, love my clients, and believe they love me too, and even though I interact daily with our international virtual group and my clients, still the social, face-to-face factor is missing. I'll admit I'm a social creature...I love interacting directly with people. I enjoy reading body language, interpreting, right or wrong, people's signals that they send. It's harder to interpret over the phone...you don't feel the whole deal and can easily misinterpret a hesitation for something much bigger. (That's for another blog, another time.)
When I was in the work force the water cooler use to be "the spot" to socialize with co-workers....does this still happen in the work place? My water cooler consists of a reverse osmosis tap at the kitchen sink...just me and the faucet...not the same. My way of mixing it up is to turn my attention to the fridge and decide whether I want crushed or regular ice.
Okay, so while I'm not exactly complaining - because I love having a 30 second commute, love having flexibility to work when I want and to play when I want - I do at times miss the interaction you get in an office environment. So, how do my virtual cohorts mix it up? How do you keep from missing the water cooler days?
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9 comments:
Gretchen:
I miss hanging out with people too. I'm part of a group that does twitter and that seems to help.
Meredith
One way I fight this lonely feeling is that I take Fridays off from client work. I usually use that day to grab lunch with my best friend who is still in the corporate world. We take a long lunch and just catch up with each other.
Or I go with my mom to lunch and we might go shopping afterwards.
But my new favorite thing is once a month, on a Friday, I have a spa day. Oh my goodness, I love having a massage and just laying for an hour, not thinking about anything, feeling my stresses melt away.
You could join a local IAAP chapter or a BNI group. Or you could take one day a week and volunteer.
I do think it's very important to get outside yourself and give back some of what we've been given.
Hope this helps!
Vickie Turley
A Balanced Alternative
The VA Blueprint
Meredith - what the heck is a twitter?? My curiosity is peaked!
Vickie - you're right I need to make it a habit to do something for myself once a week. My only girlfriend from San Diego, Stacy, moved away...we use to go to lunch regularly and it was wonderful. But alas, she moved to W. WA, now we only connect virtually.
I actually do a lot of volunteer work in the community and belong to a women's club, where I'm chairing our big fund raiser, plus am on other committees. All that is good, no doubt, but...
I wonder, should I take my daughter's suggestion and set up a web cam??
Gretchen,
Yes, get a webcam!
I love my webcam. All of my family is in Germany and last Christmas I had this great idea. I wanted us to open our gifts together, so I instructed my brother to bring his laptop to my parents house. We used Skype to watch each other open our presents. The funniest part was when we let the dogs open their presents--each wrapped with a doggie bone inside for motivation (which wasn't needed). My parents were so thrilled to be able to spend Christmas with us.
A webcam is a nice way to stay in touch.
Simone Christoph
SimOne Virtual Solutions
Aaahhh...the web cam...I'm hoping to set one up myself. It is hard to travel as much as I do and not see my wonderful son. I'm hoping the web cam will add some dimension that the phone just doesn't have.
But you do still pose a good question...even to a traveler like myself - I'm not a complete virtual chick - I miss connection time with people at work. I do miss the days of the water cooler visits or the over the computer chats. It was nice to just have spontaneous gab about really nothing. It felt good to just connect with great people. :-)
~Robyn
Gretchen -
While I miss some of the people - I do not miss the office poltics. Most of my clients were corporate employees who I never met in person.
As a CBer...I had no trouble communicating with people I may never meet. I knew their names and Login ID, and their voices.
I have found other wasy to fill the void. I have my local WBON group, church activities, and One day a week I volunteer my time to talk with "elder" residents at a local nursing home...they are my extended family and friends. Accepting me unconditionally!
As a Research & Informaton Specialist - I pay attention to their stories and get the information on paper. It's something I enjoy doing.
Krista Gable
Notary Eagle Professional Services
Gretchen, I would say a web cam could help you, though as others have suggested getting out and mingling with people on a regular basis is a good idea too. A web cam could be a great tool to use in your business too, though you have to make sure when the cam is on you aren’t wearing your pajamas. Some clients might like the idea of being able to see whom they are talking to, and trusting with their business documents. On the other side, it gives you the chance to read their body language to a degree. Back to the social side, talking to your friend in Washington with a web cam will help ease same of the pain of not being able to be with her in person.
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