I had 30 hours in Charlotte, N.C., and I thought hard about what to do with those hours. Here’s a way to organize that time that could help you.
I was there to give a talk to at the GDS Group hashtag#CHRO Conference. My topic was creative ways to think about working and managing in a hybrid work environment. This is the sweetspot of what we do at The Company of Dads.
I broke it down into the five key components that people managers need to think about today and I explained why small changes around how companies treat Lead Dads, Working Moms and caregivers in general will have an out-sized impact on their organizations. Follow some easy steps and companies can retain workers and save vast sums of money on hiring.
But a talk takes an hour. Sure, I put lots of prep into every talk, prepping as if I’ve never given a talk before when I’ve actually delivered well over 100 key-notes.
There’s a lot of time left.
So here’s what I did:
I spent the 2 hours flying down writing social media content for weeks to come. Getting ahead frees up my mind to react to issues that might happen when these pieces might otherwise be due.
I gauged the chattiness of the airport van to the conference. Low. So, I read articles I’d been saving.
Knowing I was going to be in Charlotte, I reached out to people who lived in the area.
I had lunch with Roman Gaida, who was on our podcast last year. He wrote Working Dad and is on secondment for Bürkert Fluid Control Systems in North Carolina with his wife and twins. We’d never met in person so we caught up, talked about policies in Germany that can help working fathers play a more equitable role in the U.S. and chatted about an English-translation of his book. I also got shrimp and grits for lunch!
I prepared a bit more and then I gave my talk. Great hosts. Engaged audience. First-rate experience.
Then I met my cousin Chuck for a drink. He lives 6 minutes from the hotel. We don’t get together that often, so we caught up.
Gala dinner at 7:30. What a talk by Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal about resilience!
Then Olympics and bed.
Not everything can be planned. The hotel alarm clock went off at 4am. I woke startled as only you can in a hotel room. Stubbed toe was a bonus.
In the morning, I met Sarah Bernier Olin, PCC, founder of Lumo. She and I had been Zooming after meeting at Blessing Oyeleye Adesiyan’s Mother Honestly conference. What did we talk about in person that we couldn’t talk about on Zoom? The ups and downs and ins and outs of what we’re doing. Breakfast allows that.
I spent most of the second day at the conference, but I also took an hour to go to the hotel gym. I felt better for it.
I left early for the airport so I could relax and catch up on emails. I’ll return home feeling ahead, not behind. This is the power of the relentless calendar management we advocate for Lead Dads and Working Moms.
