Go easy on yourself my friend. For lots of reasons, including how steep our learning curve with tech has been over the past Covid-influenced months.
Inhale. Relax.
And pat yourself on the back. You’re doing it. You’re juggling the many demands on you, with equal parts grace and grit.
Some days are grittier than others and some are more graceful. But regardless you’re making your way through.
Including making your way through with tech.
A while back I wrote about four tech personality types. Each of these personality types approach tech very differently.
I’m here to offer you some choices for how to continue to manage the tech learning curve.
If you haven’t discovered your tech personality type yet, you can do that here with this quick three questions survey.
As we continue to equal parts slog and thrive through this pandemic, here is some customized relief for you when it comes to managing tech.
If you find yourself to be a turtle (like 2% of my survey respondents), you’re in the pre-contemplation phase
- You tend to hate tech, it makes your toes curl, your heart hammer and you’re restraining yourself from clamping your hands over your ears while yelling lalalalala so you can tune me out
- Think of it like a turtle coming out of its shell – there’s a whole new, cool world out there.
- What you need to realize: you’re not alone. There are LOTS of other turtles in the pond plus you can always duck back into your shell if needed.
- Your mission should you choose to accept it: dip your toe (or claw in case of said turtle) into tech tools. Check out a tool like Unsplash where you can get gorgeous photos for free on most any topic. Amp up your next PowerPoint or pretty much any place you need a great image.
If you’re an armadillo (which 39% of my survey responders are), you’re in the contemplation phase
- Like a freezing cold lake, when you hear the word tech tools you gird your loins, hold your breath, let loose a few cuss words and ease in.
- You’re an armadillo. You’re moving forward. Grab a branch and float down the stream (remember you’ve got your hard shell if need be).
- What you need to realize: let the stream do the work for you, let go of the edge and move with the current. You got this.
- Your mission should you choose to accept it: take a spin with a tool like Diigo, which saves all your digital resources in one place. Here’s my account for you to take a dip and swim around in fun.
And if you’re a duck (like 47% of my survey respondents), you’re in the preparation phase
- When you hear the word tech tools you mutter to yourself ‘bring it on’. Like a refreshing dip in a summer stream, as long as you have your floaty and life jacket nearby you’re good.
- You’re a duck. Like water off a duck’s back (sorry couldn’t resist) you’re drawn to tech tools.
- What you need to realize: explore various tributaries of said stream. Paddle down a different channel, dive in deep and explore the terrain. There’s wayyy more tools and ways to use those tools than you can imagine.
- Your mission should you choose to accept it: Dive into Diigo and create your own account so you can start saving and easily sharing your plethora of online resources.
And finally, if you’re a dolphin (joining 13% of my survey respondents), you’re in the action phase
- When you hear the word tech tools you get a swimmer’s high and you just want to keep on keeping on.
- You’re a dolphin. You’re sleek and sophisticated when it comes to tech tools.
- What you need to realize: celebrate! Seriously, give yourself a high five. Keep on keeping on, plus think of lending your experience to others.
- Your mission should you choose to accept it: Keep swimming with a serious look at your metrics. There is no end of data now for Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, YouTube etc. The latter for example, tracks how long people are watching your videos and when attention starts to nod off. Seek out the stories your data is trying to tell you. For example dive into a tool like Hootsuite.
Be gentle with yourself dear one. Pace yourself. Celebrate yourself. Have patience with yourself. And whether you’re a turtle, armadillo, duck or dolphin, customize your use of technology to your very real and honest needs.
Now go on and learn, laugh and lead
Learn
Laugh
- Don’t feel like you have to posture and mock charge people based on your frustration with tech. Kinda like this adorable blustery baby elephant.
Lead
- Take the tech personality survey and follow the action plan for your type.
P.S. Curious to know more about your worldview and perspective? Check out my Life Lenses™ online assessment.
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