In our family, we joke that if something is not on our combined Outlook calendar then it doesn’t exist. Nearly every event, even those reminding one of us to remind the other about something, is "real" because Outlook or Google tells us so.
Example: Appointment invite: Tim to remind Sharon to remind the pet sitter that little dog throws up if she eats anything not on her regular diet. Scheduled for 09.20.16 prior to ISE EXPO 2016 little dog drop-off. (I accept the invite, of course. I hate when little dog is sick.)
And you guessed it. I’m also one of those people who schedules exercise appointments for myself. That’s not to say I arrive on time or even ever to them. (Please tell me I can burn a calorie by pushing the "cancel appointment" key to break date with evil treadmill.)
In our professional lives, we can’t help but live by our electronic calendars. We schedule all kinds of appointments for conference calls, status meetings, and other deliverables that are required to succeed in our over-scheduled professional lives.
But do we reserve time for the most important appointments? Ones that will help us stay relevant in the ICT landscape? I’ll admit that I’m a bit challenged when it comes to reserving some professional development time for myself.
How ironic, really. We invite, reserve, and rely on appointments for everything but that which is the most valuable.
It’s time to make a change. While you’re attending ISE EXPO, don’t just peruse the list of killer educational seminars this year. Schedule an appointment to ATTEND one or two seminars that will add value to YOU.
Don’t leave it to chance. Invite and accept your way to a better professional adventure. You can even use the ISE EXPO mobile app to give you a hand. Download it to your iOS or Android mobile device starting September 5 and think of it as your professional development assistant.
Subscribe to the ISE digital edition to view a video about taking charge of your own professional development as well as receive exclusive content each month. Subscribe at https://isemag.com/getmore
