Hey friends,
Hope you had a good weekend.
Here’s this week’s 1 Doodle · 1 Do · 1 Direction.
1 Doodle
This week, a friend of mine told me how frustrated he had become because his project wasn’t progressing as planned. As I was listening, a thought crossed my mind for a second: I hadn’t talked to my family in the past 30 days because of the complete internet and phone shutdown in Iran, there might be a layoff affecting my wife’s job, my son is sick and not eating well, and on top of all that, my own project has hit some unfortunate hiccups that will force me to redo many things.
But in the blink of an eye, I decided to fully immerse myself in his problem and forget my own headaches for 30 minutes. I listened, took notes while he was talking, and was fully present. In the end, I couldn’t suggest anything particularly impactful, but the next day I got an email about what a good teammate I am. And I was like, I just listened. :D How does that make me a good teammate? I didn’t resolve his issue.
That’s when I drew this doodle as a reminder to myself that sometimes I just need to be a good listener and absorb and clear up the messy headache someone else is carrying, instead of jumping in to say something before I’ve fully heard them. And sometimes, that alone is enough to make you a good teammate.
1 Do
This week, be a good listener to the next person who reaches out to complain about an issue they have. Immerse yourself in their issue. Make full eye contact. Repeat back some of the most important parts of what they said. No phone in your hand or even on the desk, not even face down. Put your phone in your pocket. Be fully there, and be a good listener.
1 Direction
Not all complaints need a solution from us. Sometimes people just need someone they can share their pain with and feel some relief. The simple act of showing that we fully heard them can go a long way.
That’s all for this week.
With love,
- Ehsan /a-🌞/
P.S. If this newsletter made you think of someone, feel free to forward it to them.
P.P.S. I recently made a video on 9 Keyboard Shortcuts That Changed How I Work. You can watch it here.
P.P.P.S. Feel free to reply and say hi. I always enjoy hearing from readers.
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