Following yesterday’s mysterious blog post disappearance, the gremlin attacks continue on this ridiculously hot morning. This morning it was the Case of the Mysteriously Disappearing Skype Chats. After a panicked 20 minutes or so, I did find them and backed the most relevant one up for ease of future access. But, I really didn’t need the blood pressure spike.
As a Tech Whisperer, I find it much easier to work on other’s people’s technology than my own. There is no emotional valence for me. I can calmly assess the situation and work out an appropriate plan of action. Sometimes I can take the same approach to own technology issues. Primarily when the issue is around something of minimal consequence, like when my Feedly app keeps crashing. But, when I am having trouble finding something that is mission critical, I get so riled up that I can’t think straight.
A lot of my clients don’t believe me when I say I can empathize with their freakouts. They are convinced that I have no idea how they are feeling because I know what I am doing. Trust me, that makes it worse, not better. I think I am much harsher on myself when I freak out and lose all sense of perspective specifically because I do know better. I know that freaking out makes me think poorly and more prone to making mistakes. I also know that stepping away from the problem and taking a deep breath will help me re-contextualize the “emergency.” I also know that I rarely take my own advice when I am at my most fraught.
I often rely on my husband to help me through my own tech emergencies. As he is the first to say, I have a stronger handle on more technology than he does. But, he serves my usual role for me when I am freaking out. He can calmly walk me through the troubleshooting process. Sometimes he can see something obvious that I have missed. Other times, he is able to help me regain my confidence so I can solve the problem myself. That is exactly what happened this morning.
Now that the crisis has been averted, I am ready to face the day. Including a visit to the Red Cross for a Double Red Cell donation. I think today is the first day that I am looking forward to the anti-coagulant that always makes me feel chilled. I am counting on some internal refrigerant to help me through the hottest part of the day.