Patience Fatigue
There is plenty of fatigue going around: mask fatigue, lockdown fatigue, pandemic fatigue, not to mention the original, actual, physical fatigue that weighs down body and soul. One fatigue that cropped up in 2021 is “Patience Fatigue.”
At the beginning of the COVID crisis, we were all in shock and took each new blow accordingly. Then, we worked together (separately) with the mantra that everyone faced new and unique struggles. We waited with surprising patience through shipping troubles, missed commitments, and items delivered on longer timelines. As 2020 rolled to a close and the New Year offered, well…a New Year, many of these challenges remained.
Frankly, we’re tired of these challenges and we’re tired of being patient.
Let me share a specific example of patience fatigue. One of our clients had a customized project that was subject to delays in its completion in our shop (including an unprecedented plant closure due to a winter storm) then shipped FedEx two-day air during the cold snap that took out the Memphis hub for several days, causing more delay (and then damage, too) to her product. She shared her client’s frustration with the statement, “They’re tired of the weather excuse!”
Although I have no control over the weather and neither does FedEx, I still relate.
I’m tired of it all too. Including not having technical support available, parts taking longer to arrive (and more expensive than ever), and the constant disruptions in hiring and staffing. I’m tired of mill orders not arriving in full or the right size or even having any stock for weeks. I’m tired of the required components to successful production still wildly out of our control. Really, I Get It.
Sigh.
However, there’s good reason to be hopeful amidst this wave of impatience. It signifies a turning point — businesses need printed material. That makes me quite happy. So, I am working on balancing my impatience about the issues I can’t control alongside finding solutions and re-re-re-re-arranging what I can.
I shared in an email blast that we used a few key “F words” many times in 2020, and I am determined to make words like, “Focus” and “Forward,” my “F words” of 2021. I recognize that the patience fatigue among my team harmed our ability to focus and also affected the way we communicated with each other and our clients.
Here’s how we’re fighting our impatience:
1) Recognize and Accept. Know what? It was a brutal year and we are tired. OK. There. I said it, you’ve said it, we agree.
2) Check yourself. Next, I “check” myself when I start to knee-jerk react to my (or others) impatience. It’s not a healthy place to base negotiation or make decisions, so best to tread lightly and focus on what we can control.
3) Deep Breath. I will never not stop (never-not-stop!) reminding myself and anyone who’s listening, take a breath. Now take two. The stream of oxygen to your brain recharges and fights the lizard brain reaction sparked by impatience and fatigue.
4) Embrace Spring. The brutal start to 2021 may prove to be the cliché’, “It’s always darkest just before dawn.” Already there are signs of growth. The seeds of starting over are breaking from their shells and we are ready to embrace a better spring. Notice these and celebrate; it helps.
5) Solutions. Though we’ve all been through a crazy year, the struggles and challenges remain unique. You may not realize my challenges and I don’t know yours. So, we have to talk through what these are to come to better solutions together. The truth that everyone fights their own invisible battle is eternal. So, communicating through to a solution is key.
Recognition and analysis of “Patience Fatigue” leads me to conclude that patience is part acceptance and part forgiveness. Two areas I can always improve upon. I admit that my patience faltered as the year began and hope that what I have dissected and learned helps you to continue to forgive others, graciously accept what is beyond your control, and move forward towards a better Spring.
