To thrive and create your best life, you need support. Fortunately, the means to connect and stay in touch are proliferating. There are times when a call or in-person conversation is ideal, but for convenience, accessibility, and in the moment communication, you can’t beat texting. It’s such an easy way to build and maintain relationships and express oneself with humor and caring. In both personal and work relationships, this simple act of engagement can be powerful.
A ubiquitous activity these days, texting fosters connection. So much so, it’s hard to feel connected with people who are unwilling or unable to engage via texting. You may connect daily with those in your “inner circle” (family, friends, neighbors, trusted professionals) via text on some level that maintains connection. Even sharing Wordle scores, sunrise pics, and grocery lists are engagements that show we’re thinking of one another. My husband, 3 kids and I have a family thread where we share memes, videos, updates and comments to support and entertain each other. Our mostly grown kids seem to be amused by my fondness for Bitmojis; my husband calmly tolerates it.
I use texting in my work with both coaching and organizing clients to support people and hold them accountable at their request. Some quick texts have made all the difference in helping people move forward and accomplish their goals. The most clever text-for-support ideas have come from the clients themselves. They know a simple check-in can go a long way toward following through on establishing a new habit, getting a task done, or just knowing that someone’s got your back and is thinking of you. Here are some ways people have asked for – and received – my text support:
- To follow up at a certain time by which they plan to get a space organized
- A morning check-in on days they want to get something accomplished
- To confirm they are creating space to reflect and/or plan at the beginning of the week
- To support a weekly commitment to spend several minutes processing the endless stream of paper and emails
- To check in if I haven’t seen or heard from them in a while, to ensure they’re not spiraling into debilitating anxiety
- As support for a commitment to meditating/providing space for mindfulness on a daily basis.
The flexibility and simplicity of texting is what lends itself so well to using it creatively. There may be apps for this, but they would be inadequate substitutes for texts from a known, trusted, caring, REAL person (sorry, AI). Someone may spontaneously text me, “Hi Sara, I want to clean up my bathroom in the next hour. Can you text me at 3:30 to hold me accountable?” My reply: “You bet!”
I have alarms set to text some people at different times throughout the week. This may sound onerous, but it isn’t at all. Am I doing this constantly for thousands of people? No. Is the payoff of knowing this supports others in getting things done worth several seconds of effort on my part? Absolutely! Texting is a low effort/high reward support mechanism. It’s not a replacement for coaching or other meaningful ways of relating; it’s just one simple tool to help people accomplish their goals.
What creative ways have you used or benefitted from texting? If there is some way I could support you through text or in some other way, let’s talk. I’d love to see what kind of supportive environment we can create to help you get things done and live your life the way you want it to be. If it’s as simple as a text, I’m happy to send it, with or without a perfectly-curated Bitmoji.
