It was only a matter of time. COVID seems to ramping up the stress level all around and I’m starting to see that translating into … snippiness … at work. Not on my team, mercifully. But in close proximity and in ways that affect us.

So I posted this to my team earlier.

Just a reminder: breathe. Never reply while angry. And make use of a lesson I learned some years back from a guy I worked with: respond, don’t react.

Reactions are reflexive and emotional. Something happens and we step toward it. Reacting is inherently confrontational.

Responding means a step back. Assess, get past emotion, think about what’s driving the annoying situation, empathize with others involved, then craft a productive solution. Responding is collaborative instead of confrontational.

This whole coronavirus mess is going to find and exploit every crack, every weakness, every aggravation we have. But we’re all better than these artificial demons.

Think about it. Pass it on.