Everything Requires Maintenance

We work in the maintenance industry, so I consider myself pretty familiar with the term, but recently I looked up its definition. Maintenance is defined as: “The process of maintaining or preserving someone or something, or the state of being maintained.”

In the case of equipment, it is maintaining a certain level of cleanliness, reliability, lubrication, calibration, and alignment. It means keeping something functioning at a certain level.

Equipment needs maintenance, we all know that. Software applications and data also require maintenance. They require a periodic health check and often “cleaning.” Everything we own or manage requires periodic maintenance to function at a high level.

One thing that requires maintenance that people do not often consider is relationships. We meet a lot of people in life, friends, family, coworkers, fellow hobbyists, sports rivals, and teammates. The list of people we come into contact with goes on and on.

For these relationships to stay intact, we must maintain them. What does that look like?

Call when you do not need anything. I have some friends that never call unless they need something. That gets old fast. Everyone needs something at some point. But if you call occasionally just to check in, people will not dread seeing your number pop up on their phone.

Acknowledge birthdays and anniversaries. People want to know that you think about them. If you know it’s someone’s birthday, make a point of acknowledging it. It lets that person know they are important to you.

Call on a schedule. There are friends and family that you care about but do not talk to often. Try setting a reminder to check in once a month, quarter, or year depending on the relationship. Old college friends, distant cousins, previous coworkers that were important to you. Call them.

Do not wait for them to call or assume the friendship is over because they did not. Everyone is busy. We all have work, hobbies, families, and events. They may not be calling you for the same reason you aren’t calling them.

Have lunch. If you cannot break away for an evening, have lunch with an old friend. You may catch them at a time when they really need you.

Look at all the relationships in your life and determine if you need a more focused maintenance plan for them. Maintaining relationships isn’t just good for you, it helps the other person too. You never know when someone is looking for a kind word or support from a friend.

Until next time…we are Advoco, make every minute count.

About Craig: Craig Page is a self-proclaimed “data geek” with nearly 20 years of EAM/maintenance consulting experience. His favorite work is data migrations. He enjoys solving the puzzle to make the data fit and keep the integrity of the information. When Craig isn’t in front of a computer, he is probably running a chainsaw or a tractor. Have a question for Craig? Send him an email!