Want To Reconnect With Your Network After Going MIA? Here’s What To Do

There’s been plenty of times when I took breaks from social media, attending events or going out of my way to socialize. Why? I recognized that I needed to rest. As a professional communicator, I noticed my passion for writing, reading and connecting with people slowly fading away. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do. But like anyone else, breaks are needed before you become all the way turned off by what was supposed to be fun. 

As a result, my community became worried about me, my Instagram DMs went unanswered, and I started to become a distant memory to people in my professional network.

After two months of limiting my social engagements I felt good. I was more motivated to get back out on the scene, but I had to be strategic in doing so. I had to be mindful of the amount of time that passed the last time I connected with some people and each relationship had to be approached differently. A text message to my friend to catch up over dinner is more chill than scheduling a coffee chat with someone whose career I admired on LinkedIn. 

Here are four authentic ways that I found helpful in reconnecting with my network after going MIA:

When reaching back out after a couple of weeks or months have gone by, start a new conversation with something good you both discussed last. For example if the last thing I talked about with an acquaintance was their trip to London I would message them saying:

“Hey [NAME]! You recently crossed my mind! How was your trip to London? I’m back on Instagram and your photos were the first ones to pop up. I have to hear all about your trip.” 

If you’re reconnecting with a professional is your network and desiring to continue nourishing your relationship, immediately schedule a coffee chat. 

Here’s an example message I sent on LinkedIn:

Hi [NAME]!

I hope your week is going well. It’s been a while since we last connected and I’d love to catch up with you some time this month. If this sounds good to you, please let me know what day next week works best for you and I’ll schedule a call for us!

Talk soon,

Asha

If it’s been a while since you’ve seen your girls, remove the anxiety. I’m sure they still love you and miss you dearly. People understand life can get busy and adulting can take over our entire schedules. Be intentional to carve out time to reconnect. I love catching up with a friend one-on-one over dinner. 

Here’s a text I sent to my good friend after not seeing her for 3 months:

“Hi hun! Wyd Saturday, October 5th? Down to catch up over dinner?”

If you’ve been MIA, it’s likely your family hasn’t heard much from you either. In the past, I’ve kept conversations short with a text, but I regret it because they’re my family and we’re pretty tight knit. It left them feeling a bit neglected, but mostly worried. I had to reassure them I was fine, but that wasn’t enough. If you can, visit your parents. Life is too short to not have real conversations with your old folks and to receive some wisdom about life from them.

I was curious to see what other women’s experiences have been with reconnecting with their friends and loved ones, and here’s what they had to say:

“I have clients whom I styled and built relationships with over 20 years. The world suddenly shut down in March 2020 and malls closed which meant styling people at Nordstrom was on pause for a while. I decided to begin my own styling business, Look Live Stylish. My husband John fell ill during COVID, his cancer was misdiagnosed and he passed on February 28, 2021. I went MIA during my grieving. I had one of my clients of 20 years text me, [asking] how I was doing and if she could call me. I was vulnerable with her and our conversation made me realize my clients missed me and were concerned about me. I sent out handwritten cards expressing how I felt to let them know I’m ready to get back into my passion: styling them. This allowed us to deepen our relationships and our styling sessions turned into therapy for both of us.” – DeeDee McPhaul, Look Live Stylish

“MIA may mean missing in action to the world around you, but that translates to being 100 percent present for the world within you. The world within us includes our innermost thoughts, feelings and listening to our minds and bodies so we can meet our needs in those moments. Our inner-voice can often be overpowered by the noise and demands of the world. Going MIA allows us to take space to quiet the mind enough to tune in long enough to practice self-care. The folks in our lives who are healthy for us will get it! If they don’t, that may be an opportunity to take inventory of the relationships around us.” – Andromeda E. Peters, LICSW

“For me, stepping back was essential for my mental health—studies show that about 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. experience mental health challenges each year! When I went MIA, I knew my audience would understand; I’ve built an authentic, core following that values realness over constant content. Reconnecting felt seamless, because everyone was so understanding and supportive, and it felt natural to pick up right where I left off.” – Keyana Deshé, Lifestyle/Travel Influencer

“During my 26 years in business, I’ve never gone MIA except during the pandemic. It was a time for me to rest and reflect. I could sit still! And I loved it. I stopped posting on social media for months because I really had nothing to post. People were worried about me until I told them I was fine. I needed the pandemic to slow me down. I was home working, but I couldn’t go out to meet people because I didn’t want to take the virus back to my elderly parents.” – Xina Eiland, Founder of Xina PR

If you’ve recently gone MIA or your soul is really calling for a pause, I encourage you to do it. In a world that’s “always on” take care of yourself by taking a sabbatical, going on a social media or phone fast, or simply having set hours for communicating with others. You’ll have no regrets, will feel rejuvenated and with the tips shared above, you can always reconnect with those who truly love and care for you.