1/ Many are trying to reconcile the "We're open for business" message from VCs with a sense that deal flow is slowing down. I know why my intent and my behavior is divergent; perhaps it applies to others also (thread)

2/ Pre covid I probably spent about a third of my time on the portfolio, a half on meeting new companies and a sixth on internal firm matters

3/ Right now i'm probably half on the portfolio as there is much to do; few companies are doing better through covid than before and the portfolio has to be the first priority. Still about a sixth on internal matters.

4/ But being at home and with my kids, being a parent is taking more time during the "work day" than it used to. Preparing them food, helping (or cajoling) them on school work, etc. If you're not out of sight, you're not out of mind. That's probably another sixth

5/ So that leaves just a sixth of my time for meeting new companies, which compares to a half of my time before Covid. So my new deal volume will probably fall by a third as a result. Not because I don't want to make new investments, but because I'm meeting less companies

6/ I hope that the way I spend my time normalizes as the portfolio adjusts their plans and when we all eventually go back to more normal schedules, including kids back-to-school. But that may all be a while.

7. I suspect that investors with a smaller portfolio or no kids may not be seeing the same change in the way they spend their time that I do. /fin