We made it. It is the day after Christmas. What traditions do you have for this week? Do you take down the tree? Or maybe just unplug the lights and leave it there in the corner until April. Maybe you have to return or exchange gifts you received. Perhaps you are tackling the mountainous pile of dishes you decided to “just leave” yesterday. For me, today brings the celebration of my baby sister’s birthday. And that is important to me. I know what it feels like to have a birthday that is overshadowed by a holiday. I have the same problem (but that is a story for a different post).
In the back of your mind are last year’s new year’s resolutions kicking around? Have you made the progress toward your goals you hoped you would? Have you cultivated new network connections? Did you have that tough conversation you promised yourself you would?
Wait, I know what you are thinking, “It’s the week between Christmas and New Year’s, nobody does any work this week.” And that my friend is why this is the perfect week for you to tidy up those loose ends.
Do you know anyone who really and truly isn’t checking their email this week? I know I don’t. If your experience is like mine the volume of email I am receiving today and expect to receive the rest of the week is a fraction of what I normally see. That means I am more likely to read the emails I do receive more promptly than I otherwise might. Which means, if you need to get in touch with me, this week is great; the competition for my time is minimal.
Now, if that is true for me, don’t you think it is also true for whoever you need to contact? If you wait until January 3rd, like everybody else, you will be… well… in the inbox with everybody else. So who did you need to get in touch with? What project do you have that really needs your boss’s ear to be able to move forward? What prep work can you do this week so the you are can explode into the new year rather than starting the process after the new year?
Take this “lost week” and look back. Did you drop the ball anywhere? What pieces to the puzzle that will be 2011 are still missing? You still have this week to get them into place. Don’t waste it because “nobody works the week between Christmas and New Years”. It simply isn’t so.
