Approaching the Busiest Time of Year with an Attitude…of Gratitude

October 22, 2019

This time of year, whatever you call it – Q4, fall, the last 90 days, the (almost) holiday season – is usually the busiest for most businesses. After a sleepy summer, client events are ready to activate. Award season is also usually on high, if you’re fortunate enough to participate, or to celebrate a client being honored. And, of course, there’s the ever-present push to meet (or exceed) year-end goals, and with the end of the calendar year staring you in the face, the pressure is ON.

But during a check in with some of my favorite professional development professionals, the #last90days initiative crossed my feed. If you haven’t heard of this, #last90days is a practice whereby, with that aforementioned end-of-year fast approaching, you double down on your goals. Initially, I balked. Frankly, I’m just trying to keep my head above water here, and I know a lot of busy businesspeople are with me on this. But – I also couldn’t get it out of my head. I kind of like a challenge, and I don’t like when anyone tells me I can’t take something on, even if the “anyone” is the discouraging voice in my head.

So I considered several goal-oriented possibilities in my mind. I could try to get to one networking event per month during these last few of the year, or schedule a targeted number of one-on-one meetings to bridge new connections. I could eliminate one inflammatory food group, or make a pledge to get more sleep – each a thing that, while more of a personal goal – would no doubt contribute to a clearer mind and higher productivity at work. But when I read about the idea of starting a daily gratitude practice, that’s when I, personally, decided to double down. A daily gratitude practice can be as involved as purchasing a journal or tracker made just for recording what you’re grateful for each day. Or, it can be as simple as a list jotted into the Notes section of your smartphone. In my daily gratitude practice, however, I’m going to write down the five things I feel gratitude for each morning. I’ll sit down, and put pen to paper with these five things. Historically, I’ve been good about ending the day with a moment of thanks for whatever the day brought me, but I’ve never began that way. In fact, I usually start with a bang – alarm ringing, out of bed, off to a workout, and then onto the tizzy of getting kids on the bus, and starting a long commute to work. If I started with gratitude though, how might my day shift? I’m hopeful to find out, and perhaps you’ll join me.

I’ll start. Here are five things I’m grateful for in business today:

• My super supportive, funny and smart co-workers.
• Work that excites me, and never gets “old”.
• Two super successful client events behind us.
• The anticipation of our November Snacknation delivery.
• My new working stapler because…the little things are really the big things, am I right?!

What are you grateful for on the job today? I’d love to hear.

With gratitude,

Kate