Don’t Panic! Turn the Page

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I am posting this on the eve of potentially my least favorite New Year’s ritual – the first week of the year freakout.  The last 2 months of every year are traditionally a race to the finish.  The adrenaline of 2011 planning + meeting end of year goals + an endless stream of parties is an intoxicating combination that leaves us all ready for a long winter’s nap.  Then we wake up and…

Where’s all that stress?  Where’s my to do list with 25 urgent things for to attend to that allow me to NOT think about which are important or not.  The absence of the adrenaline-fueled fever pitch of activity can often create its own type of stress.

The opportunity is to not to absorb this time for regrouping as stress.  With some rest under your belt and a fresh outlook, take time to make a list of what is important to you – creating long term goals for a client project, capturing that experience you had as a training for colleagues, writing an abstract for an upcoming speaking opportunity, or a list of blog posts you’d like to research and write – and keep it next to your desk to attend to at any time you have a moment that is undirected.  If you have goals that those can ladder up to – so much the better.

This may help keep you on track and feel even more accomplished the next time the annual look back/look forward ritual takes place, but at the very least could reduce some of the anxiety around turning this particular calendar page.