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Are You Sizzling or Fizzling?

Welcome to June! We’ve just finished the leftovers we barbequed on Memorial Day, and so summer season has officially begun. Plus, for many of us on the East Coast, we’ve already seen our first handful of 90-degree days. The summer sizzle begins.

Are you sizzling at work, too? From the stories I hear from my clients, audiences, and friends around the country, it’s clearly a myth that summer means a slower, more relaxed time. While my Manhattan buddies may still escape early on Friday to beat the traffic to the Hamptons (good luck with that), most of you find that summer work can be just as crazy.

A client recently said to me, “I’m dreading the summer. It’s like we spend the first half the year deciding what to do, then start in June to try to get it all done by September so we can have it ready in the new year. We shoehorn a year’s worth of work into these three months that are supposed to be the fun ones.” What a fizzle!

What if he could have said, “I love the summer. After we do all the important planning in the first half of the year, we get moving fast in June and get it all done by September so it will be ready in the new year. It’s the culmination of all our work and it’s the most fun, energizing and productive time!” Now that would sizzle!

Are you sizzling–or fizzling–at work this summer season? If you’re in need of a little more sizzle, here are a few ideas to keep your worklife as hot as the sidewalk in Atlanta:

  • Build a new relationship. Who’s the colleague, client or competitor you’d like to get to know better? Why not ask them to lunch or coffee (“I realized we don’t know each other that well, and I’d enjoy learning more about what you do and how you do it. Lunch Tuesday?)
  • Make uncomfortable your new comfortable.
  • If you work with lots of people (which most of us in organizations do), schedule a day all to yourself; no meetings, no calls, no deadlines, no expectations–just your own genius work. Go hide and get something done that makes you feel great.
  • Discover your superpowers (now, you KNEW I’d say that, didn’t you? What are you waiting for–the tools are F*R*E*E!!)
  • Stop doing something. Drop the ball–see if anyone notices.
  • Get some rest. It’s not optional anymore–it’s an essential part of making work work.

QUESTION: How are you keeping the summer sizzling at work? Or, are you fizzling and need some ideas?