"Well, it's the Holidays..."

Why we don't work

“Let’s not start this project until after the holidays.” “Well, the holidays are coming up” “Maybe revisit this after the holidays”

What the heck are the ‘holidays’? Well, when it comes to work, it’s apparently the last 2/3rds of the last quarter of the year.

Government is famous for this, I can’t speak too much to the civilian sector, but we tend to get the mindset earlier and earlier every year. I noticed it this year around friggin’ Halloween.

People were already starting to talk about “the holidays” since we were talking about a project and I caught myself doing it too!

Used to be, we would acknowledge a general slow down to shut down around mid-December. Then we backed it up to after Thanksgiving, then before and lately, right after Halloween. We’ve become as bad as Michael’s, Hobby Lobby and others who put out Christmas merchandise after 4th of July. Sheesh.

Let’s slow down. I agree the holiday period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a good time to slow it down a bit and then taking time off is certainly a good plan and a good rest and recharging time. But let’s not let it be an excuse to procrastinate or be lazy. Focus on the mission and the people, lead with intent and empathy but remember to set the course.

Lead forward

Semper Fortis

Chief Chuck