Last week while calling candidates and clients, I started asking them questions about the end of the year: “…Moving into Q4, let’s talk about where you see yourself in 2019” or “ What are your growth plans and your hiring initiatives for 2019?…”
It’s an easy conversation starter around this time of the year, but as I asked this question, it still wasn’t hitting me that it ACTUALLY WAS Q4.
As I was driving home recently, I heard a radio commercial counting down weeks until Christmas. “Make sure to go enter our online contest, with only 7 weeks left until Christmas...”
Excuse me, what?… you mean that there are only 9 weeks left to close out the quarter and for most to close out the year?
My mind started racing about all the things I HAD NOT done yet and immediately went into panic mode about how I could possibly get them done by the time January hits.
Now for those of you who know me or have been following my blog, might guess that I was caught in a sort of mental time warp earlier this year because I just got married in August.
It has been a long year of dreaming and planning. My attention and focus,especially for the weeks leading up to August 25th were on the wedding and not as much on work (sorry to my bosses Danny and Lisa!)
Then, right after our wedding we went on a two week honeymoon to Costa Rica, which was incredible. We danced, we ate, we went on adventures, and we laid out in the sun. It was truly a dream.
But then I woke up…
…waking up from that dream I felt off balanced, groggy and slightly cranky. I didn’t want to go back to my real life of worrying about hitting quota, waking up early and working out, or meal prepping. I just wanted to eat pasta, drink wine with dinner, and go on adventures all day long, high on life because I just married my best friend.
I was in this state of denial that I had to come back to real life for longer than I care to admit. I slowly started getting my mojo back, and then I blinked, heard that commercial and realized that October was almost over.
So here I was almost two months to the day of when I got married and I am thinking, “Wait, we are in Q4?!”
I may very well be the only person in the world that is in this dilemma, but I’m guessing that’s NOT the case. SOMEONE else out there has got to be feeling a little unmotivated and a little stressed that year-end is sprinting at us like a defensive lineman going after the quarterback. Let’s dodge the sack and make the best impact we can the remainder of the quarter
Here’s what I did to get my MOJO back:
Acknowledging it
No. This isn’t AA, but the steps they go through are legit and work. Like any problem, I had to acknowledge that it was a problem so that I could take the first steps to getting past it. Then, the first thing I do when I am faced with anything good or bad, I talk about it.. A lot. Talking about it and putting it out there helps me start to think of ways that I can turn this ship around, ASAP.
Positive Self-talk
Most of us are our own worst critics. We pick ourselves apart in an unfair way and then feel like dump after. This is exactly what I do when I go in panic mode. But, with so little time left to the year I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself. Instead, I decided to impersonate “The Little Engine That Could” and repeated to myself, “I can do this. I can do this.” Over and over and over again.
“Let’s Get Physical!”
I’ve never seen Olivia Newton-John’s music video to that song until I wrote this post. It was quite disturbing. Love Olivia, not the video. Regardless, I personally feel as if there is nothing that gets me more jacked up to get my life in motion than going on a run or taking any type of workout class. Positive energy from endorphins is very real and I totally advise you to get moving to get your mind and body ready to work.
“Where Can I Make an Immediate Impact?”
In recruiting, they always say to start your day with what’s most important and where you can make an immediate impact (i.e., bring you closer to that final sale). I took a long hard look at my desk and made a list of people I should call. I started with those I’ve spoken with before / had relationships with so I could get the ball rolling faster. Then I picked up the phone and started dialing.
Planning Ahead
Since I was completely hit in the face by Q4, I wanted to make sure that wouldn’t happen for me again in Q1. I had tons of time to plan and lay the groundwork down for a great Q1, so I started planning people I wanted to meet, conferences I wanted to go to, and approached many of my cold calls about how I can help them with their 2019 hiring initiatives.
Finding Gratitude
Finding gratitude and always remembering what you DO have in your life is THE most important practice to get into everyday. I think of gratitude as the expressway to joy. When your focusing on everything you have in your life (and we all have so much to be grateful for) you can help snap yourself into a mental state of abundance and not a state of lack. That abundance mindset is what attracts more goodness into our lives. “Where focus goes, energy flows”
I hope something from this resonates with you! It really did help me get my mojo back for and I am off to the races for this sales quarter and the ones ahead.
Ready, Set, GO!
~Emily
