In my February blog post, I discussed waning motivation as we experience post-holiday blues and struggle to convert resolutions into healthy habits and lifestyle changes. That was 2 months into the new year, and here we are now with less than 2 months left of 2024. Let’s reconnect – how are we doing?
In that post, I shared my difficulty landing a copy of Matthew McConaughey’s book Greenlights, but a kind colleague came to the rescue (shout out to @Jenna Whelan!). Boy, it did not disappoint.
He describes “green lights” as the moments when life feels in flow, doors open, opportunities present themselves, and everything aligns to move smoothly in the direction you want it to go. These are the times when things feel easy, you’re on the right path, and your hard work and decisions come together in ways that propel you forward.
McConaughey also describes “red lights” – pauses, obstacles, or rejections, which can actually be an opportunity in disguise if we approach it with the right mindset. The key is to respond to red lights in ways that allow us to grow, adapt, and ultimately turn them into green lights.
The lights will be changing rapidly between red and green as we approach the end of the year. During this time many plan time off for holidays, family, R&R, resulting in an out-of-office limbo. Yet, maintaining top-notch service is critical. In true McConaughey fashion, here are some tips to reduce those disruptions in productivity and negative impacts on service during this busy season.
- Communicate early and often: Embrace early green lights by working effectively to cover your absence. Your team and customers won’t get stuck at red lights while you are out if transparency, flexibility, and thoughtfulness are top of mind before, during, and after your return.
- Anticipate and plan: Whether it is you or your colleagues planning time off, anticipation is key to maintaining top notch service and performance. Create a work back plan (with buffers) to ensure all deliverables are executed with time for review. Rather than waiting for life to get “less busy” in the New Year, actively look for, create, and embrace the green lights to keep the momentum moving forward.
- Avoid bottlenecking: The reddest light of all that leads to an avalanche of red lights into the New Year. If you get stuck at a red light, you risk catching the next green light. While all lights eventually do turn green, don’t wait. Turn right on red and get creative if you are dependent on someone else that is OOO. What can you be doing to move the project forward proactively? The perseverance and push will pay off.
- Lock in on “heads down” time: Red lights cause us to slow down and stop temporarily, but for good reason. They force us to think with intention on where to go next and how to spend our time. If things are “quiet” while others are OOO, use this to your advantage to carve out time for focused work and personal growth. Is there a training you’ve been wanting to take? Is there someone in your network you’ve been meaning to connect with?
Together, these lessons teach us to be adaptive and proactive in the face of life’s challenges (here, the holiday bustle and people in and out of office between now and the end of the year). We should actively seek out and embrace green lights when they show up, and equally, we should learn to work with, not avoid, the red lights. By doing so, we will continue to provide exceptional work and service.
Keep catching those green lights! Drop me a line in the comments or at leahm@idebamarketing.com if you’ve read the book or want to chat as we bring this year full circle.
– Leah McQuillan, Research Manager
