Do you find yourself slowing down …
Growing up in Georgia with August being the hottest month in the summer … the term ‘dog days of summer’ really rang true. If you are not familiar with the term, let me explain it a bit from the southern viewpoint. The ‘dog days of summer’ is where it is so hot and humid that even dogs are just panting in the heat … not expending any more energy than was needed to survive as it was too hot!
The original meaning of the term came from the Greeks and Romans. To the Greeks and Romans, the “dog days” occurred around the day when Sirius appeared to rise just before the sun, in late July. They referred to these days as the hottest time of the year, a period that could bring fever, or even catastrophe.
Do you find yourself slowing down in the summer months when it comes to work? You take longer than normal time to complete that project or you decide that most people are vacationing so you can’t call them to talk business? Whether it is really too hot to have the needed energy for movement or it is the mentality of needing a break, most people slow down and take things a bit easier during the summer months. I remember working in the corporate office in Minneapolis where there were summer hours … basically saying to the rest of the nation – don’t call me on Fridays as I will not be there. This was a strange phenomenon to me and still is today.
I am all for hitting the pause button to have more time to spend outdoors to enjoy the summer months, don’t get me wrong. What I know is that having the time to pause is good as long as it is not a permanent condition. Pausing to be in the moment of the summer lazy hazy days is good especially when colder weather is around the corner. What is important is to decide how long that pause button is for you and sticking to a routine for productivity.
If you can’t fly, then run; If you can’t run, then walk; If you can’t walk, then crawl; … whatever you do you have to keep moving forward. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
Give yourself the time to pause … getting out of the routine will create increased productivity as long as you also put the discipline of productive work into the summer schedule.
Denise Hansard is a former corporate pricing expert turned motivational speaker & life coach with a Masters in counseling who has coached hundreds of women to make 6 figures, find the love of their life and get super healthy. Author of the book Suffering in Comfort, she is an expert in transformation.