I always underestimate September. September is when back to school really starts (although my kids go back in August), conference season fires up again (everyone I know but me went to Gartner), and for some reason I always schedule personal travel in September (which I can control but somehow still don’t). All of this means a hectic month that doesn’t feel like it should be hectic, right?
So how do I deal with it? I try to focus on being present.
Present while I feed the chickens, because my husband is on a work trip.
Present while I swim laps, even though my lingering migraine thinks this is a terrible idea.
Present while I train suppliers for an upcoming e-auction, because everyone’s questions matter.
Present while on the internal strategy call, although I definitely spaced off on a recent Friday afternoon. (Dan Linney gave me grace, though!)
Present with my kids while we watch the OG Star Trek, despite their protests and eye-rolling because it’s foundational, dangit!
Present on my solo Oktoberfest trip, where I’m desperately trying to leave the laptop at home.
In September I find myself thinking too many things at once, that mental to-do list suddenly churning. When that happens, I remind myself that the mantra in September is to be present, no matter what’s happening around or within me.
We aren’t “not present” at the office because we’re sick or on vacation, we’re not present because there’s too much noise pulling at our attention. This makes me think of Dr. Sahar Yousef’s talk on productivity. All of the email and firefighting and demands from our team members, while valid and important, stop us from accomplishing the strategic things that move the business (and ourselves) forward. They’re the little dopamine hits that fool us that we’re accomplishing things, but instead lead us to burn out because we’re running the treadmill.
I confess I’ve never been good at guarding my strategic thinking time. There’s always email or a team member or an internal customer or a client who needs something. I’m getting better at it; I carve out time to write these articles every week to clarify and share my own thoughts. I clean up client process maps for the next time they need that documentation. I sit down quarterly and figure out which clients I can help more, which are ready to move on, and who in my network I haven’t talked to in a while.
All of these require concentration and effort, which require me to be present.
If your September is a bit overwhelming, take a couple deep breaths and try to simply be where you are. You’re not alone, and carving out moments to do a little strategic work will make Q4 a little easier. Consider reviewing my article on “Enjoy Your Holidays” with concrete thoughts from Mathew Schulz and myself on dealing with the end-of-year sprint.
We get one beautiful, interesting, overwhelming life. So let’s be present for it.
How do you stay present?
-Janice
This is a monthly series on a more personal note. If you’re more interested in the denser, supply chain/leadership articles, here’s a few from this last month:
Don’t Waste a Good Crisis: How Procurement Can Impact Standardization
-How and why we shouldn’t just leave standardization “to the engineers”
When Busy is a Supply Chain Problem
-The difference between busy and productive teams with some quick fixes to get you moving from busywork to true performance
How Much Should a CEO Know About Their Supply Chain?
-When a CEO is too deep into their supply chain and what questions they should be asking to get engaged in the source of their biggest external spend
You Know Something is Wrong. Do You Know Why?
-When and why an outsider perspective is needed sometimes to move the business forward
If you’d like to talk about being present, procurement, or anything else, let’s chat. If you’d like to get these articles weekly straight to your inbox and never miss one, sign up for my newsletter.
My book, Transform Procurement: The Value of E-auctions is available in ebook, paperback and even hardcover format: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F79T6F25. My chapter in the powerful anthology Femme Led: Hard-Learned Lessons from Women in Leadership is now available in ebook and paperback format: https://a.co/d/0bOzma8F
This post was written entirely by me and not by AI. The article summaries, title, and graphic may all have used AI to assist/generate ideas/edit, but the article content is fully human.
