The Dog Days of August Already Came and Went

According to the calendar, we’re less than half-way through the hazy, lazy dog days of August. Traditionally it’s “Out of the Office” (OOO) season when everyone is on vacation, packing to go, or still reliving the great time they had at the beach, sailing on the lake, or traveling abroad.

But if you think you can take the entire take the entire month off like the Europeans do, or just “pop” into the office to catch up on things in your flip flops, reflect on the year to date, and rest up for the post-Labor Day whirlwind of pent-up decision-making and the Q4 budget grind, think again.

The pace of technological change and the uncertainty of our economy, interest rates and geopolitical risk means things are simply moving much faster than they used to. So has day-to-day life.

Sure, things are a little slower for everyone in August, but that’s when you’re best prospects have some time to breathe, too. Chance are, they’re ready to pull the trigger on the contract or engagement letter you sent them long ago. How many OOO messages from you will they tolerate before moving to plan B?

I’m not suggesting that your Holiday card should be at the printer already, but you better be ready to hit the ground running well before Labor Day.

“I don’t view August as a month to write off while waiting for Labor Day,” said Dan McMahon, founder of Integrated Growth Advisors. “There’s still a third of the year in front of us. It can be a great time to think, make the decision you’ve been putting off, and get positioned for what comes next. Besides, my wife is a teacher, and school is already back in session in my home state of South Carolina. The calendar tells me it’s still summer, but it doesn’t feel like summer anymore.”

Forget the five-day work week

But that “third of the year” is not as much time as it appears to be. For starters, a normal five-day work week is the exception not the rule this time of year. We have 16 weeks (approximately 80 workdays) left to work with, but Labor Day comes late this year (September 7^th), and official three-day national holidays have become four- and five-day events these days. So there go the weeks when Columbus Day and Veterans Day roll around. Then you have the Jewish Holidays also in September, Thanksgiving in November and of course, Christmas and Chanukah. That gets us down to six or seven “normal” workweeks, excluding any sick days and travel days you have on your calendar.

That’s doesn’t leave much time for anything more than getting through the week/month/quarter, does it?

So, take the time now to make some big decisions you’ve been putting off – a key hire, website redesign, CRM upgrade, new service line, writing a book – and start getting the kinks out before the phone starts ringing off the hook after Labor Day.

I don’t have any scientific evidence to back this up, but I’d say, any heavy lifting you do in August is worth 5x the effort of the same lift done in September through December. It’s hay in the barn. Once the harvested hay is safely stored under a roof, it is protected from weather damage, meaning the critical labor is done and you can trust the results

Slowing down to speed up

"Slow down to speed up" means taking a deliberate pause to plan, organize, or fix fundamentals so you can work much faster and smoother later. Rushing without preparation often leads to costly mistakes and delays, whereas a short investment in clarity saves massive amounts of time down the road.

*** Writing stuck? Here’s how to get through the August doldrums?

“Don’t let ‘after Labor Day’ become a parking lot for decisions you already know you need to make,” advised McMahon. “August may be slower, but it doesn’t have to be lost.”

Ping me any time. I’m happy to help.