Junk Drawer Summer

We’re wrapping up a partial kitchen renovation and I can’t find anything anymore.

We all have a junk drawer. It’s the place where we put stuff that doesn’t have its own proper place, the odds and ends, the items we think we’re going to need eventually, but we’re not sure when.

For many of us it’s the most important drawer in the house.

Summer is the junk drawer of leadership (and life).

All year long we take things we don’t quite know what to do with, or when to do it, and assign them vaguely to take care of in the summer:

-”We’ll update the employee manual in the summer”

-”In the summer we can do some deeper learning about DEI and unconscious bias”

-”I’m going to spend some extra time on that project (or person) during the slower months of summer”

…the list goes on.

What are the tasks and ideas you’ve stuffed into the junk drawer of summer?

It’s natural to think that the change of pace will provide some relief, some space, some opportunity to focus differently. And every leader I know finds that very appealing.

But the reality is that a lot of us take most of our vacation in the 10 weeks between June 22nd and September 1st. And when we’re around the people we need to work with might be away.

On top of that is the way summer season changes the tone around work. Lots of people find it harder to lock in to focus when the sun is shining and it’s warm outside. Some organizations even shut down every Friday afternoon for their people to take advantage of this all to short season in Canada.

So how are we supposed to keep the regular operations running, let alone take care of all those extras we tucked into the summer junk drawer?

Honestly, you probably can’t. Like cleaning out the junk drawer in your desk or kitchen, you won’t actually find yourself with nothing better to do than pick up those tasks that weren’t important to do in the fall, winter, or spring but still felt like they should be on a list somewhere.

So, do some prioritizing. Give your self and your team 45 minutes this week to list everything in the summer junk drawer and decide which things realistically can and should be done in the least professionally productive part of the year. Then cut that list down by at least 30%. Anything else needs to be rebooked into September or beyond.

And if you find yourself with a little extra space it may be a great time to do a little extra reading, explore a project you can advance on your own, take a walk to catch up with a colleague or mentor, or reconnect with the front lines of your organization.

Heres the thing, the rhythm of summer is a good thing. Changing the vibe of work is often a welcome refreshment, but it won’t serve the purpose if you spend it feeling lousy about not doing all the things you put off during colder weather.

Give yourself a real break. And if you don’t know where your staple remover is, check the junk drawer.