This weekend I saw Cirque’s ’Twas the Night Before… in NYC with my amazing friend Andrea Rouse, MBA, CMP, PMP, and it was a masterclass in two things: (1) Humans will turn anything into aerial equipment, and (2) the rest of us will cheer while quietly dissociating.
There were ribbons, ropes, swings… and a fancy hotel luggage mover rolled in like it was delivering your suitcase or towels. Reader, it did not. It eventually got pulled up and used as part of the routine.
The cart became airborne, which is exactly how end-of-year works! Something shows up looking normal, but 10 minutes later it’s hanging from the ceiling and you’re expected to perform on it like you trained for this.
Also, yes, someone did a routine fully by their hair bun. My scalp has not stopped whispering, “Unionize!”
And that’s the vibe right now.
Because holidays and year-end work come with the same illusion: sparkle = structure. Meanwhile, half of us are left wondering, “What IS the plot?”
We’re closing out performance reviews, staring down goal setting, trying to sound confident about next year while our brains are doing interpretive dance to seasonal stress. Outside of work, it’s travel, family, money, loneliness, joy, grief, and that gentle little existential crisis that shows up like a pop-up ad: “Would you like to question every decision you’ve ever made?”
So, we cope with distraction props:
The Shiny Object Sprint: sudden shopping, “new me” energy, cleaning like you’re preparing for a home inspection. Bonus points if you start writing at odd hours because it’s the only place your brain will let you put the unspoken things without saying it out loud.
The Work Equivalent: polishing slides instead of making decisions, building trackers instead of having conversations, changing tools instead of habits, volunteering for one more “quick win.” You know, “I’m fine” in spreadsheet form.
But a lot of our “productivity” this season is just avoidance wearing a Santa hat. So, if you want to find the plot again before January “circles back,” use SNAK… just one bite at a time though, not the whole buffet:
SKILLS: What capability would make Q1 less chaotic? (Be specific. Like: run a hard meeting, give feedback without apologizing.)
NETWORK: Who can you ask for clarity or context this week? (A sponsor or work bestie who tells you the truth with minimal violence.)
ACTIVITIES: One recurring thing you can stop or delay because it doesn’t move outcomes.
KNOWLEDGE: One thing you need to understand (the rules of the trapeze before you grab it.)
Then do the smallest real action tied to that lever. A conversation, a boundary, an honest sentence in your self-review that doesn’t sound like it was written by a PR team.
Let the sparkle, SPARKLE, rather than write the storyline.
So, tell yourself, because I don’t expect anyone to share this one out loud… what’s your current shiny distraction and what’s the plot you’re trying to avoid?
