My “Wellness Hack” for Smoothing Out the Frazzles
September!
There’s just nothing like it, particularly for those of us experiencing the intensity and rigor of harvest. In the wine growing and winemaking worlds of the northern hemisphere, this is your busy season and the season that demands inventive “wellness hacks,” as Beck et al so helpfully outlined last week.
September is also a “shoulder season” when those of us in the commercial side of the industry gear back up after summer and turn to face the busiest selling and marketing quarter of the year. It’s also the time when we can feel the most frazzled and most pulled-in-all-directions and most how-will-I-ever-get-it-all-done.
I don’t have a helpful list of “wellness hacks” but I would like to offer one suggestion. It’s one that, for me, smooths out the frazzles quickly.
I look for the Incompletes.
What’s an Incomplete?
The nagging email that hasn’t been sent yet. The various piles of paperwork on your desk. The little tweak to your website. The half-read book sitting on your bedside table. The laundry that hasn’t been folded or put away. The dishes that haven’t been washed. The food in the fridge that’s past its expiration date. The thank you note that hasn’t been written. Etc etc etc.
The Incompletes are the things that, as you survey your office or walk around the house, are a constant and draining reminder of all the loose ends and all the items that are clogging your to-do list. They’re nothing that will move the needle in a big way, but they fray our state of mind just enough to keep us distracted from more substantial progress elsewhere.
Looking for the Incompletes is the first step to less frazzle.
Because then, one by one, we can start to flip the Incompletes to “Done.” Normally it doesn’t even take all that long to do, but each one offers a satisfying sense of accomplishment, however small the victory. Small victory after small victory starts to add up, and soon we’ve built momentum and unclogged our to-do list of the less significant projects.
Heading into Q4, we need all the clarity of purpose we can get, with as little frazzle as possible.
Flipping the Incompletes to “Done” helps me with that.
Sometimes looking for the Incompletes happens daily, but sometimes it happens once every two weeks or so. The point is that it’s a tool that’s always available, but especially when the overwhelm of busy-ness creeps in.
I hope it helps.
Namaste,
Cathy
Meet The Tribe:
Our community is only as strong as the company we keep, and here we meet some of the folks who make our profession so dynamic.
David Gluzman
Chief Design Officer - BlackSquare.io / GWDB.io
Years In the Industry:
Approximately 10 years or so, but first caught the bug when I raced bicycles in Italy while in my late teenage years.
I first got caught up in the industry professionally with an online magazine I founded (before blogs were a thing), then starting a wine club in Canada in 2009 (WineCollective.ca), on the back of that spun up a tech company to help wineries sell direct to consumer (BlackSquare.io) and most recently have been working on a platform to allow wineries to share accurate wine information thru the Global Wine Database (gwdb.io). I’m based in Calgary, Canada (near the mountains) and travel to wine regions frequently.
My Biggest Challenge To Wellness:
Being an entrepreneur makes it difficult to place boundaries around when work starts and ends. Keeping energy levels high and a positive attitude with the ups and downs of business can be challenging. Knowing the limits of my own mental fortitude and physical well being is incredibly important to being able to function at my best.
How I keep it Together To Stay Well:
I commute almost exclusively by bike year round on my cyclocross bike in the summer and fatbike in the winter. This allows me to stay active without having to worry about going to the gym. Also fighting for a Strava segment after a long day at work is a great way to burn off some stress and reset.
When I travel I make sure to eat the freshest food I can while staying hydrated (especially when doing the jaunt to Australia). I always pack a pair of running shoes to enable me to sneak in a workout regardless of my environment.
Outside of working out I keep things in focus by subscribing to a variation of “getting things done” (https://gettingthingsdone.com/), where I keep track of all my tasks and communications in a way that helps keep my life organized. If I can deal with a task in less than 5 minutes I take care of it right away, otherwise I file it away to deal with at a later date.
You can find David on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
What We’re Reading:
There's no shortage of wine stories and media inundating our IN Boxes. Here's what has piqued our interest this week.
Are You Traveling for Work More Often than Not? Don't Let It Knock You Off Balance - by Cathy Huyghe, on Inc.com
“The secret, I think, is in finding points of micro-balance."
4 Ways Sales Reps and Buyers Can Avoid Friction - by Zach Geballe, on SevenFifty Daily
“For sales reps, managing the relationship with a buyer is often about problem solving."
Let's Meet Up!
As work life has it, we are traveling over the next few months and would love to see you. Check out details on the Let's Meet Up! page over at A Balanced Glass.
Folio Fine Wine Partners Portfolio Tasting in New York, Sept. 18 (Rebecca)
Women's Leadership Council, WSWA in Washington DC, September 21 (Cathy)
Sonoma County Wine Auction and Vinexpo Explorer, September 21 to 25 (Cathy)
Business of Wine & Food Tourism Conference in Cape Town, Oct. 17 (Cathy)
Wine Communicator of the Year Awards in Sydney, Nov. 6 (Rebecca)
Australian Women in Wine Symposium in Sydney, Nov. 16 (Rebecca)
Drop a line to rebecca@abalancedglass.com or cathy@enolytics.com if you are interested in getting together for practice, a chat or a great glass together.
