Transition week continues…
We hit that time of year where fall sports are fully over and the late fall/early winter have not totally geared up. Mother Nature seems to have a similar feeling here on Long Island. So this last weekend was our “transition” weekend.
Heavy winter coats out, vest & light coats boxed up for the spring. Sandals put away to make room for the winter boots. Changing over clothes as some no longer fit in size or in season. Rotating items between children. Making lists of new items everyone needs for the upcoming winter. We tried on snow hats, gloves and scarves… some too small, some we out grew in maturity. And then, we brought all of the Christmas and Hanukkah indoor decoration bins in.
We did not crack into them yet, but this week it begins.
The evolution of dying mums, black eyed-susans and hydrangeas; all of whom still look festive and propped up next to green cabbages and planning of new holiday decor meets our classic. The kids planned which stores we will visit this week to determine which few items will be newly purchased to prepare for the season.
And the calendar planning. Cannot forget my Gabriel Estate Book that holds the key to all the logistics. At this point, there is not a day between now and 1/1/2026 that does not have 75% capacity filled or more. Tickets are purchased for the magical events. Plans are made with friends. And this past weekend, I even had to coordinate my ideal birthday party dates for my February and April birthdays! INSANE it may sound, but this moment in time flies by.
The transition.
I am very thankful to be hitting my 6 month moment of Gabriel Consulting Services and no longer in a corporate window during the transition. Because everything I rattled off at home happens in the corporate office too. Sure I have clients going through this, but it is different when you can be air traffic control vs. leading the political campaigns.
See, as air traffic control I share watch-out moments, near misses and ways to just keep the schedule of flights close to on time. But, when I was in-house, I had to help navigate the political power of the transitions. Every role has transition and every role is over 75%, I would dare say maybe 80% at capacity on additional work daily. And that does not include the day-to-day stuff to stay a float. I am no math major but we have now hit a 180% mark in a "40” hour work week.
If you are smirking or giggling, it is because you know. You know all those project managers racing to say they completed a project by year end. All of the leaders saying “couldn’t we just get this done.” And inevitably those political moments where it is a “we must prioritize.”
See, the end of the year should be for clean-up and planned moments of execution, but that becomes par for the course as the transition hits organizations the same way it hits at home. A sense of panic to get all of the clothes rotated, to get all of the right decorations out, to make sure all the magical moments are planned for, on the right day, at the right time, with the right guests and maybe even matching outfits.
So as you are doing your normal end of year close out, on top of the planned projects that land in Q4, on top of the last minute budget planning that was already supposed to be done… the transition hits. Plan holiday parties, get engagement moments on the calendar, make sure the final townhall has recognition, help the 1 to 100 people asking for 5% of your time to land a project (because it needs to be done or because politically it has to be done) and don’t forget your home life is transitioning too so leave timely, do not be too on (aka limit your device time) when you are around your loved on and start to plan Q1.
There has to be better ways to plan for this. I have to say, I have gotten better at home over the years. I actually enjoyed my transition weekend so much. It was not stressful, it was planned. I knew what to expect and most of the holiday season was done by Halloween so now I get to just enjoy. That is not to say it is not a lot, its to say there is hope. You can have a good transition to close out the year.