As Thanksgiving passes, Black Friday fades and Cyber Monday extends into a newly founded “Cyber Week,” I find myself digging out of the clutter and chaos that seems to grow during the holidays.
Hear me out: I am a HUGE fan of the holidays (my husband says I would make a great Elf, although I’m a bit too tall). However, even while I research for this very blog, I find myself sifting through a plethora of ads on every web page. Those shoes I looked at once are now following me, a mountain of emails and schedule requests piling up, and just like that, I can feel bogged down with messages, wondering which ones actually matter. This brings me to my question: where are the days of purposeful holiday messaging, meaningful interactions and simply put, a holiday season that matters?
This year, it is my goal to slow down, think about what I am doing and saying and spread some real Christmas Cheer. In the world we live in, it is so easy to set ourselves on autopilot and just go: respond to emails, write a strategy, sit in meetings, meet friends for lunch and even interact with coworkers without ever stopping to think about our purpose. Honestly, how many times have you asked a co-worker or friend “how are you?” and not even waited for a response? It seems we have been programmed to send out a bunch of messages without any real purpose.
Call me old fashion (or as some have said, an old soul), but I long for the days where messages have meaning, conversations spread joy and people know they are cared for by others. So below are some simple steps I have decided to try during this hectic holiday season:
###STOP.
This may sound simple, but for me, it is the hardest one. Take time each day to stop checking emails, receiving text messages, checking Twitter and even thinking about the to-do and shopping lists waiting to be conquered.
###THINK.
Remind yourself of your purpose. What is it that drives you, excites you, gives you purpose? Is it faith, family or even beer? Spend time this holiday season reminding yourself what is really important. I am always surprised to see how much more intentional I am throughout the day when I take time to remember my purpose!
###SHARE.
Go! Do your daily tasks. Write a marketing strategy that carries meaningful intention, send an email that carries great inspiration, ask your coworkers how they are doing today and take the time to listen to the answer. Enjoy your family, explore our city, visit an old friend, do whatever it is that makes you stop and enjoy the holiday season that is upon us!
If we all (especially in the marketing universe) took a little more time to focus on purposeful communication, who knows the incredible results we could see! This holiday season, I am committing to focusing on being grounded in purpose and can’t wait to see the meaningful fruits of my labor! After all, it’s the most wonderful time of the year!
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