One of the great advantages that sport teams have over the regular work world is that they operate in seasons. They measure themselves by how they did in the prime part of their year, and prepare the rest of the year for the next season.
If they had a bad year, they regroup, make some trades, work on deficiencies and come back stronger next year.
For most people working in the workplace, work never stops, there are no seasons, and you can never put a close to a sad chapter. You just show up for the next year.
But as I’ve writing and mentioned before in other places, everyone needs a primetime, a season where you are pushing at full-speed, and the alternate seasons as well. Otherwise you have no way to measure one day against another and before long you settle into a hum-drum boring existence.
At the Rescue Mission, we are full EVERY DAY, 365 days a year, and we never close. But we have decided that Labor Day to New Years Day is our Prime Time and we work and gear for it like we are in our season. It helps create excitement, dictates when lineup changes are needed, and helps us to balance life throughout the rest of the year.
Here’s a few tips to help you select your primetime:
- The key sales season.
- When the students are returning.
- When peak volume is prodcued.
- When the community is paying attention to your work.
- When the weather is right. (Winter? Summer? Spring? Fall?)
- When your deadlines are due
No one can sustain peak performance all the time, you need to know when you are in your primetime, so that you can perform at maximum level.
How do you know when you are in primetime?
What do you do differently in your prime season?
David Curry
