A Change of Scenery, Getting Things Done, and Team Building
Your to-do list is overflowing with tasks that have been pushed off for months or maybe even years. You’d be a lot more organized, if only you had the time, right?
Every so often, taking a brief little sabbatical helps dedicate time to organizing those internal tasks that would ultimately make your life so much easier. Sometimes the only way to get on track with all those back burner projects that pile up is to hit a hard pause on everything else that goes on in your day-to-day.
We call these time outs Factory Week, inspired by the team at SmallBox – it’s a week to work on our “wish list” tasks. You know, those things that would be so much easier if only you had the time to focus on them. We are on Factory Week this week, focusing on launching a freshly updated website, organizing a library of our methods, and developing ways to keep in touch with people who come to our sessions.
Plan a few weeks ahead, and go, more or less, off the grid. Turn off your emails, put client projects on hold for a week, and prioritize a few ambitious, but realistic “if only we had the time” things to accomplish. Dedicate the week to getting them done, and client work will ultimately be improved in the long run.
1. A Change of Scenery
Getting out of the office is essential to creating the mindset for Factory Week. Sure, we check our emails and of course we can be contacted, but getting out of the office ensures that you’re not distracted by your normal routines. Quickly going to talk to that one person to check on that one thing can easily derail your morning, putting you on track to ignore Factory Week altogether. This is only one reason why changing your scenery can change your perspective. It can also re-inspire your team, help you get out of a rut, and make it easier to have fun with the serious tasks at hand.
2. Getting Things Done
When you get out of the office, it’s much easier to finish things you can’t usually finish. The whole point of Factory Week is focusing on things you don’t usually have the time or focus for. Factory Week is a well-deserved breath of fresh air, but it can also be a time to transform a team’s entire outlook.
3. Team Building
Nothing brings a team together like accomplishing something big in a different environment… and accomplishments should be rewarded! Celebrating big wins that reduce future complications makes teams feel valuable, valued, and empowered. Our team uses this momentum to make sure we spread those positive vibes to our community. We commit an afternoon to volunteering, which brings us together even more while empowering us to give back to our community.