Week three of the Advent season is a focus on joy. I know that when you’ve been laid off, that joy can be in particularly short supply. That’s a large part of why I include the “fun” section at the end of each post. I found during COVID that ending each day with a few /aww moments helped me sleep better and feel more content overall. Certainly, it was better than ending the day with more doomscrolling.

The truth is that joy runs much deeper than just a simple cute kitten or funny animal video. Joy is a deeper version of happiness or pleasure. It’s something you can experience even in tough times. Greg Anderson, a cancer survivor and prolific author, sums it up well 

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” 

While we focus on getting new jobs, starting new jobs, and running our business successfully, we have the opportunity to manufacture joy. Joy for others and ourselves. Taking time to be thankful for all the things we have can help us enjoy them all that much more. May you have a joyful Christmas and a wonderful holiday season.

Encouragement For the Newly Laid Off

Companies are continuing to layoff workers, even in December, in contrast to last year where layoffs dropped by 80% from November to December. The layoffs are also continuing to affect other areas beyond technology companies. For those who are experiencing this for the first time, or are newly laid off again, you’re not alone. Many people experience a layoff sometime in their career. There is a wealth of writing out there to support you in your personal growth, reflection, job search, and more that comes. Find support in your friends and your community. Start something new right away and stick with it. Hopefully you’ll be re-employed in no time, and you’ll have added a new skill.

There is the old adage that if you just get 1% better each day you’ll be 37X better after 365 days. And while that’s solid math, the truth is that humans don’t grow linearly, let alone exponentially. This article gives some much more practical advice (12m read) on improving yourself: pick something to dramatically improve, something to care less about, and something to improve somewhat. Reinforce your work with tracking, baselines for your efforts, and incremental improvements to your process/goals. It’s almost New Year’s resolution time, there’s a lot of great inspiration in here for 2024. 

All Work And No Joy Makes Jack a Dull Boy

Last week was brutal. We were double or triple booked nearly every night and had three(!) sports tournaments (for two kids no less) on the weekend. But that week is behind us. On to the next. 

Not so fast. I got up Monday morning and hit an absolute brick wall of “nope.” I had no motivation. I had no energy. I had no creativity. No patience. You get it. I needed rest. 

I didn’t take the whole day off, but I did take a much needed coffee break to catch up with my wife. I was in bed on time Sunday and Monday nights to recharge my body. I enjoyed a slow meal at home, as opposed to eating another meal in my car. I sat and enjoyed chatting with my kids and tucking in the little ones. I’m not fully recharged, but my motivation and energy are returning.

I can see in hindsight that I was burning out. I’ve seen this in employees, peers, and myself previously. This time of year can be very stressful: planning 2024 goals, reviewing 2023 performance, juggling time off for yourself and others, not to mention all the family commitments, holiday parties, Christmas concerts, and so many more things. Recovering from burnout can take a while (12m read, but I skimmed TBH), but with active effort and support the timeline for recovery should be manageable.

Fun