Here’s A New Year’s Resolution That’s Easy To Keep And Good For You

You don’t have to look very far to see that there’s plenty of anxiety throughout the field to go around. If history is any indication, we tend to have a hair trigger gloom-and-doom reaction when it comes to negativity (remember the economic downturn?). So much so, there’s always a risk of it evolving into self-fulfilling prophecy, but here’s a simple resolution that can help you not only avoid that bear trap but be a happier and more effective.

1) At the end of each day, write down one thing you’re grateful/thankful for or a goal you accomplished on a scrap piece of paper or Post-it note. Don’t forget to add the date.
2) Put it in a box, jar, or some other preferred keepsake storage receptacle.

Adaptistration People 161That’s it. Whenever you’re feeling down or angry throughout 2017, reach into the box and pull out some ready-made affirmation.

At the very least, this will help prevent cranial-rectal inversion syndrome and since positivity is infectious, you may inadvertently help friends and colleagues avoid stepping over the negativity funk precipice.

If You’re Digitally Inclined

If jars, boxes, pen and paper aren’t really your thing, go digital. The process is pretty much the same but use Google Keep or any other preferred list program; the only real requirement is it should be easy to access and quick to use.

One added benefit here is most list programs provide the ability to export the list which opens up some fun possibilities to email yourself one item per day at random or create a sort of affirmation themed word cloud.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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