Is “Spring Fever” Affecting your Work?

Balmy weather. Earlier sunrises. Later sunsets. Cacti and desert flowers in bloom along the highways. Does your mind wander more these days? You aren’t alone. Long a topic of folklore and poetry, Spring Fever captures our attention and our imagination.

If you’ve been cooped up in the house for months, these balmy days are an irresistible lure.

I called my brother in Seattle one day. No one was in the office. I called several other Seattle clients. Nothin’. Voice mail tag! You’re it! Finally I got my brother on his cell phone.

“What’s going on? I can’t find anybody in Seattle! Where are you?”

“We’re on the lake.”

“It’s still a Tuesday in my book, what’re y’all doin’ on the freakin’ lake?”

“Oh, the sun is out.”

“So. The sun’s out here. And we’re working.”

“This is Seattle. We only get a couple of these days a year. No one’s in their offices. Call in a couple of days.”

Spring Fever in spades. I often wonder if we should just succumb like Seattleites do when the sun comes out. Maybe the tug tug tugging at us that makes us all ADD should just be answered. Go outside, enjoy the day, enjoy your life. Then get back to work tomorrow.

It might be easier to deal with spring fever if we own it. “Yep. I don’t want to be sitting in this chair working right now. I want to be outside.” I wonder if the world would collapse if I didn’t answer my calls for 24 hours. If I didn’t answer an email for 24 hours.

With my youngest brother’s recent death, I notice I’m more in tune with that. I mutter to myself, “In the grand scheme of things; in this tiny spinning planet stuck on the edge of the Milky Way, what does it matter if I take this afternoon off?”

Now, I realize I can only survive in business if I only take an afternoon or a day off. If I think I can do this every day until we hit triple digits (that’s what we call 100+ degrees in Phoenix) then I’ll be out of work in a heartbeat. A tad bit of discipline is called for here.

But the distraction caused by wishing and pining away for the outdoors may work against efficiency in the office. I’ve always advised that the quickest way to get out of overwhelm is to stand up, push away from the desk, and go do something else for awhile. Perhaps that’s also the response to Spring Fever.

And, since Scientific American definitively states Spring Fever is a legitimate state of mind, you might be able to justify a short break from work!

Enjoy your life!

Beth

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©2008 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc. All US and International Rights Reserved.