As 2018 comes to an end, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and experience extra levels of stress. Not only do you need to close out items at the office, but you’re likely bustling from one holiday party to the next and you may have more obligations on your social calendar than other months. Knowing this time of year often has others feeling anxious about everything that needs to happen, we decided to focus on gratitude at the Academy office.
Instead of asking everyone to come up with one generic thing that he/she is grateful for, we decided to create a 15 Days of Gratitude activity. Since we have our team both onsite in our San Diego office and others who work remotely, we wanted a way to bring our team together and start their day with a positive mindset. We came up with a list of 15 prompts to start the discussion on a #gratitude channel on Slack devoted solely to this topic. Every morning at 8am a designated person posts the prompt and others can chime in throughout the day when they have time. If everyone works onsite at your office, you can post these questions on a bulletin board in the office or share them through email. The key is getting enough people to share consistently, so everyone can reap the benefits of looking for the positives in their life.
Some prompts were fun and silly, for example: What is a fun activity/memory you were thankful for this year? Another was: Describe the last time you laughed so hard, you (almost) cried?
We also wanted to guide our team to reflect on things that may have been hard or a struggle, but to recognize they came out stronger on the other end. For example: When was the last time you took a risk that you were grateful for taking? What was your experience?
As I write this, we are wrapping up our third week of this activity and heading into day 14 (we only posted Monday – Friday). It’s been a boost to hear what others value and enjoy. It has also helped me get to know others on our team who I’ve worked with for a number of years.
If you’re feeling the end of the year pinch, take a few moments to focus on what you’re grateful for today. It’s an easy and quick tool to shift your mindset back to the positive in your life.
Erin Mathew
Associate Director, Projects and Event Planning
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
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