Nice Work: You’ve accomplished more than you think

Hey there,

Remember that meme last year about how Shakespeare wrote King Lear during a plague lockdown—as if all that was standing between us and creative genius was a little hustle? And then there were the counter-memes: Sure, Shakespeare wrote King Lear. But he wasn’t supervising Zoom kindergarten at the same time. 

Once all the jokes had been made, a new message started to settle in: You don’t have to come out the other side of this with a masterpiece or a new skill or even an intact sourdough starter. You just need to get through it. Take it day by day. Don’t pressure yourself to perform. Breathe. Be. 

That sentiment helped lots of us, for a while. 

But here’s another truth: 21 months of just keeping your head above water starts to wear on you. 

I can see it with my clients. Many of them tell me they’re struggling to write self-assessments for their performance reviews right now. Key accomplishments? Big wins? Future goals? The whole thing feels like it’s from another planet. “I don’t think I did anything this year,” one told me. 

Like lots of you, this person had big plans before the pandemic—career moves to make, events they were excited about, professional growth goals they cared about. And when those things fell apart, nothing took their place—they were just getting by, day by day. 

But humans have a core need for a sense of progress. When that need goes unmet for a prolonged period—like, say, almost two years—it’s pretty deflating. 

So if you’re craving a sense of progress right now—the feeling that you’re going somewhere, not just treading water—know that you’re not alone. It’s normal. But trying to achieve the goals you had two years ago probably won’t fix it. The world has changed. You’ve changed. 

So instead, I’d like to challenge you to use these last weeks of the year to look back on 2021 with a new lens, and to identify some different types of accomplishments for yourself—ones that might not have been on your goals list back in January, but that are meaningful nonetheless.

A few questions to ask yourself as you close out this year: 

• What’s something you did this year that past-you would never have imagined?

• Think of a time when things felt truly impossible this year. What did you do to keep going anyway? 

• What’s something you learned about yourself this year? How might that new knowledge help you in the future?   

• What old beliefs or habits that weren’t serving you did you let go of this year? What did it take for you to let them go? 

• What can you celebrate about how you showed up to this rollercoaster of a year? Where did you face adversity with your values intact?  

Personally, I had a rough year with some big losses made more painful by pandemic stress. My confidence—in my work, in my ideas, in my ability to live my values—took a hit. At times, I wondered if I was a big fake, a bad friend, a hypocrite, and a has-been. 

But when I ask myself those questions, I can also see that this year has given me new strengths and perspectives. I reckoned with old baggage around control and boundaries, and forged new friendships and work relationships that fill me with gratitude and connection. I faced hard conversations with integrity and compassion, apologized without expecting anything from it, and let go of a whole bunch of shame. None of this was what I expected this year. But all of it means something to me. All of it made the programs I launched and the work I did with clients this year stronger. And all of it will carry me forward. 

So what’s on your accomplishments list this year? I’d love to hear about it. Hit reply and let me know. 

—Sara

Goal-Setting for Uncertain Times

New event coming January 11

Psst! We’ve just opened registrations for our first event of 2022: a low-cost workshop designed to help you define your intentions and priorities for the new year—ones that are meaningful, flexible, and attainable. So you can keep making progress, even if 2022 is another rollercoaster. 

Registration is $20, and there’s a free option for anyone who can’t afford a ticket. Best of all, 100% of proceeds will go to support Afghan refugees currently resettling in our home base of Philadelphia. 

On the reading list

1. The Promise of Remote Work Has Not Yet Been Realized

2. The Best Time Management Advice is Depressing, But Liberating

3. How Leisure Time Became Work

4. What White People Need To Know About Racial Trauma In The Workplace

5. A CEO who implemented a 4-day workweek in July says her company ‘will never go back.’