I’m a sucker for September!
I absolutely love the changing of the seasons, and what each season brings. Goodbye summer shorts and barbecues, hello woolly jumpers, hats, comfort food and time to light the fire!
Anyone who knows me well will know I love looking forward to what’s ahead. I get excited about the arrival of a new season, the morning mists and chilly mornings with sunny days that follow, the smell and the warmth of lighting my wood burner to keep off the evening chill. Living by the sea now, the mood changes from enjoying the warm sunny days on the beach, to the cold blustery days (especially in St Just) with dramatic lighting and the sea crashing against the sea wall. It’s exhilarating to watch the power and strength of the sea as it erupts into huge waves. Even the dogs know the sea’s starting to get that little bit colder so more of a time to paddle than swim!
There’s a renewed energy with work too, which I notice is common with my various clients and their businesses. With everyone getting back into their routines after the holidays, you notice a feeling of refreshment and drive as there’s usually a push forward with plans on what needed to be covered for the last quarter of the year. With projects to be set up and completed by the Christmas break, budgets reviewed for Q4, it’s definitely a busy time of year as we all consider how best to achieve the plans we set out at the start of the year.
Having worked for a large corporate company such as Roche, this was always a very busy time when you could feel the projects driving forward with deadlines in mind, and in addition to your daily workload, there were many further meetings as goals were reviewed, targets checked, international meetings organised for the year end. In my last couple of years there, I was also privileged to be a key member of the Christmas party committee, which involved many hours of meticulous planning to ensure you covered everything possible for a party of that size. Very hard work, but great fun (especially when your colleagues are so creative and have fantastic ideas!). As with any project, it’s always very rewarding watching your hard work coming to fruition and seeing the desired result being enjoyed by all your colleagues, especially after a busy year.
Seasonal trends
With autumn arriving, this has an impact on businesses and its staff, as our mindset changes from the excitement of summer and all the events it holds, to the plans for the last quarter of the year.
My clients have various lines of businesses and you appreciate the pressures they all face as you help them plan ahead. With Landscape gardening, knowing the weather can be their hardest stumbling block in the colder months, the push is to make the most of the next three months in the warmer weather before the ground becomes too wet or cold to work with. In joinery making allowances for how the damper weather will effect the expansion of timber and how glue and paint all take longer to dry, needs to be factored in when deciding which projects can be achieved timely outdoors. Planning here needs to stretch into the Spring months, arranging internal work in the winter months, whilst trying to maintain your clients targets and expectations.
With my role as a virtual admin, I know how they all work, and whilst they have their heads set on the actual works they need to complete, I understand what needs to run in the background to help support them in their roles, so we can make sure everything else is running to target, and communications can be maintained.
So much ahead to look forward to, and in between all this work planning, we get to have quality time enjoying the glory of autumn and all it holds.
Hogging the fire!!