The tide going out

Summer is in full effect (at least for those of us up here in the northern half of the globe).

While our industry isn’t as seasonal as something like a ski resort, there are patterns.

Of course, things slow down around the holidays and pick back up with the new year. Summer isn’t quite as dramatic, but I’ve got 8 years of data to show me that things tend to slow down.

Clients disappear on vacation, replies take twice as long, and that proposal we sent out is buried in someones inbox with all their other out-of-office replies.

So it’s not that uncommon for things to feel a little quiet. Quieter than normal, anyway.

The funny thing is, we spend most of the year wishing things would slow down. If we just had a free afternoon we could finally finish that blog post. A quiet week would mean we could start tackling our agency site redesign we’ve been needing for two years. Or shoot, maybe we could have a 3 day weekend just for fun.

Then summer actually hands us that time we’ve been longing for and we freeze. We’re the dog who spent months chasing the car, and now that we’ve caught it, we’re not quite sure what to do 😅

But the window doesn’t stay open long. Soon the kids will be back in school, clients will be back into “lets get this done before year end” mode, and the inbox will fill right back up. Soon we’ll be wishing for days like these.

So, let’s make the most of it while we got it.

Idea #1: Take some time off (or at least stop to enjoy the slow pace). Not every week needs to be optimized into oblivion. As a business owner, it never feels like we can afford to take time off. But what you really can’t afford is to burn out. Recharge the batteries!

Idea #2: Actually publish that blog post. You’ve been saying you want to do it, and now you’ve got the time. Put your own tasks into your project management system just like a client’s work. Now is that time you’ve been waiting for to focus on your own stuff.

Idea #3: Clean up. Maybe that means your physical space (rearranging the office always freshens things up), but more likely it’s your digital mess. Get the files organized, back up old stuff and get if off your machine, and fix up those automations that are only half working some of the time.

Idea #4: Plan for the rest of 2026. Dust off those goals you wrote down back in December and see what’s still left. The half way point is a great time to recalibrate and put together plans to tackle the next 6 months with intention.

The disruptions to our industry has made all of us a bit more anxious, but chances are the slow season isn’t he well running dry, it’s just the tide going out.