For a lot of people, idle time can be a good thing. This is when they can relax…enjoy a sport…take up a hobby…just sit and read…commune with nature. You get the idea.
For some people, idle time can be a dangerous thing. “Idle hands are the devil’s playthings” and all that.
On this topic, I think I can safely say: I have nothing about which to worry. Idle hands are the furthest thing from my reality these days.
As I type this, I have no intention of sharing the details of all that’s going on. Having said that, I also recognize that there’s every chance that some tidbits will seep out. I’m not being intentionally vague or evasive. I just like you all too much to make you suffer through all the nonsense.
Then again, a good writer makes the reader feel as though they are part of the action. That’s the last time I compare myself with a good writer.
This has been going on for several months now…probably since late in 2017. Shortly after the calendar turned to 2018, I missed this column. It wasn’t that I was late…simply missing the deadline…no, I actually skipped a month. I simply did not have the time to devote to this prose.
Yes people…a thought process actually goes into these things. It may not always seem like it, but it’s there.
So…yes…I missed an issue. I have not missed an issue of this column since its inception many years ago (when this periodical was still published as Identity Marketing magazine). True story: I was supposed to be in the very first issue, but I missed the deadline. I made it to the second issue, and never missed another copy. Until this year.
That I missed an issue actually didn’t go unnoticed. I’m flattered to say that I actually heard from a few people, asking (a) if I was okay and (2) if I’ve stopped writing, did I think PromoJournal would be looking to replace me. There’s a reason that some of you are literally and figuratively on the “A” list.
I commented earlier today to the Trophy Wife that I haven’t written a blog post in a couple of weeks. I simply haven’t had the time or brainspace needed to do so. I’d actually had a blog about ten years ago (what a trendsetter I was!). I hated it. I hated writing it. I hated being reminded about it. I hated the obligation. It died an unnoticed death.
Regarding my current blogging efforts (found on my MikeSchenker.com website), well…that’s a different story. I actually enjoy it this time around. There’s timeliness and humor and topicality and, perhaps more importantly, feedback (something sadly lacking with my first go-round). So it pains me that I’ve missed so many posting opportunities. I’ll make it up to you…I just don’t know when.
This column is entitled “The LIFO Shuffle”, as LIFO is how I’ve found myself working lately. Let’s be thankful that it’s not entitled “The Curly Shuffle”. You either get that reference, or you don’t. If you don’t, we can’t be friends anymore.
LIFO (Last In, First Out) is an old accounting term. By definition, “An accounting method for inventory and cost of sales in which the last items produced or purchased are assumed to be sold first; allows business owner to value inventory at the less expensive cost of the older inventory; typically used during times of high inflation “. This may be a good method of accounting (if there’s math involved, you can assume this has gone over my head), but it’s an awful way of living your life. In simpler terms (which even I can understand): it’s the “squeaky wheel” syndrome.
I start the day with a set agenda in mind. Old schooler that I am, my desk calendar has a list of priorities which MUST get addressed this day. This is manually refreshed each day (you know…re-written on the next page) if something’s been missed, or left unfinished. How does that happen?
The problem is that my priorities don’t necessarily mesh with yours. If your priority suddenly becomes more urgent, or simply louder (or…the proverbial “squeaky wheel”), then everything on that calendar page gets pushed down a notch. Eventually, everything gets done. Please don’t ask me to clarify what qualifies as “eventually”.
I made it a point of blocking off time to write this column. It had to be done. I shut off all outside distractions…or as many as I could. Do you have any idea how loud an armada of garbage trucks can be? Closed windows be damned. FML. Nevertheless…the time got blocked, I waited for the garbage from all of south Florida to get collected (while watching a video of my granddaughter giggling…THAT’S time well spent!), and then got back to work. I am pleased to report that this column is now complete. I’ll let you be the judge if it was worth the time.
To those who would say that I should be thankful that I’m so busy…you know, better than the alternative…I say, “You know what…maybe just a little downtime wouldn’t be so bad”!
Mike Schenker, MAS, is “all that” at Mike Schenker, Consulting, where he assists businesses entering the promotional products industry, mentors professionals, and offers association management. He is a promotional industry veteran and member of the Specialty Advertising Association of Greater New York (SAAGNY) Hall of Fame. He can be reached at mike@mikeschenker.com.