Dear Reader,

I need to start by stating a really bold truth: It’s weird for me – especially as a Canadian —  to sit and write this note to a predominantly American audience in the aftermath of the American Presidential election. What y’all have just been through is a Big Deal, no matter what side of the aisle you favour. Elections are Big Deals, no matter the outcome, for many reasons, not the least of which is that they represent impending change.

And sometimes, change doesn’t feel too welcome.

We each have our own ways of navigating change, honed by all the years we’ve lived on this great Earth. Some of us embrace change. Some of us would rather tuck ourselves into the corner with a good book. Some of us rail against it. Some of us try to pretend it’s not happening. And some of us do all of those things depending on the moment!

As someone who has had the honour of witnessing others in periods of change both great and small for decades now, and who has also endured their own fair share of changes, both great and small, for even more decades (LOL), I’d like to offer one word, if I may, that has served me and those I know quite well:

Rhythm.

This word – this concept – this practice – showed up for me quite overtly when I made the decision to enroll my kiddos at our local Waldorf School. Every single thing about the way that kids and teachers move and learn and grow and play is connected to rhythm.

And I don’t just mean the tapping of shoes and the clacking of instruments (although they do their fair share of that at Waldorf, too!)

What I mean is that the entire Waldorf Way is constructed with rhythm in mind. Hourly, daily, and seasonal rhythms…bodily, musical, and conversational rhythms…

You can actually feel it when you enter a Waldorf school.

There’s a gentle pulse underneath all that is happening – the painting, the building, the mathematics, the arts.

One might even call it a heartbeat.

And it is as intuitive as it is intentional. And that might be what I love most of all!

We all have access to our own rhythms – our breath, the beating of our own hearts – and we witness other rhythms in nature – the changing of the seasons is an excellent example as the leaves are surely and steadily dropping from the giant maples that surround my home.

But my question to you in this moment is: Have you considered intentionally bringing rhythms into your work? Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal rhythms that you can count on, that are there for you, to hold you, and support you, in time of changes both great and small…is there a heartbeat in your business?

Once upon a time, I might have rebelled if someone suggested to me that I might like to use – gasp! – time blocks in my daily calendar to create rhythm. I might have said something like, “This gal does not want to play within the confines of a coloured box in my Daytimer!” (Yes, that was back in the day of  paper calendars!)

But slowly and surely, I embraced it. And now my calendar (digital, finally!) is a fine-tuned machine that I love to gaze at: So colourful, so intuitive, so intentional!

I added weekly rhythms (certain meetings fall on Fridays, others on Mondays) and monthly rhythms (no client appointments during the fourth week of the month) and seasonal rhythms (we review all our tech, for example, each winter, and clean up the CRM each spring).

Each and every one of these rhythms carries me forward into my future like the beating of a drum. And I rely on them. I count on them. In times of change, both great and small, it is these rhythms that have gotten me through every single time.

I invite you to consider what rhythms you might like to create in your own world – at work, and at home – as you contemplate the changes ahead.

You can find more from Rebecca at Plaid For Women or connect with her on her website.