Keeping One Oar in the Water: How to Beat the Midsummer Slump
Mindset · From Student of the Game
Keeping One Oar in the Water: How to Beat the Midsummer Slump
Brad Noll recorded this episode just after the Fourth of July, and he admits it might be a message for himself. His oldest had just graduated from high school. The family renovated part of the house, hosted a graduation party, and welcomed relatives from out of town. Half his team was spread across different states for vacations and kids' sports. Team meetings got postponed.
All good things, Brad says. But they are also distractions. In this episode of Student of the Game, he calls it summertime madness and asks a simple question: how do you keep one oar in the water?
Win the First Four Minutes After Halftime
Some of Brad's coaches recently asked him what halftime was like when he played college basketball. His answer was immediate. Coming out of the locker room, the only thing that mattered was winning the first four minutes before the first media timeout. That stretch created the momentum for the whole second half.
Midsummer is halftime for the year. Whether you are behind on your goals or ahead of them, Brad believes the next four weeks are critical. And just like in a game, halftime is a fine time to rest. Brad's family spent the holiday at the lake boating, tubing, and floating. Rest is not the problem. Staying in rest mode is.
Summer brings real slowdowns. Clients go on vacation. Production slows down, and so does tracking. Most small business owners, Brad says, head into summer thinking they will catch their breath and end up losing their momentum. He remembers doing about 90 days straight of yoga, then flying to a real estate conference in California and never picking the streak back up.
“I think drift is the most dangerous place there is. I think if you tell me I'm giving up this year, that's more noble than drifting.”
Brad Noll
Burnout Is Not Always Overwork
Brad pushes back on the idea that burnout always comes from working too hard. He believes it often comes from being disconnected from your purpose, or from a lack of measurable wins. When you are drifting, you never feel your chest hit the finish line ribbon.
"I think drift is the most dangerous place there is," he says. In fact, he thinks deciding to give up on the year would be more noble than drifting and hoping for great results.
Three Signs You're in a Mid-Year Funk
Brad shares three signs he has noticed, in himself included:
- You are not prepared for Mondays. Brad actually loves Mondays, but not planning the week is a warning sign. He has heard it said that for the self-employed, your boss is the person who was thinking clearly when they planned the week.
- You stop tracking. A shortened week from a wedding or vacation does not mean skipping the activities that matter. It means doubling up. Even at the lake, you can walk your steps.
- You are busy, but not building anything meaningful. Errands and busy work fill the calendar without moving anything forward. Brad quotes a phrase he once heard: if the devil can't get you bad, he'll get you busy.
On tracking, Brad borrows from his wife Lindsay, a former nurse who worked on a med-surg floor. Throughout her shift, she checked vital signs to make sure patients were healthy. Brad asks business owners what their vital signs are. When you stop tracking them, you are saying you are done checking whether your business is healthy.
He also leans on a line from James Clear's Atomic Habits: we do not rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems.
Three Steps to Get Back in the Game
Step one is to reconnect with your mission. Reread your vision, your why, your word of the year, and your goals, then set new ones for the next month or quarter. Brad's word of the year is elevate, built around the idea that those who humble themselves will be elevated. When he is distracted, he notices he is focused on himself and his to-do list instead of helping others win. He suggests a gut check: would the January version of you be proud of the July version of you?
If the answer stings, Brad says not to beat yourself up. One of his affirmations, which he credits to Og Mandino, is "today I begin a new life." He recently used it with one of his kids after a poor decision. It means you get to start over every single day. If you did not win the first half, you still get the second half.
Step two is to build micro wins, the small daily non-negotiables. Brad points listeners back to the Relationships Win framework: connect with more people, schedule a few more coffees or lunches. The same day he recorded, he reached out to a favorite past client who bought a villa during COVID. She needed a plumber, and he was glad to help. "It's easier to keep momentum than it is to create it," he says. Momentum is a cure, and drift is a killer.
Step three is to recast the vision. If you have a team, hold a halftime huddle. Brad is planning a team get-together in the third quarter to revisit goals, shake up the routine, highlight people who are winning, and remind everyone why they started.
Everyone Is Dealing With Their Own Fire
Brad recently spent time with his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, who run a real estate business in Pasadena, California. They told him it had been one of their better sales years and also their hardest. After the Eaton fire swept through the area, nearly every conversation they had involved someone affected by it.
Brad's takeaway for the rest of us is simple: work hard and be kind. "Be kind because everybody's dealing with their own fire," he says. Teams, families, and clients all have a lot of life going on right now.
How Do You Stay Productive Over the Summer?
Brad's answer is to keep one oar in the water. Enjoy the time with family, rest when it is time to rest, and then come out of halftime ready to play. Plan your week. Check your vital signs. Stack small wins. Remind yourself why you started.
"You're not behind," Brad tells listeners. "I believe you just maybe stopped making some progress." Whether his teams were ahead or behind at halftime, the first four minutes after the break were always the most critical of the game. He hopes listeners treat the next four weeks the same way, and make it a great finish to the year.
▶ Listen to the full episode
Summertime Madness: Keeping One Oar in the Water, on Student of the Game.
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