3-Steps To Having Fun During A Chaotic Project 

My first M&A project at McKinsey was extremely successful (despite my presence ?). But all I remember about it are the things we did during "coffee time" on our team's calendar. M&A projects are brutal. 3 weeks straight, 80 hours per week brutal. But what kept the team sane on this one was that time block, when made sure we had some fun. Examples include roller skating, crazy coffee orders that senior partner had to remember and get us, bribing a barista and "reserving" 80% of a coffee shop for four of us to work (like mules). If you're in the thick of climbing up a hill, make sure you stop for your sweet berries on your way up. 3 simple steps to stopping for those berries:

1. Calendar optimal time for "coffee" with team - monthly should work for most teams but adjust to what suits best.
2. List out all the fun things you could do. Key is to do simple but memorable things that people want to do without pressure.
3. Do them all. Some people might want nothing to do with colleagues outside work, find things they'd sign up for happily and you've got a much more content team! Its an unfortunate reality that sometimes work-life balance takes a hit as we stretch ourselves professionally. However, these tactics can help you keep you in high spirits during such times. Trust me, some of these are way more satisfying at work than during personal time! They work great especially for hybrid teams. Downloadable Summary ?