Onboarding

Have you ever heard of the term onboarding? It’s a word that has popped into my mind recently because I feel like I’m still in the onboarding stage of 2020.

Wikipedia says:

Onboarding, also known as organizational socialization, is management jargon first created in the 1970s that refers to the mechanism through which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors in order to become effective organizational members and insiders.

It is the process of integrating a new employee into the organization and its culture.

Now I’m not a new employee, but I do feel like 2020 is an entirely different animal already and I am in need of some acclimation. I could use a good introductory luncheon and a tour around the office before I officially get started! I know it’s already January 10th and I should be humming along by now, but I’ll admit that I’m still trying to figure this whole thing out.

I’m sure it mostly has to do with our impending move to a new house in about 10 days. I’m surrounded by boxes and a never ending to-do list. I also feel like December kind of chewed me up and spat me out and I’m still recovering. I had bronchitis, pneumonia, a trip to Disneyland, and the holidays on top of regular life + getting ready to move.

January has felt a bit unpredictable so far to put it mildly. Within the first few days, we were on the brink of world war. In better news, I’m happily awaiting the arrival of a new nephew any time now. That will mean a quick trip to go see the little dude and I’m so excited!

With all of this, I just haven’t been ready to tackle my usual creative projects. I know I will get to them, but I think I will take a few more days to do some onboarding. How about you? Have you gotten off to a running start? Or are you still working on your own acclimation? There’s no right or wrong answer here, just something interesting to think about.