No Apologies Necessary: Planning for ‘All the Other Stuff’ in Q2

It’s freshly Q2 when you are reading this, I expect. A new month, a new quarter and a new season! I hope this finds you well!

I have a couple of story lines rolling through my head today.

The first has to do with a quote from my assistant. A few weeks ago, I had to apologize AGAIN for having to reschedule multiple meetings AGAIN.  I had to apologize because March was, well, March was something, alright. The last month and a half, really. It was action packed but not with professional work.

I had to say to her, “I’m very sorry, and this isn’t an excuse, just an explanation. These were a busy couple weeks.” We had to reschedule AND I hadn’t done my work that empowers her to do her tasks. I hadn’t created the content for her to post. I hadn’t written the updates for the website for her to load into the website. I hadn't done the “big picture” things for her to be able to do her thing. I’m the leader and that work I was supposed to be doing just didn't happen. 

And then she said the nicest thing to me - she’s a very nice person. And what she said was what I needed to hear, and also to be reminded of:  “No apologies necessary, we saw these crazy few weeks coming!”

True. We did.  We knew this exceptionally busy season was going to happen, it’s good that it did, it was supposed to happen the way that it did. She reminded me that we saw these busy days coming. We knew that March was going to be busy. 

Upon reflection, perhaps back in February, I should have let logic win over optimism and preemptively cancelled a few of those missed meetings! I'm overly optimistic when it comes to scheduling. Optimistic in that I always believe I will have more time than I think I do, but I did not. So I appreciated her kind and gracious statement. And I just blogged and podcasted about Grace! 

“No apologies necessary, we saw these crazy few weeks coming!”  Thanks, Faith!

We’re starting Q2. That’s where I started this article. Very often, at these times of transition, these temporal milestones, I’ll suggest that you and I take some time this week to consider how we’re doing, to check in on our Q1 goals and our 2026 goals and that DONE list, and to set our goals for Q2.  We want to make progress on what we want to make progress on, whatever that looks like for you and me, and we also need to remember all the other stuff.

Today, I want to talk about all the other stuff. 

All the other stuff. 

The other story line or topic in my head, after appreciating the “We saw these crazy few weeks coming”, is “all the other stuff”.  The stuff of Life. We don’t need to apologize for all the other stuff, the stuff of Life.

I apologized to my assistant because I wasn’t getting business and work specific tasks done, but in truth, I was doing a lot in all the other areas! 

We are multifaceted creatures. We don’t set professional goals in a vacuum. We are awesome and complex and fabulous.  We are capable of a whole lot of things, yes We Are!  AND there's only 168 hours in the week. 

As we reflect on our Q1 goals, and consider setting our Q2 goals and our goals for the rest of the year, I want to focus on a step that I mention regularly when I'm talking about those things, but that sometimes we gloss over.  

And that is the “put the other things that are also going to be happening in that span of time on the list or schedule” step.  We need to identify those and leave ourselves some space for those. 

Quoting myself here, from my Goal Setting articles and podcasts from back in January:

• Make note of the big things that are already on the calendar for 2026.  These are not goals. These are the things that are going to happen anyway and will also impact all the other things you want to or need to accomplish this year. For example,:

  • One son will graduate from college this year, and one son will graduate from graduate school this year. I pray those graduations are not on the same day, and I just added “look at academic calendars” to my to-do list. One son and daughter-in-law will make major life changes this year as well. These are not my goals, they are my family members’ goals, but they matter to my time and energy and capacity to take on new responsibilities at those times. I will not set huge, lofty and time-hungry goals with a deadline of my son’s graduation date, for example.

  • Both of my parents are having surgery in the first quarter of 2026. Not my goals, still noteworthy.

  • We will take a trip to the East Coast in August. Not a goal but noteworthy.

• These are major events and need to be considered as I set my goals.  So we start with those.

Look at us, so wise back in January!

Yes, April is a new month and a new quarter and a new season - yeah!  Quarterly goals I set now will be wrapping up in June. June!  Wow. That’s exciting!  And a lot, personally and professionally, can and will happen between now and then.  Work and Life are going to happen anyway, but how am I going to manage myself while they’re happening? How do I protect “all the other stuff” and myself?

I was just reading an email from a coaching client as she ponders “balance”, as defined by her (no one can define it for me or for you, we define it for ourselves).   Yes, this!

How am I going to flourish as those other things are also happening? How do I show myself grace and leave space for self care so that I can keep showing up for others. As we look at the big goals, SMART or PACT for these next few months, how about all the other stuff? And not leaving all the other stuff up to chance.

Make note of those now.  Big events. Vacations or work trips, making to leave space on the few days before you leave for preparation and the few days after you get back for re-entry.  Seasons, and I don’t mean in nature or on the calendar.

For example…Can you relate? 

Every May, or at least every May since I’ve become a parent, well - May is tough. To the moms and dads out there, May is tough, am I right? For me, there are liturgical events in May.  There’s Mother’s Day and May birthdays. We have end-of-the-year school events, concerts, talent shows, spring sports, graduations. When the kids were small, there was the anxiety and flurry of summer planning for activities and fun. And the boys have gotten older, that has shifted somewhat but it still comes up.  

In May, Son #3 will move home from college as his semester ends, and will transition to summer work and studies.  Son #2 graduates from Graduate school in May and there are two different weekends of events to travel and plan for. And there is nowhere else I would rather be, so proud! He’s amazing! 

But it took me a few years to remember that May is crazy and I need to schedule less because things just pop up, and my brain will be fried in general.

All the other stuff.

All the other stuff. I look ahead. I don’t typically schedule presentations in May.  I protect my weekends in May for family events and family time.  I start blocking time to go to Michigan to help my folks now that the weather is more predictably not a blizzard.

All the other stuff. 

Because I want to support you in productivity and doing your important work, whatever that looks like for you, I will say Yes, we need to make Q2 goals, because you know me, I love good goals. I love growth. For you and for me. 

And we know that sometimes, busy days are coming. Busy days are coming. We know that. We don’t need to apologize for them, but we certainly need to acknowledge them and we might need to plan for them. 

This week, consider setting Q2 goals. Or not.  Just as importantly, put the important things on the list that have absolutely nothing to do with work or productivity goals because you have a full and complex life and that matters! Let’s respect All the other stuff. And make note of life and seasons and events already on the calendar for 2026, no apologies necessary.