Every day is a celebration

Coming months bring appreciation for listening, procrastination and … lawyers?

Bruce Spotleson

Bruce Spotleson

To everything, there is a season. And sometimes, a dedicated day, week or month.

Take February, for example. We celebrate Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day and Mardi Gras.

But there are several other, more obscure observances that fall on the calendar.

Feb. 11-15 is “Just Say No to Powerpoint Week.” Presenters are tasked to communicate with audiences rather than just “slideswiping” them. That seems like something we can all get behind. (It’s also International Flirting Week, although I would caution that this is not a good thing to promote in the workplace.)

March brings Employee Spirit Month, which seems like a safe enough concept, and International Listening Awareness Month, intended to promote “the study, development and teaching of effective listening.” This sounds smart, especially since it is also International Ideas Month. Ideas often benefit from a good listener.

March also is National Caffeine Awareness Month, aimed at reducing people’s dependence on caffeine. Good luck with that one. Appropriately enough, it is promoted by the Caffeine Awareness Association of Seattle.

National Procrastination Week is March 3-9. Can we talk about that later?

Unique Names Day is March 5. For some reason, I can relate. March 7 is Nametag Day, which seems compatible with Celebrate Your Name Week, which runs March 3-9.

International Working Women’s Day is March 8. Although an American creation, it is believed to be the world’s most widely observed holiday of recent origin. In Russia, it’s a national holiday.

March 21 is Companies That Care Day, celebrated by organizations that value employees and are committed to community service. Can’t argue with that.

National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day is March 29. It recognizes “husband-and-wife business owner teams that work and commune together.” Apparently, that arrangement actually works for some couples.

International Customer Loyalty Month comes in April. It celebrates the value of customer relationships — something expensive seminars now teach.

We all know about April Fool’s Day, but April 1 also is National Fun at Work Day, a day to encourage “fun, laughter and a playful attitude” in the workplace. That sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. The first week of April is Laugh At Work Week, and the entire month is National Humor Month.

April 7 is International Snailpapers Day, celebrating hard-copy media. (Of course, if you want your news quicker, visit us online at www.vegasinc.com.)

National Be Kind to Lawyers Day is April 9, a day “to give a little love to the attorneys in your life.” Nobody I know observes that one.

And National Stress Awareness Day is April 16. Note to my editor: Stress is often related to deadlines for columns, such as this one.

Tags: Opinion , Business
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