April 2, 2026 • 10 mins
Time to declutter! Not just at home, but professionally as well. Learn the 4 big categories to get into order for a smoother Q2 and beyond, the way they interact with one another, and how to attack each one.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi, and welcome to the Talent Trade Podcast.
(00:03):
I am Stephanie Maas, partner with Thinking Ahead.
Today I'm super excited to talk about a ritual that most of us do this timeof the year in our homes, and that ritual occurs typically when we have a significant change in seasons, especially going from winter into spring.
Most of us call it spring cleaning.
(00:24):
In fact, this past weekend I was so excited, so motivated, soamped up to do all the things that involve spring cleaning.
I went through my closets, I went through my drawers, took things to goodwill, detailedmy car, cleaned off the back porch so I could started enjoying mornings out there again.
It was awesome.
I started grilling for a meal prep for the week.
(00:45):
I was so energized and enthused.
As I returned to work the next week, it got me thinking about, Hey,I spent a lot of time working on my home to get it ready for spring.
What do I need to do with my desk to make sure it's ready for the next season?
So I came up with a little bit of a list.
(01:06):
Some of these are absolutely applicable to the grind of what we do every single day.
Some of these a little bit more behind the scenesand hopefully will serve you mentally or emotionally.
So there are four categories that I look at when it comes to spring cleaning my desk.
The first one is mental.
(01:27):
I really want encourage you to take a good look and say, okay, we all know how thenew year starts, hope, enthusiasm, renewed vigor for what we do and how we do it.
And usually about the 90 day mark, even if we're having a great starter, everything'scoming, you know, up roses, it's a great time to revisit and say, Hey, what did I do in the last 90 days other than just the job to better my mental game.
(01:54):
So for example.
What books did you read?
And again, when it comes to the mental side of our desk,I do like books that have something to do with what we do.
So something in the nonfiction realm, although I'm a huge fan of fiction as well.
But you know, did you read something that makes you a better recruiter?
Did you participate in training of any sort that you walked away with specific ideasor thoughts that you are going to apply to your desk to make you a better recruiter?
(02:21):
What have you done mentally?
To better your desk.
And again, this is not a time to beat yourself up.
Sometimes the first 90 days of a year, roar, and it's all we can do to keep pace.
Hey, no problem.
Sometimes.
That's what we've realized, man.
I intended to get all this done and all this reading and due to thistraining and do this and that, and time completely got away from me.
(02:45):
No problem.
This happens, but let's make sure then we have a plan for the next 90 days.
So if we didn't get to what we wanted to, what are we gonnado over the next 90 days to sharpen our sword at our desk?
And then if you were able to do some reading or attend training or participate inanything that makes you better, what have you actually applied And has there been enough time to see if that is an application that you should continue for the next 90 days?
(03:16):
So mentally evaluate your first 90 days, make a game plan for the next 90 days.
Second one is do some, and this is gonna sound crazy'cause we sit at our desk most of the day on the phone.
But when it comes to spring cleaning our desk, where are we physically?
At this point, we are so incredibly aware that how muchour physical health has to do with our mental health.
(03:42):
So again, do an evaluation.
Over the last 90 days, how well did you take care of yourself physically?
Again, not the time to beat yourself up.
Life happens, most of us are super busy, not just with a full-time job, but the roles that we play.
Spouse, parent, sisters, child, all these things.
(04:03):
But let's do an evaluation.
How was the last 90 days in terms of your physicality and what do you need to do orfocus on the next 90 days to make sure you're as healthy physically as you can be?
And again, I really wanna say this, and this is so subjective, but you know, you.
(04:25):
I am not suggesting that if you're not a runner, that you signup for a marathon because you didn't do crap the first 90 days.
Then you suck and you need to get out there and do something.
It's so unrealistic and that's so crazy.
But if you go, wow, I really didn't carve out the time to work out or take care of myselfphysically like I wanted to, I am gonna commit to three days a week, a 30 minute walk.
(04:48):
The weather is changing.
Great.
Just do that.
Just move in the right direction.
If it's you need to button up how you're eating, not go crazy and buy 200 bento boxesand meal prep to the nth degree, I'm not talking about that, but just what can you do to better your physicality so that it matches your mental intentions for the next 90 days.
(05:11):
The third area is emotionally.
Take a look at how you responded and reacted to life over the last 90 days and have a real,loving but honest conversation with yourself about what you need to do better or keep doing.
By the way, this is often a great conversation to have with your support team, whether it bespouse, friends, family, coworkers, whatever the case may be, wherever you get your support, hey.
(05:42):
How did I do well with you and our relationship over the last 90 days?
Look, we have very stressful jobs.
Nope, we're not heart surgeons for children.
We're not finding the cure for cancer.
But our job is pretty unique.
We must serve many masters at any given point, and it can be stressful and wework on commission, and yet 90% of our day to day is outside of our control.
(06:08):
That is hard.
It takes a toll on us, so let's do an emotions check.
Was I more reactive or responsive to life?
Where can I get better support?
Where can I be a better friend, spouse, parent, et cetera.
What boundaries can I set?
How can I just emotionally improve my life over the next 90 days?
(06:31):
And again, this all comes in the framework of ultimately being a better human,but also a better recruiter when we aren't flying off the handle or just responding to things like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
It makes us better recruiters.
So check in with yourself and your emotions.
(06:51):
And then lastly, and I won't touch a whole lot on this one'cause everybody has their own systems or non-system for belief.
But I encourage you to check in with your spirituality in whatevercapacity that looks like or you and say, Hey, where has this helped?
Where have I gotten off track?
Where could I use some more help?
(07:11):
More help?
And again, if you're doing good, thumbs up.
This is not the time to beat ourselves up.
Quite frankly, when I took my car to get detailed, I was like,oh, I just feel like I haven't cleaned my car out in forever.
The truth of the matter is it wasn't really a mess.
I, I mean it needed a good vacuum and a little bit of the trash, but it wasn'tterrible and it felt really good just to clean up whatever needed to be cleaned up.
(07:36):
But it wasn't like, oh my gosh, I've had three, you know, monthsof food, snacks and all the other things kids put in there.
I mean, I had a little bit, but I do a pretty good job, generally speaking, maintaining things.
So if that's you, great.
Give yourself a gold star.
Make sure you have a plan for the next 90 days and move along at the same time.
If something's gone awry, then let's just do what we can to put things back on track.
(08:02):
This is what spring cleaning means for our desk, and let me just help drawit down just a couple of more times to really show how this impacts our desk.
Sometimes when we look at our desk, Hey, we're in this spring cleaning mode.
Sometimes what we need to do is go back and look at the searches we've workedon, look at the candidates we've placed, look at, you know, just really do a nice deep dive into our KPIs or you know, where we've been frustrated at work or you know, what have we tried that didn't work, and so forth and so on.
(08:33):
And sometimes what we discover is a, hey, we are holdingon and working searches that we're no longer excited about.
We've sent tons of candidates.
There doesn't seem to be any urgency for our clients.
Or, Hey, we've told this client we're working the search and we've had it for 45 daysand we've only submitted one candidate, and we're hoping like, heck, they get the job.
(08:55):
Well, that's not good work and that's not what we do well.
So part of this is really digging into the details of your desk and saying,Hey, how does that translate into what kind of marketing or biz down?
What kind searches really get me fired up?
What do I wanna target?
Where do I need to hunker down and really scrub the market for bettercandidates for these clients so that I know I'm serving them well?
(09:21):
This is spring cleaning at our desk, and it is very holistic because that's what we are.
Even though I think at times recruiters have this unbelievable ability to compartmentalize.
It's a short term defense mechanism, and at the end of the day,we operate best when we're operating in a fully holistic way.
(09:44):
So let's make sure that we approach our spring cleaning the same.
Hi, and welcome to the Talent Trade Podcast.
(00:03):
I am Stephanie Maas, partner with Thinking Ahead.
Today I'm super excited to talk about a ritual that most of us do this timeof the year in our homes, and that ritual occurs typically when we have a significant change in seasons, especially going from winter into spring.
Most of us call it spring cleaning.
(00:24):
In fact, this past weekend I was so excited, so motivated, soamped up to do all the things that involve spring cleaning.
I went through my closets, I went through my drawers, took things to goodwill, detailedmy car, cleaned off the back porch so I could started enjoying mornings out there again.
It was awesome.
I started grilling for a meal prep for the week.
(00:45):
I was so energized and enthused.
As I returned to work the next week, it got me thinking about, Hey,I spent a lot of time working on my home to get it ready for spring.
What do I need to do with my desk to make sure it's ready for the next season?
So I came up with a little bit of a list.
(01:06):
Some of these are absolutely applicable to the grind of what we do every single day.
Some of these a little bit more behind the scenesand hopefully will serve you mentally or emotionally.
So there are four categories that I look at when it comes to spring cleaning my desk.
The first one is mental.
(01:27):
I really want encourage you to take a good look and say, okay, we all know how thenew year starts, hope, enthusiasm, renewed vigor for what we do and how we do it.
And usually about the 90 day mark, even if we're having a great starter, everything'scoming, you know, up roses, it's a great time to revisit and say, Hey, what did I do in the last 90 days other than just the job to better my mental game.
(01:54):
So for example.
What books did you read?
And again, when it comes to the mental side of our desk,I do like books that have something to do with what we do.
So something in the nonfiction realm, although I'm a huge fan of fiction as well.
But you know, did you read something that makes you a better recruiter?
Did you participate in training of any sort that you walked away with specific ideasor thoughts that you are going to apply to your desk to make you a better recruiter?
(02:21):
What have you done mentally?
To better your desk.
And again, this is not a time to beat yourself up.
Sometimes the first 90 days of a year, roar, and it's all we can do to keep pace.
Hey, no problem.
Sometimes.
That's what we've realized, man.
I intended to get all this done and all this reading and due to thistraining and do this and that, and time completely got away from me.
(02:45):
No problem.
This happens, but let's make sure then we have a plan for the next 90 days.
So if we didn't get to what we wanted to, what are we gonnado over the next 90 days to sharpen our sword at our desk?
And then if you were able to do some reading or attend training or participate inanything that makes you better, what have you actually applied And has there been enough time to see if that is an application that you should continue for the next 90 days?
(03:16):
So mentally evaluate your first 90 days, make a game plan for the next 90 days.
Second one is do some, and this is gonna sound crazy'cause we sit at our desk most of the day on the phone.
But when it comes to spring cleaning our desk, where are we physically?
At this point, we are so incredibly aware that how muchour physical health has to do with our mental health.
(03:42):
So again, do an evaluation.
Over the last 90 days, how well did you take care of yourself physically?
Again, not the time to beat yourself up.
Life happens, most of us are super busy, not just with a full-time job, but the roles that we play.
Spouse, parent, sisters, child, all these things.
(04:03):
But let's do an evaluation.
How was the last 90 days in terms of your physicality and what do you need to do orfocus on the next 90 days to make sure you're as healthy physically as you can be?
And again, I really wanna say this, and this is so subjective, but you know, you.
(04:25):
I am not suggesting that if you're not a runner, that you signup for a marathon because you didn't do crap the first 90 days.
Then you suck and you need to get out there and do something.
It's so unrealistic and that's so crazy.
But if you go, wow, I really didn't carve out the time to work out or take care of myselfphysically like I wanted to, I am gonna commit to three days a week, a 30 minute walk.
(04:48):
The weather is changing.
Great.
Just do that.
Just move in the right direction.
If it's you need to button up how you're eating, not go crazy and buy 200 bento boxesand meal prep to the nth degree, I'm not talking about that, but just what can you do to better your physicality so that it matches your mental intentions for the next 90 days.
(05:11):
The third area is emotionally.
Take a look at how you responded and reacted to life over the last 90 days and have a real,loving but honest conversation with yourself about what you need to do better or keep doing.
By the way, this is often a great conversation to have with your support team, whether it bespouse, friends, family, coworkers, whatever the case may be, wherever you get your support, hey.
(05:42):
How did I do well with you and our relationship over the last 90 days?
Look, we have very stressful jobs.
Nope, we're not heart surgeons for children.
We're not finding the cure for cancer.
But our job is pretty unique.
We must serve many masters at any given point, and it can be stressful and wework on commission, and yet 90% of our day to day is outside of our control.
(06:08):
That is hard.
It takes a toll on us, so let's do an emotions check.
Was I more reactive or responsive to life?
Where can I get better support?
Where can I be a better friend, spouse, parent, et cetera.
What boundaries can I set?
How can I just emotionally improve my life over the next 90 days?
(06:31):
And again, this all comes in the framework of ultimately being a better human,but also a better recruiter when we aren't flying off the handle or just responding to things like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
It makes us better recruiters.
So check in with yourself and your emotions.
(06:51):
And then lastly, and I won't touch a whole lot on this one'cause everybody has their own systems or non-system for belief.
But I encourage you to check in with your spirituality in whatevercapacity that looks like or you and say, Hey, where has this helped?
Where have I gotten off track?
Where could I use some more help?
(07:11):
More help?
And again, if you're doing good, thumbs up.
This is not the time to beat ourselves up.
Quite frankly, when I took my car to get detailed, I was like,oh, I just feel like I haven't cleaned my car out in forever.
The truth of the matter is it wasn't really a mess.
I, I mean it needed a good vacuum and a little bit of the trash, but it wasn'tterrible and it felt really good just to clean up whatever needed to be cleaned up.
(07:36):
But it wasn't like, oh my gosh, I've had three, you know, monthsof food, snacks and all the other things kids put in there.
I mean, I had a little bit, but I do a pretty good job, generally speaking, maintaining things.
So if that's you, great.
Give yourself a gold star.
Make sure you have a plan for the next 90 days and move along at the same time.
If something's gone awry, then let's just do what we can to put things back on track.
(08:02):
This is what spring cleaning means for our desk, and let me just help drawit down just a couple of more times to really show how this impacts our desk.
Sometimes when we look at our desk, Hey, we're in this spring cleaning mode.
Sometimes what we need to do is go back and look at the searches we've workedon, look at the candidates we've placed, look at, you know, just really do a nice deep dive into our KPIs or you know, where we've been frustrated at work or you know, what have we tried that didn't work, and so forth and so on.
(08:33):
And sometimes what we discover is a, hey, we are holdingon and working searches that we're no longer excited about.
We've sent tons of candidates.
There doesn't seem to be any urgency for our clients.
Or, Hey, we've told this client we're working the search and we've had it for 45 daysand we've only submitted one candidate, and we're hoping like, heck, they get the job.
(08:55):
Well, that's not good work and that's not what we do well.
So part of this is really digging into the details of your desk and saying,Hey, how does that translate into what kind of marketing or biz down?
What kind searches really get me fired up?
What do I wanna target?
Where do I need to hunker down and really scrub the market for bettercandidates for these clients so that I know I'm serving them well?
(09:21):
This is spring cleaning at our desk, and it is very holistic because that's what we are.
Even though I think at times recruiters have this unbelievable ability to compartmentalize.
It's a short term defense mechanism, and at the end of the day,we operate best when we're operating in a fully holistic way.
(09:44):
So let's make sure that we approach our spring cleaning the same.
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