Are you ready for round three of Mercury Retrograde 2017? Me neither. Because this cosmic kerfuffle disrupts communication, travel, and negotiation, it can wreak havoc on every area of your life, including your career. Just how does Mercury Retrograde affect your job? "You can expect computer crashes, miscommunications, delays, missed appointments, and general confusion," Emily Trinkaus noted on Daily Horoscope. " But you don't need to close up shop or take an extended vacation — if you know how to cooperate with the influence, your work can actually benefit during this time."
While Mercury Retrograde can leave you frustrated AF, most things are hardly ever all good or all bad. Find Your Fate explained that you can actually use Mercury's backspin, which begins Aug. 12 and lasts until Sept. 5, to wrap up unfinished projects, and establish a new routine. And, since 2017 began a new nine-year cycle of Mercury Retrograde, this is actually the perfect time to start setting yourself up for success for the next decade.
Ensuring you can still be successful at work during Mercury Retrograde requires a little extra planning and patience. Think of it like having a long, frustrating commute to work. Leave extra time, and be prepared for delays, which are always likely to happen when you're not prepared, or you're running behind.
"Since communications go awry when Mercury is retrograde make sure you have some extra time by your side when attending to important matters," Find Your Fate suggested. "Also double check all your communication and travel plans to the point."
If You're Not Prepared You'll End Up Frustrated
If you don't set yourself up for success, this Mercury Retrograde could feel like a three-week long cameo in the movie Office Space. TPS reports, anyone? If that sounds like your idea of hell, here's how you can mitigate getting caught in a downward spiral at work.
Fate Your Fate revealed that Mercury Retrograde is actually a great time to plan for the future. If you have any upcoming projects now is the time to lay the groundwork, do your research, and mine data. However, make sure you back up everything so you don't lose all of your hard work during one of Mercury Retrograde's infamous network crashes. And, don't start the new project, or launch a new business until Mercury goes direct.
"If you work in an office and have to photocopy an important document, be sure to retrieve the original, Astrologist Susan Miller advised on her blog Astrology Zone. "Be equally careful about whom you send email to — you don’t want to send a private email to the wrong person or have a sensitive email forwarded to others."
Miller also said that the sign Mercury is in when it retrogrades has a big effect on how things will play out. This particular Mercury Retrograde is in Virgo, which is an Earth sign. "If Mercury retrogrades in an Earth sign, be very practical about finding a solution, and strictly adhere to limits of time or budget," she explained. "Money often plays a big part of both the problem and the answer when Mercury is retrograde. You would probably do best by not suggesting a blue-sky idea, which would have worked with Mercury in a fire sign."
While you shouldn't sign a new contract during Mercury Retrograde, it's an excellent time to renegotiate a current one. It's also an ideal time to catch up with former colleagues, and old friends.
Gather Information Before Making Decisions
While, if you're prepared, you can enjoy mostly smooth sailing during Mercury Retrograde at work, it's not an ideal time to start a new job because you likely don't have all of the information.
"Let’s say you take a new position while Mercury is retrograde. After you start, the company starts extreme cost-cutting procedures, and you suddenly discover you will lose some of the people who report to you," Miller noted. "On top of that, your title changes — not in a way you like. In this typical example, you had no idea these procedures were being planned, and had you known, you would have never taken the job."
However, sometimes you can't wait until the stars align to make an important decision. In this instance Miller advices collecting as much information as possible. Ask more questions than you normally would, and confirm key details multiple times to ensure there won't be any surprises. On Astrology School Carol Squires put it like this: "There is a saying that I quote often: The wise man rules his stars, the fool obeys them."
Basically, knowledge and preparation are power during Mercury Retrograde. If you enter this phase with your eyes open, knowing that you're going to have to take more precautions and do more research then you normally would, you should fare just fine.
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