As another year turns, we look forward to a new 12 months. What do you want to achieve this year? How will you put yourself in the best position to make that happen? Here are three simple things that will help.
- Don’t jump straight back on the hamster wheel
Most of us will have taken some time away from work over Christmas. This gives you a great opportunity to come back to work with a new perspective.
Resist the temptation to dive straight back in where you left off. Take some time to review your long term goals, let that fresh perspective offer you new directions to go in.
Our brains are often most creative when we step away from work – how many times have you solved a knotty problem in the queue at the coffee shop or in the shower?
Before you get back into the day to day activities of your work, spend a little time thinking about this question:
- What have you thought of in your time away from work that could make a real difference to how you operate?
Each time I step away from my business for a break, I come back to it with fresh eyes and try to identify:
- Areas where I could be more efficient, e.g. admin processes;
- New ideas and things I have learned that I want to incorporate in what I offer to clients;
- Things I want to do less of – activities that take up too much time and energy for the rewards that I get from them.
- Set milestones to revisit this thinking
At the beginning of each new year, I am brilliant at doing exactly what I have suggested above. I can definitely give myself a gold star for this every year.
However, once I get back into the rhythm of a busy life full of work, family and voluntary commitments, the output of that great thinking can often lie undisturbed for months. What a waste of time and opportunity!
The best way that I have found to avoid my bright ideas gathering metaphorical dust is to put slots in my calendar through the year when I will come back and take those idea out into the light again.
I use these slots to check progress and refocus on great ideas that have been forgotten or set aside for that elusive point ‘when I have more time’!
- Really commit to your plans
I have been self employed for over 15 years now but I still really miss being part of a team, especially when I am working on something new. For me, there is something about promising to deliver on a deadline to someone else that is so much more powerful than an internal commitment to myself.
When I am planning to make significant changes, or setting myself really challenging goals, I tell my friends about them. I know myself well enough to know that if other people know what I am working towards, I will be much more likely to stay focussed and make things happen. I don’t work well in a vacuum with only myself as cheerleader and coach.
As you set your goals for this new year, be honest with yourself:
- What do you need to put in place to really commit to your goals?
That’s my three tips to help you harness your creative thinking from the Christmas break and turn it into goals that you will follow through on over the course of the coming year. I hope they help you as much as they have helped me over the years.
I wish you a very happy new year and all the best for 2022.
Kaye Bateman – a little more about me:
I am an Executive Coach working with clients to help them achieve more than they ever thought possible on their own. You can find out more about me on LinkedIn via this link:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayebuk/
Please do get in touch if you have goals that you are trying to achieve and you are interested in finding out more about how coaching could help you achieve them…. and more….
