Six ways to kick-start your New Year
The annual plan to make some positive changes in our lives will soon begin again. For many of us, the start of 2019 will mean an opportunity to start with a clean slate. Here’s the Glandore guide to getting your productivity off to a flying start when January rolls around.
The start of a new year is a great time to really take stock of your achievements and decide what you hope to achieve in the next 12 months ahead. It’s also good to look over any major mistakes, major moments or constructive feedback received from the previous year and discuss how they can be prevented or improved on.
Here at Glandore, we believe in setting up companies for success, and want to ensure that 2019 gets off to a great start for our Glandore Members. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of some simple and effective tips to help you to kick-start your New Year.
Learn to give yourself a pat on the back
We are living and working in a new age of self empowerment. You don’t need accreditation from anybody but yourself and as a wise woman once said, “if you can’t love yourself, how are you going to love somebody else?”
When you get back to your desk in the new year, create a folder somewhere on your desktop and fill it full of your best projects, documents, testomonials, thank you notes, etc. Whenever you’re feeling deflated or need some quick inspiration, open the folder and remind yourself of some of the great work you’ve done in the past. Learn to be your own driving force by acknowledging your arsenal of abilities. Not only will you feel better but you will be fueling your own sense of confidence and initiative.
Step out of your professional comfort zone
Undoubtedly, one of the biggest secrets to corporate success is honesty. Being able to provide your higher-ups with honest, accurate feedback is something most people admire and creates a sense of trust between managers and employees. However, this can be difficult for some. They may be afraid to rock the boat for fear that their career prospects will suffer for voicing their opinion, but this should never be the case.
As a start, force yourself to be more assertive when something goes wrong or when you may not agree with something, and make sure you state what’s really on your mind. At first this will be terrifying, but when the initial shock wears off you will find it easier to deal with in future. In turn, you will earn the respect of your coworkers and possibly the admiration of your manager. Who knows? You career may even prosper from simply making that initial stand.
Review the past year
Start 2019 by looking over the past year and flag every notable event, target and shortcoming. It’s important to invite all of your employees or team members into this process and get their feedback on how things could be improved. Try to pinpoint three things:
- What worked well
- What didn’t work well
- What can be done better
These are really basic things to note, but tend to be the things which managers always revert back to when looking for a solution to a problem. Set up an online survey for your employees to fill in and collate the information before setting a plan for the year. This will give you a better indication of problem areas rather than trying to identify them yourself.
Set aside time for yourself
Do you find yourself feeling like you’re only ever catching up on work, even if it’s not even yours? That tends to be the reality for most professionals in today’s economy. If you have a family outside of these work hours then that feeling only intensifies. It’s vital that you make time for the other things which you feel passionate about. Hobbies such as sports, cooking, gaming, crafts, etc. can help alleviate stress and refocus your mind on something productive. Life is more than just driving through your ‘9-to-5’ until you reach the weekend.
Make it one of your top priorities for 2019 to make sure you free up some time during the week for activities that will revitalise your mind and help you re-centre yourself.
Set your goals for 2019
Once you’ve reviewed 2018, it’s time to sit down and set out your goals and targets for the year. What are your aims and how do you plan on getting there? Make this a quarterly event so that each quarter can be reviewed and goals can be adjusted accordingly. By continuously updating your business plan regularly, you can adapt to any curve balls your business may have to deal with.
According to Manny Frangiadakis, co-founder of AIF and CPFA, “updating your business plan regularly makes it much easier to implement new strategies and conquer difficult situations because you’ll be prepared to handle them.”
Become more informed
The only way to ensure a relatively smooth year for your business is to remain informed. This can refer to any part of your industry or work life. It’s important to be informed of employee issues as they are the backbone of your company. If your team members are providing honest, constructive feedback the least you can do is acknowledge it. It’s also important to be up to date with the latest business trends and developments. Read at least three articles a day to keep abreast of any current news and trends. Another tip is to let this year be the year that you fully embrace social media. At the very least, have a few active social media pages. It’s free advertising and an outlet for marketing both yourself, and your brand.