Happy New Year!
We’re 5 days in and I can already feel the momentum starting to gear up for what will no doubt be a big 2017.
The start of a new year brings 365 blank pages that you get to design and colour in with your goals and dreams for the year. You have the freedom and get to think big about what you want to achieve and how you want to experience the year and you have the benefit of hindsight from the year that was and all the learning’s that come with that. It’s a great place to be right now – it’s all in your hands. You have the power.
I like to use this quieter time to plan, get clear on the what, why and how for my business and set my path for the year. I have a word that I choose to shape my year too. The word for me this year is ‘courageous’. This means I’ll be aiming to do many things that fall outside of my comfort zone and playing an even bigger game! I find it motivating and a very simple but effective way for me to ensure I stay on track. If you choose a word I would love to hear what you have chosen. You can email me here
To help you create your best year yet here are some tips for you to think about:
The benefit of reflection.
Use last year as a springboard for 2017. Ask yourself these questions, get curious and write down your responses. It will help you get clear and what you need to stop, start change and continue doing this year:
- What were you proud of last year?
- What didn’t you do that you wish you did in 2016?
- What conversations didn’t you have?
- What stayed on the to do list?
- What had your attention?
- What were you busy doing?
- What is the one thing you will change that will make a significant impact to your outcomes?
Create your perfect week
Often we craft our lives around our work rather than the other way around. A powerful exercise is to create your perfect week. Grab a sheet of paper or use your diary and create your perfect week. Think about locking in things like exercise, meditation, sleep, coaching, marketing time, culture pulse checks, relationship building (coffee catch ups) – all the things that are often compromised when things get busy. Get clear on how you want your week to be and work back from there. My clients find this a very empowering and enlightening exercise, as do I. You may be amazed just how often you can stick to your perfect week if you’re disciplined.
Define your non-negotiables
When things get busy we can often unconsciously compromise what’s really important to us. And these can be the things we swear we won’t do again, but unfortunately do when busy comes knocking.
Get really clear on what these are for you and commit to them. Is it exercise, certain amount of sleep, family time, down time, healthy eating, ensuring you are present when you’re with your partner and kids, living true to your values, not wasting time with those who are energy zappers. You will know what these are because they are important to you and you feel frustrated when you’re not doing them.
Busy will inevitably come knocking very soon. Your challenge is to control it this year rather than it controlling you.
By thinking about the above it will help you to set a solid foundation to work from, both personally and professionally and ensure you take control, get relevant and be an influential leader in 2017. Go for it!