OK, so Hanukkah and Christmas are now officially behind us and now on to the all important flip the calendar for 2015! While I always looked at it as just that, flip the calender, just another day to start off a New Year, with age brings wisdom. You see, what I have learned is the end of the year is a good time to reflect on your professional progress over the past year and plan how you want to enhance that demeanor in the future. Do you want increased success in the coming year or the chance to enjoy the success you’ve achieved more?
In reflecting my own TOP 10 New Year’s resolutions, they are designed to help me strike a better work-life balance, so I can achieve a more satisfying success in the New Year. I also promised my wife I would work on this-
Here I go…My New Year’s Resolution and my tips to others!
1) Learn how to delegate and do more of it.
There are so many things to do when you’re running a business or managing others, it’s easy to delude ourselves that we need to do all of them. Then we wonder why we’re so tired and frazzled and have no time to do anything else! Determine Your Personal Return on Investment, and decide to let someone else do some of the tasks for a change. Delegation is the key to a healthy work-life balance.
2) Promote your by being true to yourself.
I always say, you need to be true to yourself, so you can be true to others. This is actually the root of who I am personally and professionally. While it’s not actually a New Years resolution, it is one I must reflect on as it is the roots of my being.
3) Better Planning.
Planning is vital if you want to find good personal-work-life balance. Business planning lets you take stock of what worked and what didn’t work, and helps you set new directions or adjust old goals. So why do it just once a year or once a quarter? Set aside time each week to review, adjust, and look forward – or even better, make planning a part of each day. Not only will this help you avoid costly mistakes and stay on track, but you’ll feel more focused and relaxed.
4) Learn something new.
Learning something new will add to your skills and add a new dimension of interest to your life – another important part of achieving a healthy work-life balance. Depending on how you choose to learn, you may meet new and interesting people, who may become customers, colleagues, or friends. How will you find the time to learn something new? By delegating, remember?
5) Networking; Join a new business organization or networking group.
This is the essence of who I am and the connections I make. There’s nothing like talking to other business people for sparking new ideas, refining old ones, and making contacts. Whether it’s a group specifically designed for networking or an organization dedicated to a particular type of business, in person or over the ‘Net, making the effort to be a part of a group will revitalize you and your business.
6) Give something back to your community.
Our family and friends just got done making and distributing 200+ brown bag lunches to the needy in Richmond, VA on Christmas Eve. No matter how you ‘pay-it-forward’ there are all kinds of worthy organizations that make a difference in your community. Make a New Year’s resolution to find a cause that matters to you, and give what you can. Make this the year that you serve on a committee, be a mentor, volunteer, or make regular donations to the groups in your community that try to make the place we live a better place.
7) Put time for you on your calendar.
In Schedule Time for You, I point out how important it is to take the time to recharge and refresh yourself; a healthy work-life balance demands time out. All work and no play is a recipe for mental and physical disaster. So if you have trouble freeing up time to do the things you enjoy, write time regularly into your schedule to “meet with yourself” and stick to that commitment. If you won’t invest in yourself, who will?
8) Set realistic goals.
Goal setting is a valuable habit – if the goals lead to success rather than distress. Make a New Year’s resolution that the goals you set will be goals that are achievable, rather than unrealistic pipe dreams that are so far out of reach they only lead to frustration.
9) Don’t settle for less than you want.
As my greatest mentor taught me, mindset is about believing and achieving- When Warren Bennis interviewed great leaders, “they all agreed leaders are made, not born, and made more by themselves than by any external means.” Bennis concurs: “I believe.. that everyone, of whatever age and circumstance, is capable of self-transformation. 2015 is about not settling, it’s about doing and achieving!
10) Drop what’s not working for you and move on.
Achieving a healthy work-life balance is like maintaining a good relationship; you have to keep working on it. But if you apply these New Year’s resolutions throughout the year, your success is guaranteed!
Happy New Year to all my friends and business colleagues! May 2015 bring you Health, Happiness and Prosperity!
Looking for a good book on the subject, suggested reading;
- The Visionary Leader: How to inspire success from the top down.
- Susan Bagyura (Author), Michael E. Gerber (Foreword), Fiona Dempsey (Illustrator)
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