It’s the start of a new year, and with it brings that natural sense of renewal. A chance to press the reset button and (attempt) to set in motion changes to make the next 12 months better for yourself and others.
Personally, I am not a huge believer in resolutions. They’re all too easy to break and almost always sets us up for failed targets. That being said, the act to trying to be better is still a good one and the way to limit the chances of resolution failure is to make sure that your goals for 2019 aren’t impossible to achieve.
This is my list of resolutions for myself both personally and in a professional capacity for the coming year.
Less social media
This one might sound daft, considering the massive reach DGB has built across all the major social media platforms. I still fully intend to post content as regular as ever to social media. What I mean by this is teaching myself to put my phone down and end the constant scrolling. It’s highly unproductive. It’s massively distracting. And let’s be honest, most of what you read on your feeds is total bull anyway. Apart from DGB content of course ;-)
It’s far too easy to read the headline of an article that is designed to be provocative or is just plain fake and get lost in the comments section watching society tear itself apart over something completely meaningless. There is a lot of good social media has done, but there is a lot of bad as well. It’s almost impossible to have a balanced debate on social media without the other side branding you as something ending in -ist. So, it would be better for everyone to put the phone down, step away from the comments section and do something productive in the real world.
Learn to say “no” more
Those who know me know that I like to keep busy. Frenetic would be a better description to be fair. A big part of that reason is that I agree to be part of all sorts of things. My real-world job is working in the family run installations business. I also have this, and the NFAs on my plate. All of that keeps me very busy. But as we enter a new year, I do need to learn to say no, both for my own good and the good of the other person.
At various times during the year I get asked to go to industry events, press gatherings, evening functions, trips to see facilities, work on collaborative projects etc. All of that is very kind and it’s nice to be asked. I try to say yes as much as I can, so long as my diary and workload permits. But there have been occasions where I have said yes to something and I really shouldn’t have. It has led in the past either to poor work or me letting someone down. In the end that makes me feel worse. So, for 2019, I need to be more aware of my current workload and learn to say no to new work offers, even if I want to do them, even if the other person wants me to do them. There is little point in agreeing to something to then let that person down and damage my own reputation at the same time.
Be better with emails
I feel like this is a constant one for me. I get so many emails throughout the year, and my issue is that it’s very tempting to put a reply to one side whilst I do something more pressing and then to say to myself that I’ll do it later. Only to forget or put it off further so that the email is never actually dealt with in any way.
So, this one is simple: reply to emails straight away and get it done now. It’s a habit. Nothing major, I just need to kick myself up the backside and get better. So if you sent me a genuine email in 2018 and I never replied or you got a really late reply, I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s me!
Get back to the gym
I was really disappointed with myself in the final couple of months of the year. I kept a fairly good gym regime throughout most of 2018 and I felt the benefits. I felt more motivated and had more energy during the day. I was more focused. My clothes fit me! Come late October however it all broke down. I felt burned out and the motivation to get to the gym totally disappeared. All that progress gone.
However, the Christmas break has given me a chance to recharge and I fully intend to get back to the gym when I get back to work, starting tomorrow! I have new gym clothes, new running shoes and plenty of motivation to start feeling better.
It’s not just a physical thing for me. When I’m healthier and more active I feel better in the head, much more organised and productive, which brings me more positive results in the work place. It definitely is a “healthy body healthy mind” thing for me and it brings success.
Cut back on the booze
This is probably going to be my toughest one! I’m a beer drinker. However, only on a weekend. I’m pretty good during the week, I don’t have a drop at all. Would hate to have a hangover and go to work, it makes for a very long and unproductive day. But, I tend to hit it hard with my mates on the weekend. Add to that we’re all craft beer drinkers and that stuff tends to be a fair bit stronger than the mainstream commercial stuff. So Sundays are a write-off and I still don’t feel human come Monday morning now I’m 30. Never a good way to start a week.
So, I’m going to try and cut back on the weekend sesh and get the other day of my weekend back. More water intake and the gym will hopefully help with that effort too.
I won’t be doing dry January though. Pubs have a hard enough time as it is and I’m a big believer in giving to charity all year round, not just in a single month.
Implement better systems at work
2019 is set to be a tough year if you believe the various forecasts out there. But that doesn’t mean we have to lie down and take it. At our place, we’ll be looking at ways to make what we do more efficient and squeeze out as many leads as possible. We already started to do that in 2018, but there is always more to do, and if we want to grow in 2019 efficiency is going to be a key factor.
In fact, efficiency is something we should all be striving for this year. Being efficient means being more productive and saving money. This year is going to be a tough one, there were plenty of warnings being sounded at the end of last year. We’re going to have to be absolutely on our toes to make sure we make money in 2019.
I think that’s it for me. I don’t think there’s anything major in there. If I was to put importance on a single resolution though it would be the gym as I believe that success on that one brings success with the rest.
Let me know in the comments section below what goals or resolutions you’ve set yourself in personal and professional capacities!
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