A Different Take on New Year’s Resolutions
By: Tara Weintritt I hope this message finds you all healthy and enjoying the holidays with those you cherish. I am not much of a New Year’s resolution person, but I like the idea of quiet reflection and goals for a fresh start. Instead of cutting out something or drastically changing my day-to-day life, I tend to focus on things I want to prioritize or small changes I could make to set me up for success in the new year.
In business development, I believe one of the best questions you can ask your clients is: “What needs to happen or what does success look like at the end of this engagement/meeting/project/etc.?” Or: “What needs to happen for you to know you made the right decision in choosing to work with us?” It helps clarify at the beginning of a relationship what you are truly trying to accomplish.
What if we change our New Year’s approach to something similar: “What needs to happen in 2023 for me to feel the year was time well spent?”
The answer is likely different for each of us. Some of us want to prioritize family, mental health or self-care. Others might have professional goals or need a bit more balance among competing priorities. In case it provides some inspiration, here are a few things I am going to do in the new year to help me feel energized and focused:
- Write down my goals and priorities.
- A recent study showed you are 42% more likely to accomplish your goals if you write them down.
- Make my health and wellness a top priority.
- I set aside two half days in 2023 (one in January, one in July) to schedule doctors’ appointments for me and my children (Well checks, dentists, mammograms, colonoscopy and specialists). Planning ahead eases the burdens.
- I am setting time on my calendar most days to work out at a specific time and showing it as busy for work and family.
- I am booking a family vacation and girls weekends by February 15. If you don’t prioritize it, everything else happens.
- I gave our family a subscription to a meditation app for Christmas. I am going to challenge myself to do the meditation before I look at any social media for the day and make it the last thing I do on my phone in the evenings.
- I will continue to put a time limit my own screen time and social media. It sounds silly, but it can become a procrastination time suck and impact my outlook.
- I am putting a formal date night on the calendar with my husband at least once a month. It doesn’t need to be fancy—it just needs to be the two of us.
- Stay intellectually curious.
- I plan to sign up for three conferences or events outside of my industry to prioritize learning and insights from others.
- I want to put myself in more rooms to meet others outside of my industry so I can bring those insights and perspectives back to our clients.
- Start and end the day with gratitude.
- I have done this for a few years now and I believe it is one of the easiest things you can do to make a big impact on your day-to-day health and happiness. I start every day with three specific things I am grateful for and end every day with the same reflection. Life can be overwhelming, but prioritizing gratitude has helped my ability to weather the storms.