The holidays are past, and it’s time to find your routines again in the new year, but this time you have a chance to create them in a way that allows you to be more motivated and focused in your work and your life!
I always enjoy the break for the holidays, even though I still work, it’s a different work energy—the same with vacations or long weekends. The time to check out a bit and do something different is a treat. It’s coming back that can cause the problem.
Getting started back up again, finding the momentum I had before the break, and starting to see the results I wanted, always took to long. I would feel bad about what I thought I wasn’t accomplishing, which would slow me down all the more.
That was until I figured out how my mind preferred to work and made some tweaks, and I’d love to share them with you in hopes that they help you get your work (and life!) groove back. Here’s what I want you to consider.
Have a future vision or goal
What do you want to accomplish this year at work? What would you regret if you didn’t get it done this year? Is it more clients? Is it a promotion? Maybe it’s upleveling your skillsets in certain areas. Take some time to think about what you want to accomplish at a high level.
You also want to think about how you want to experience this, and here’s what I mean. I have a client that wants to move into a leadership role in her firm. She is very driven, and because she knows that about herself, she wants to be mindful that she doesn’t abandon her health. Also, as much as she enjoys her work, it’s important to have time for friends and family.
You have to keep in mind the most critical areas of your life when creating a goal, so you create success without sacrifice.
Have a plan to get there
Once you know what you are trying to achieve, think about what it will take to get there. I use the example of a classic company organizational chart. Picture your goal in the president’s position. Now move down to the next level or where the Vice President slots would be on the org chart. What categories do you need to focus on as part of your big vision or goal? Envision those there.
For instance, for my client who wanted to move into a leadership role in her firm, the categories we determined were most important for her to focus on were her book of business, bringing new talent in, relationship building, and health. Remember, it’s about success without sacrifice.
Next, you go to each category and determine the steps that need to occur underneath it. For example, bringing in new talent might mean that one of the steps is to reach out to a recruiter. After that, it might be scheduling interviews, conducting interviews, hiring, onboarding, etc.
You keep chunking down until you have actionable steps. That will give you a menu of steps that you can always take to know where to start, what to focus on, and what you can shift to when needed.
Map out your week ahead of time
If you start your day of work without any thought ahead of time, you often end up going wherever someone else leads you. To take control of your day, even when interruptions occur, you’ll want to take control of your week first.
Get your calendar, whether it’s a physical planner or a digital calendar. Now, look at all the appointments already scheduled. I like a physical planner, so I write my meetings in the planner and see the week at a glance. Right off the bat, I know what is coming up, how much time is obligated, and what time I have available to accomplish tasks and projects.
Next, I do a brain dump of all activities that pop into my mind, whether they occur this week or out into the future. Everything personal or professional that pops into my mind gets written down on a list. If it has a hard due date, I incorporate it into my calendar by scheduling it. If it doesn’t, it gets prioritized in order of importance or put a soft due date on it. Then I plug these items into my week.
With this done, I know where to focus my time and energy. I know what projects I’m working on, who I need to follow up with, the meetings that need to occur, and if I’m lucky, all of the tasks I want to get done.
If you enjoyed these tips, please share them with someone just like you who needs it.
Until the next time, here’s wishing you the clarity (and focus) you deserve!
Be well, Debbie
P.S. Join me for my Live 2-Hour Master Class, How to Create a Career with Power, Purpose, and Passion in 2021! Go to www.IDeserveClarity.com for your free tickets!
