Ah, the holidays. ‘Tis the season to gather for office parties, celebrate with friends and family, and escape your normal routine.
It’s also the perfect opportunity to hit the “Refresh” button and look forward to 2020. In fact, this holiday season could be the most important time all year to provide clarity, foster innovation, and streamline your operation. It’s a good time to look at what you may be wasting your time on so you can cut ties and start the year strong.
Everything hinges on whether you use this interlude to your own advantage. For a profitable 2020, these New Year’s resolutions are a good place to start.
1. Celebrate milestones.
Imagine running a race where there were no stations along the way and no finish line in sight. You’d have no idea how far you’d come or how far you’d have to go. Even the most veteran of runners would struggle under these conditions.
Yet this is the way many business leaders operate. They don’t recognize accomplishments and relate them to strategic visions. Reflecting on what you’ve done builds motivation, momentum, and positivity for the road ahead. It’s good for you and for your team. So go ahead: Celebrate those milestones you’ve passed this year.
2. Set goals.
January is named after the Roman deity Janus, who presided over doorways. Depicted as two-faced, this god looked back and looked ahead at the same time.
Janus is a good model for young CEOs embarking on new beginnings. To thrive in this competitive environment, business leaders need to have a clear vision of where they’ve been and where they’re going.
There’s no single framework for goal-setting, but successful executives get specific about what they want to get done and create benchmarks to measure their progress. They value performance (which they can control) over outcomes (which they can’t entirely control). They frame objectives positively rather than prohibitively. To hold themselves accountable, they share these goals with others.
Looking for a more effective way to track your progress in 2020? Plug those ambitions into a goal-setting app.
3. Upgrade your technology infrastructure.
Having a strategic vision is great, but you also need ways to get things done.
If the vintage computer annexing most of your desk space takes five minutes to restart every morning, you might benefit from a reboot. Even devices you’ve had for 18-24 months could be approaching retirement age. Upgrading your technology might become a path to greater efficiency.
Need a fast way to get out with the old and in with the new? SellYourMac makes it easy to trade in your decommissioned Apple devices. Saving money is important for any business, so finding ways to get value from your old equipment will help you start the year out on the right money-saving foot.
4. Focus on personal development.
The world around you is constantly evolving. If you aren’t growing, you’ll struggle to adapt.
Personal development is crucial to business success. But it doesn’t just happen on its own. If you’re always reacting to what’s going on around you, you can’t lead effectively.
This holiday season, create a plan for personal development. Become more emotionally intelligent about yourself. Identify your strengths — and weaknesses. Figure out what you need to learn to get better.
You won’t be able to control everything that happens in 2020. What you can manage is yourself. If you’re maturing, you’ll be more resilient for whatever the new year brings.
5. Invest in your relationships.
Leading a business can feel lonely. Even if your work involves lots of meetings, social isolation can become an occupational hazard inside the C-suite.
Maintaining healthy relationships is a critical ingredient to your well-being and longevity. As the adage goes, who you know is more important than what you know. That only gets truer as you move up the corporate ladder.
With that in mind, cultivate your relationships. Approach that valued business mentor. Network with your peers and partners. Spend more time with friends and families. It’s an investment that pays meaningful dividends, but only if you make it a part of your life.
6. Manage your time.
There’s one thing business leaders can never get enough of: time.
Life will come at you fast in 2020. To improve your productivity, reset how you manage your schedule. It’ll take discipline. You’ll need to prioritize better and say “no” more. You’ll have to build open time into your schedule.
Manage your time better, and you’ll manage your business better. If you use your phone to keep track of your schedule, there are some great tools to help you parcel out your time.
What you do with the start of your year can set you up for a successful 2020. From technology to your relationships, take the opportunity to reset and brace yourself for growth in the new year.
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