If You Only Do 5 Things In The Coming Year, Do These

If You Only Do 5 Things In The Coming Year, Do These

So here we are again, facing the end of one year, and the beginning of a whole new year. A shiny, brand-spanking new and unused year, full of possibilities and opportunities. This time of year always has me reflecting on the past year, as well as thinking ahead to what I’d like the next year to look like. 

Here are some ideas for what I want to take into 2024; hopefully you can find something useful for your new year, as well.

Decide what your work/business “word of the year” is for 2024. Then try to live it. 

The “word of the year” idea has been making the rounds on the internet for a while now. But last year, I actually did it. I chose a word and I made sure to put it in front of my face all year. I was struggling with procrastination, and I decided I needed a good dose of self-discipline (my word for 2023). I grabbed a great wallpaper for my laptop screen with a quote about self-discipline. Having a daily visual reminder worked; by the end of the year, I’d gotten good at just doing what I needed to do, when I needed to do it..

Pick a word that will make you and your work life better in 2024. Then put a reminder of your word in front of you for the next 365 days. I bet it will make a difference.

Don’t see problems, see only challenges.

I heard this quote from a business owner/vendor at an accounting conference. As I talked to him about some minor problem at the conference, he said to me “We have no problems. Only challenges.” For some reason, that quote struck me immediately. And it has stuck with me since.

It’s such a beautiful mindset shift. “Problem” implies something nobody wants to deal with, something painful and difficult to solve. “Challenge” implies something you can rise to; something that might be difficult, but can be overcome.  

For 2024, look at all your “problems” as challenges instead. And see if you can’t rise to the challenge!

Accept that work/life balance are not always balanced. But try to tip towards the important anyway.

So I don’t know about you, but 2023 was a wild ride. We had a lot going on in the first half of the year: tax season, a major software migration, and a number of new team members to train. To say I had any sort of work/life balance in the early half of 2023 would have been a total lie. It was all work, very little life. And that was okay. We emerged with projects done, tax season conquered and an amazing new team!

But I realize now the balance has to tip back the other way, back towards taking care of the things that make the work worth doing: devoting time to my spiritual life, connecting with family and friends, taking care of my health.

For 2024, check yourself and see if you need to tip back towards the life portion of your work/life balance.

On the other hand, get over the whole “self-care” trend. Real self-care is getting your stuff done!

So, the idea of “self-care” was very trendy in 2023. It was very easy to find suggestions on self-care all over the internet. And while there were some good ideas out there, quite often “self-care” boiled down to “treat yo self.” 

There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself. But I discovered that I felt best when I got the stuff done that I knew I needed to do: having a productive day at work. Decluttering a room. Crossing a major project off my list. Doing the things I already know need to be done.

So take care of yourself by doing the things you’ve been procrastinating on but need to do. You will feel so much better about yourself. Now that’s self-care.

Simplify, simplify, simplify!

I’ve been hearing the siren call of the simple life since I hit the big 5-0. Something about making the turn into that particular decade has me wanting to nurture the essentials and let everything else go.

In my home life, this means paring down all the stuff. Having too many physical items is just exhausting: you have to clean it, store it, maintain it, think about it. Having less *stuff* to deal with is actually freeing, mentally.

The same is true in my work life. Having too many tasks, too many emails, too many apps, etc, is also exhausting. So I’m trying to learn to delegate, instead of hanging onto tasks and trying to be the hero. I’m trying to learn to clear my inboxes faster by deleting the junk (I’m not really going to attend that webinar, download that whitepaper, or make an appointment to talk to that sales rep). 

See if there aren’t ways to simplify your work life in 2024, so you can get the essentials done, and let the rest go.

I hope these 5 things have sparked some ideas in you of what lessons and habits you’d like to take with you into the new year. May you have a wonderful, productive and enjoyable 2024!