Get 2020 on 2020

Yes, Christmas is nearly upon us, but so is 2020 – our very own chance to embrace the Roaring 20s.

While the temptation is to wind down into a season of overindulging, the new year always sneaks up quickly. How can make the best start in business beyond the holiday break?

Get your plans in place this side of Christmas.

1. Reflect

Reflect on the last year – specifically the last six months, which will still impact your performance in this financial year.

Be honest about what didn’t work; what you could have done better. Not with the view to chastising yourself, but with the view of ensuring you have taken valuable lessons from each mistake. Take value from these lessons.

Also think about the things you worried about, and whether the energy that you spent on certain tasks was necessary or impacted the outcome.

Take a moment to acknowledge the wins too. Consider how you think about creating more of those moments in the coming months.

2. Reset

With your learnings in mind, think about business goals and objectives for the year ahead.

Do you have the necessary resources available to you, how is budget and forecasting tracking.

If you need to upskill or research specific areas? Is there a time in January that may be quieter where you could get this admin work completed?

Are there any new processes you’d like to put in place? A new time for staff meetings or a new way of sharing information between colleagues. For example, using a project tool like Slack might enable groups to share ongoing updates without sending endless emails.

3. Relax

Now, take comfort in the fact that you've got a game plan ready to hit Q1 with a bang! Make time to relax over the Christmas break, even if it is only for a few key days, to be thankful for all you have and enjoy precious time with family and loved ones.