Supercharge Your Way Into The New Year
Looking for ways to prepare for the New Year? Without reluctance, we can admit that 2020 has not been the year we ordered. While the pandemic offered us a break we didn’t plan for, it was everything else that made the year an eccentric one. Globally, the recently-concluded US elections threw lights on the downsides of investing too much power in one human. Locally, inflation rates have climbed to 15%. And in all this, some of us (most of us, really) have had to deal with being an entrepreneur.
The entrepreneurial space has taken its toll of hits and setbacks. You could think about the effects of an overdue national protest – overtaken by the destruction of properties – on the economic sector. A healthy percentage of entrepreneurs and SME founders, lacking sufficient capital to counter the 2020 crisis, have had to suspend or shut down operations.
With the new year some days away, some of us are caught in the crosshairs of uncertainty. What exactly would the new year bring? How do you look inward for insight, direction, and momentum when the last eleven months have seemingly made light work of your innovation and creativity?
If you find yourself in this space, battling these questions, here are some ways you can equip your body, mind, and soul for excellent performances in the new year:
Review the Miracles of This Year:
2020 has shown us that survival is a miracle. This is especially true if you reside within the boundaries of a country called Nigeria. But beyond the flattering, and despite its slight ridiculousness, this year has shone with its brilliant episodes. We’ve had to stretch our creativity to adapt to situations we could not have prepared for. So how did you cope in those moments?
Think back on the lessons you learned, the skills you acquired to handle worrisome situations. Take notes of personality strengths you’ve discovered and honed, as well as the opportunities you had to anticipate or leverage. Are there any that could come in handy in the new year? You may be surprised that some of the insights you gained have the potential to transform your business and life going forward.
Acknowledge the Failures:
Failure is not necessarily a bad thing. Don’t we all celebrate Thomas Edison who unsuccessfully tried, 999 times, to invent the electric bulb? The degree of failures we’ve experienced this year varies, but the central truth is that we need not sulk over it. What opportunities did you miss out on? What ideas did you execute but fail rapidly at? Are there lessons you could cull from those? Perhaps you’ve had to delay or sit on an idea due to changing circumstances. Revisit those ideas, those visions, and begin to strategise ways to launch them towards the coming year.
Invest in Yourself:
For some of us, the coping mechanism for 2020 was being immersed in a pool of online courses, training, seminars, and conferences. Now is the time to maximise the juice from those experiences. The beauty of knowledge acquired is in its application. What entrepreneurial knowledge do you need to acquire to scale into your next level of growth? The digital world contains many resources on vision-building, leadership, creativity and innovation, opportunity-identifying, and more. Books and podcasts have turned out as treasures this year. Now might be the time to subscribe to the weekly podcast by that industry leader.
Create Small Habits:
New Year resolutions can be overwhelmingly tiring. This is often because we haven’t learned the “How of habits.” Deciding to walk five thousand steps every morning before work is commendable only if you have walked two thousand steps for a considerable period. Since most resolutions involve a habit, making or breaking one, you must be considerate about the habits you set. Not sure how? Pull up a book like Atomic Habits by James Clear and learn how habits can transform your productivity in a new year.
Create Feasible Goals:
2020 has taken some hits, undoubtedly, but don’t be in a rush to accrue the profits you’ve missed out on. As you prepare your goals for the new business year, stay within realistic zones. It could be unhealthy – for yourself and the business – to target a five-million naira first-quarter profit in 2021, if your total revenue for this year didn’t peak two million. One way to check your goals and targets is to run them by a colleague or mentor. You not only gain insights on how to improve them; you also realise how emotional you might have been with these goals.
Prepare a Healthy Environment:
A healthy environment means eliminating distractions, barriers, and clutters. This could include the people you invite into your space, the tone of conversations you pay attention to, the thoughts you ruminate upon. It also speaks to how you prepare for work – physically and mentally.
For your organisation, are you prepared for full work-mode? Is the office prepared? Are the walls and windows dusted? Is the website updated with new information? It’s the little things – the reminders posted on the wall, the congratulatory email printed and pinned to a board – that help us sustain momentum and consistency.
Work With People:
The best way to win is to win with people. You will not get everything done yourself. Wisdom helps us identify the things we can do and leverage on people who can cover those things. Leadership shows us that by recognising the strengths – and sometimes weaknesses – of others, we achieve more progress than we can pull when we go individually.
Bonus Tip: Allow yourself breaks. Create reward systems for yourself, your team, and your organisation. Don’t push beyond limits. Starting is the biggest challenge; once you commit to it, everything else aligns. So don’t dread the year. Reach for it with all ten fingers. Go for the win.
