As we near the end of 2015, and get ready to welcome 2016, it’s a good time to start reflecting on your achievements of the past year, so that you can plan and list what you wish to achieve in the forthcoming year.
It’s so important to look back and pat yourself on the back for the great things your business has accomplished, not enough people do this in my opinion. If you can look back and reflect on what you have achieved, this will motivate you to look ahead at ‘What’s Next’!
So where do you start? It’s time to dig out your Business Plan and Marketing Plan, review how you are tracking for this Financial Year and look at areas that are performing well and areas that could perhaps be improved. Ask yourself if your strategies are being implemented, targets being met, staffing levels and performances, are they where they need to be?
Lay out your goals for 2016, so you can hit the ground running when you return back to work in early January. Look at all aspects of your life; personal, career and business to make sure you put goals and plans in place that you can work towards. It’s good to make sure your personal values and dreams are in line with your business orientated goals too, they do tend to go hand in hand if you wish to be the best you can be, and also to ensure you are happy and enjoying life.
I much prefer to look at goals rather than New Year’s Resolutions – they tend to be more focused, have greater meaning behind them and require additional planning which makes them a little easier to attain or work towards. New Year Resolutions tend to fall by the wayside quickly, but goal planning gives you a real purpose, especially if you have laid down plans and thoughts of how you will achieve (Follow the SMART format which many talk about often… I go into this in some detail in my book).
When putting together your plans, aims or goals for 2016, make sure you write them down or lay them out. You may prefer to lay them out in a more creative or visual way, such as putting together Vision Boards. Or you may prefer to write down your goals as a list that you can tick off or work through. Pick what works best for you but however you choose to put together, make sure your plans are either written down or put into pictures.
Vision Boards are fantastic; you can look at each day and know exactly what the end result will look like. Lists or written plans can also be referred to often so you can check your progress. It’s a proven fact that if goals are written down or captured in pictures, they are more likely to be achieved, so definitely worth putting some time and effort into.
So when you’re enjoying some relaxing or down time over the next few weeks, start to think about your plans and goals for the forthcoming year – the earlier you start the better so you can give your goals and plans some thought. Again please remember (and I know I’m repeating myself but this really is the key), plans that are written down or documented have a much greater chance of being realised.
Make sure next year is your best year ever to date by putting in a little time to plan and think about your goals. It’s time to ‘Strive & Thrive’ and make sure 2016 is YOUR year!
If you manage or own a business, or want to learn more, check out ‘Strive & Thrive’ – 100 Tips to Ensure Your Business Success… a great resource to get you on track for 2016! http://zoesparks.com/strive-thrive-book/