The end of year is a hectic time, frantic even maybe? I want to steal a brief moment from you to make sure you leave this year behind and you go into the new-year feeling confident, prepared and motivated. Join me while I reveal to you all the three things you should before sitting back at your desk in January. The three tips will help start the new-year organised, on the right foot, not let any bad blood or memories from the last year effect you or repeat them sleeve this year. Too busy between now and the new year? Listen to 3 things to do for your business for 2022 on the podcast instead! – Episode 016 on >>Apple Podcast<< or >>Spotify<<
Getting your mind and space Organised
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Getting organised before we go into the new-year with that fresh new clean feeling in the air, we don’t want to tarnish it by sitting down at your desk with clutter from the past year. Do you really want to open your top desk draw and see all of the chunk from the last year, all your receipts, wrappers, hard drives, sticky notes, un checked to-do lists all tossed together. We want to go into the new-year with both a fresh clear mind and that also goes for your physical space.
How to Marie Kondo Your Workspace…sort of!
So I suggest one of the first thing to do before 2022 is Marie Kondo your workspace, however, we wont be tossing things because they don’t bring us joy. Otherwise I fear a lot of you listening will throughout all your pens, notes pad even laptops! So no, we’ll be a bit more realistic and practical about tidying your workspace. Firstly you should empty everything, every desk draw, work surface top, work bag, go check your car if you’ve left any work stuff in their to! Actually better yet scan your whole house if you work from home, which a lot of my self-made listeners do. It’s easy to leave business books and work notes around the house.
Find a new home for everything
Once you’ve gather every last scrap of work paper and you desk draws are completely empty. It’s now time to take that massive pile of stuff and categorise it into specific groups. Paper work, notes and to do list, tech like hard drive memory pens, laptop, books and lastly miscellaneous objects. Go through each group and chuck what is no longer needed. Once all done make sure you actually file your paper work neatly and practically with folders. Once you’ve got only what you need left you need to give everything a home again by placing it back into the draws. I keep the draw to my left as tech, and the draw below other equipment and my right as notes and top do list etc. the draw below that is printed files and papers. Make every easier to find everything!
Why you need to purge your Digital space
Now it’s time to move away from your physical space and purge your digital space… this is something I desperately need to do before the New Year. I Should probably actually do this clean out every 3 to 6 month, because I’m the worst at letting this accumulate over time but you forget or get to busy. But you digital space can have just the same amount effect as your physical space, specially when it’s taking twice as long to locate the file you need. You don’t want to have to be surfing all through your last year files emails etc.
Three Key digital areas to organise
So there are three places you might need to clean up, your inbox, your removable hard drives, your desktop and laptop files. Obviously if you are a photographer or Youtube influencer you might have other things like SD cards etc. Once you’ve deleted things you don’t need, organise all your files into appropriate folders I sometime have to rename my files because if you’re a designer you’ll relate to when some of you illustrator files are call logo final design 64. I also this year going one step further to create folder ready for next year I’ve realise I’m pretty lazy or have not patience when saving things to organise folder for the thing I’m saving. So I might as well prepare for my said laziness!
Take some Time Off! Yes you!
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This one is a pretty easy thing to do, I recommend you take time off before 2022. Take time away from your business, I know that you probably love what you do but it’s health to take holiday. I’m not say a couple days over the Christmas period, I want you to enjoy your holiday, by taking a couple week sabbatical or even long if you can, I’m not say a measly couple days of no I’m talk about chunk of time away, kinda like when you go on a summer holiday and by day 4 you forget what day it is, that type of break! Your brain and body will thank you for it.
Self-care
This is the best time to do thing you want to do! Pick up and read the books you wanted to read just fun, not business books. Plan a bunch of fun actively to do with friend and family. Better yet just have a day where you have no plans or places to be and wake up and do whatever you want even if that’s just staying in your PJs all day! Make it a time for self-care.
The benefits of a break
I suggest taking time off before the new-year is because it gives you a chance to reset for the new-year. Rather than rolling into the new-year still feeling frazzle and frustrated by all things you didn’t accomplish or didn’t complete. A break away draws a line in the sand and says that was last year this is now. It gives you that much need time to let go of you resentment of 2021 and just come back feeling fresh, with a brand new perspective.
Before 2022 reflection on the last year!
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I see a lot of business owners wanting to make a lot of new goals. I’m a big believer that you can’t really move forward unless you’ve learn from your previous mistakes. So I suggest that before you make new business goals, and before you take you sabbatical do a self-reflection. If you missed my last episode I would recommend you go give it a listen it’s episode 15.
I’m not talking reflecting in terms of your business performance through statistic and data. We are usually update on that and watching it intently throughout the year. When I say self-reflection I mean checking in with your own self performance through habits and feelings. By the end of your self-reflection review you should of re-lived the whole through your head and identify the happenings, habits and feelings that can tell you why you had the year you had. Plus be able to answer do you want to have another year like that? So that you can pinpoint old habits and thoughts and leave them all behind. Again this is a brief over view if you want to do a proper end-of year self-reflective review pause this episode and please go listen to episode 15.
Start making your new business goals
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Once you’re self-reflective review is done and dusted, maybe had some time off before the new-year and now it’s time to look forward and start making next years goals. But I must say behind every great goal is a great a plan. Goals aren’t all equal there is such a thing as bad goals. Bad goals are unspecific, unrealistic and inapprotaite for all intensive purposes. So the key is having specific, challenging but not impossible, with a relevant purpose to your business.
Then obviously I couldn’t do the three things before 2022 episode without mentioning it, you must set your next years goals! Making goals help gives us direction for our business. It helps us bridge the gap between where we are and where want to be. Maybe even challenges us a little too. I’ve realise that actually goal setting is split into three sub section, Choosing good goals, Planning your actionable step to achieve those goals and Tracking those goals.
Make sure you listen to next week’s episode where I’ll be dedicating the whole thing to helping you all in how to choose goals that will create the change you want to see in you business, whilst being realistic about it. Choosing you next year goals could arguably be the most important part of the goal setting process and usually the most over looked! Don’t miss our next week episode
Get ready for 2022 the right way!
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It’s time now to put what you’ve heard into action before 2022 and make you new-year even better than the last. Through organising your physical and digital space to have clear and uncluttered mind as well as saving you time retrieving files! Taking a well need rest and time away from your business to draw that line from last year to the new-year through a long self-care holiday! Then lastly re-living you last year, reflecting about your habits and feelings you experience and realise the catalyst behind certain things that happened previous before taking your take time way. Coming back from your well needed break and start making all your biggest goals with even greater sense of clarity! It’s time for you to sit at your clean desk, feel more confident than ever, more prepared than last year, and more motivated to achieve all your business goals. This is your year!