This is the time of year where summer is waning, schools are getting ready to gear back up, and the summer air is getting stale and will soon feel like fall. Another holiday season is coming and before you know it, everybody will be planning their New Year’s resolutions for 2016. What happened to those you planned for 2015? Are you treading water and losing ground in your daily routine or in your business? If that is how you are feeling, maybe it is time to sit back and figure out where you are.
Most of us begin the year with great resolve. Then seven or eight months later as “life happens”, we get off track when it comes to our New Year’s resolution or intentions. Events can snowball as the year progresses. Is this what you are experiencing? I can tell you that this is the way my year has gone.
My only New Year’s resolution was “Make the Day Count.” Then about mid-January, I outlined all my business projects, detailing everything on a spreadsheet. It was an ambitious plan. I started with great enthusiasm and things were going pretty well. Then, I hit my first obstacle of the year. I contracted a flu bug at the end of a conference in February that literally knocked me flat on my back for three weeks. Upon recovery, I just adjusted my plan and kept on going. It crunched my schedule but I kept on track with business, even pulling ahead so I could go on a three-week European trip.
Meanwhile, several unplanned family events popped up. This is a common problem for everyone – the unexpected from our loved ones. I worked all this into my schedule but it seriously began to affect my ambitious business plan.
Then a big bump in the road derailed me when I suffered a knee and hip injury, causing the necessity for weeks of physical therapy. This changed my entire June and July. The good news is this “bump in the road” was manageable and I am doing well as long as I use common sense and keep up my exercise program. However, I now realized it was time to stop and reevaluate. I did NOT want to finish the year without accomplishing certain projects on my spreadsheet.
Is this a familiar scenario? Have you planned your year in detail, both professionally and personally, only to have it change on a month, week, or even daily basis? Maybe it is time to take a “bird’s eye view” of where you are and what you can do to accomplish some or all of your goals for the year. Here are some practical steps that helped me and I hope can help you and/or your personnel.
- Stop and take the time to review your goals or resolutions for both your business and your personal life. If possible, get away for a few hours or a day so you can do this task without interruption.
- Evaluate what events happened so far this year that were unexpected and their impact on your plans.
- List completed goals, even those that are only partial ones. It helps to look at what we have achieved instead of only negatively thinking about what has not transpired. In fact, you may be surprised at the results. If appropriate, ask your staff and family what they feel has been accomplished
- Examine what is happening now in your life and business. If possible, project other possible events for the next few months. Ask your friends and family what plans they may have.
- Take the time to look at your original goals or resolutions. What can be finished, what should move to 2016, or maybe there are even plans you should discard. Be honest with yourself.
- Now make a revised plan and put it into action.
This process is really worth the time. It will help you with your business during the holiday months and assist the planning process for the upcoming year. Why wait to make your resolutions?
Remember – don’t just count the days; make the days count!
Jean Storms, MPM® is the founder/author of LandlordSource and has been a NARPM® member since January 1993.
Disclaimer: LandlordSource does not represent the article content in this website as legal advice. It is shared information only and up to the reader to use this information responsibly, seeking legal advice as necessary to their business.
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