Another Year Flew By… Happy New Year!
Do you find yourself saying lately, “another year flew by”? The New Year is always a time for reflection for me. I take account of everything I was able to accomplish and also what I didn’t get done. Another year, I couldn’t do this or that project. As soon as I feel the sense of accomplishment, I suddenly feel I didn’t do enough.
We live in a time where there is so much to do both at the personal level and in the workplace. There is simply not enough time. Companies expect increased efficiency from all employees and the ability to assimilate immense amounts of information in a short time. Competition is furious at every level in business. How do you stay competitive? What additional training can you get to stay marketable? What must one do to be successful in today’s work environment?
Below are five strategies you can implement at home and at work to help you maximize your time in the New Year:
Strategically prioritize activities.
Because you most likely cannot attend everything you’re invited to (or obligated to attend), you must prioritize. When prioritizing events and activities, always choose the activities that will make the most impact in someone’s life. Whether the event is personal with family or at work, measure the impact your presence will have if you attend. And what message will your absence project to others if you did not attend the event?
Understanding that if you are in leadership at your workplace, the expectation of you attending all-employee events is greater. However, there may be client or community events where someone else could represent the organization well. This is a way of sharing the opportunity to participate in special events with others and is perceived positively.
Choose to travel or attend meetings virtually carefully.
The one positive outcome I find from the 2020 Pandemic is that virtual meetings became acceptable. However, as “business as usual” returned, many companies expect employees to attend meetings in person again. Even organizations who allow hybrid or remote employees encourage them to participate in person at least periodically. Despite claims that remote teams function well, working together in person still offers many benefits.
So, how do you decide when to attend in person versus virtually? You must choose carefully based on the situation and the type of meeting. If you’re in sales, meeting clients in person is still the best approach. After the initial meeting it is easier and acceptable to continue meeting virtually to conduct business. On the other hand, if you are meeting with a vendor, you could choose to have the initial meeting virtually. If the relationship continues then it may make sense to meet your provider in person later. Although from the vendor’s perspective, they will insist on meeting you in person. The two main reasons to meet virtually are the savings from the travel expense and your time, which is invaluable.
Prioritize projects at home based on urgency.
If you own your home, then you know the never-ending list of things to repair, install, buy, and maintain. But how do you prioritize what to do first? Focus on the urgency of the issue at hand. If the dish washer or cloth dryer breaks, you may need to buy one right away. I’m blessed to have a super handy husband who keeps an ongoing list of things to maintain for “our estate.” But what if you are not handy nor have anyone around to help you? You then need to outsource all the projects that you can’t do and budget for them in advance. It is wise to have a “house maintenance budget” where you put money aside in savings monthly.
For other types of projects that don’t involve maintenance or repairs, choose based on what brings you joy and peace. Sometimes cleaning a closet or emptying boxes of old things you don’t know why you still keep them, is refreshing.
Take time to train yourself and learn new things – especially AI!
The use of Artificial Intelligence is growing at an exponential pace, and businesses are integrating it into all jobs. The key to AI is not to create it but to learn to use it wisely and effectively. Most companies have adopted an AI Policy by now. These policies describe acceptable use cases and boundaries to avoid prohibited use such as sharing customer personal identifiable information (PII). Make it your mission to learn how to use AI in your own job. Learn the prompts and keep a history of questions you used so you can repeat them in the future. As you learn to use AI appropriately, you gain efficiency in your work and get more done in less time. That is the key! This is how you stay marketable and keep up with the competition in the marketplace.
Allocate time for family and friendships.
As mentioned above, prioritize your time based on the impact you will have on someone’s life. If you have children, they must be your priority, always. It is only for a season in your life as they quickly grow up and leave home. Be present in their lives, attend their important events, and spend quality time with them. Create special memories with your spouse, significant other, your children, and your extended family. It is so easy to let relationships fade away for lack of time to nourish them. Be intentional to allocate time for your loved ones, regardless of what projects didn’t get done after you say, “another year flew by.”.
Conclusion
Another year flew by. Everything in life that we consider to be important needs our attention and focus. Therefore, we must choose carefully and strategically which activities to participate in and how. Also, we must intentional about who to spend time with and how to allocate time for our loved ones. I hope these strategies help you prioritize as you begin the journey of the New Year! I encourage you to reflect on what you accomplished last year but give yourself grace for the things you couldn’t do. Maybe better questions to ask yourself are, “How many people did I impact last year?” “How did I help others last year?” and “Who can I help this year?”
Happy New Year!