Last week, one of my peers shared that he had just returned from his first real vacation since he set out to work on his own, three years ago. You could hear the relief in his voice, and the renewed energy. I could even hear him breathing differently as he shared his goals for the upcoming quarter. He closed his email with “Woohoo!”
Since each week has 168 hours, why not set aside two of them this week to look back on the current year — what worked well, what took you by surprise, what needs to change or be eliminated — and then use what you’ve learned to help shape the year ahead?
Here are just a few creative ways we can invest our time this week:
- Claim a spot on our 2012 calendar for a much-needed vacation, so we have it to look forward to
- Identify the one professional goal that would make the greatest difference, and set a deadline for achieving it; do the same in the personal realm
- Sign up for a 5K walk/run, and take the first step toward preparing for it
- Take a recurring task that has always seemed laborious, and find a way to streamline it — you might even try following a checklist
- Send an overdue card/email, or make an overdue phone call to someone who needs to hear from you
- Establish one or more daily rituals at specific times, to stay on track with what matters most. Mealtimes can be a great place to start, or recommit to.
I don’t know about you, but I am not yet at the “Woohoo!” stage. But I challenge both of us to use this final week of 2011 to clean up, clean out, count our blessings, and get a head start on 2012 — and enjoy the rewards that inevitably follow.
Network with Gina