Happy New Year!
The tradition of setting new year’s resolutions can be traced back into prehistory.
The Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year, the Romans began their year making vows to the god Janus (January is named after Janus) and medieval knights would reaffirm their vows of chivalry after Christmas.
We’ve all set new year’s resolutions and not stuck to them, but we have also kept some of them.
Last year I set an overall theme for my resolutions: Less is more
And this is what I broke it down into:
I achieved all of them except ‘More: Exercise’ and ‘Less: Food and booze’…
Yep… carrying those ones over (again) – what can I say; I love wine and food and I hate the gym!
Setting a resolution for yourself is the same as setting a goal. Although we set goals with an intention to achieve them, it’s not just about the goal itself and whether you succeed or fail in the time frame allowed (in this case, a year) – It’s about committing to a decision and having something to work towards.
If you have a destination in mind, it’s easier to decide which path to take.
If you write them down and share them, you add the element of accountability and are far more likely to get it done than if you make some vague, non-specific promise to yourself.
I wrote a blog on How to Decide What Goals to Set at the start of 2015
1 – Start with a bigger objective – something to achieve over the course of a year
2 – Now break that down into smaller steps (ie: something you will do every month towards that goal)
3 – Then break this down into small daily tasks
Work through the baby steps and eventually, little by little, you’ll get there.
Deciding on some goals for your business then breaking them down into practical actions is the basis of a functioning business plan.
A business plan is not just some wordy document you write to impress the bank, it should be a working document, a road map – it’s a way to stay focused and keep track of what you achieve in your business, think of it as the instruction manual for the job you’ve created for yourself.
This year, I’ve set a few resolutions, some business related some personal.
My business goals for 2016 are:
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Generate a full time income from my business
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Get 2 -3 regular corporate freelance contracts (1 should be signed off next week, fingers crossed)
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Publish another fiction title (‘Gabriel’s Game, Part 2: The Black Knight’ – the final part of the Sheridan and Blake Adventure Series is currently out with Beta Readers)
The series is currently on sale for January on Amazon
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Publish a non-fiction book (‘Authorpreneur Almanac, 52 Adventures in Writing and Entrepreneurship’ is currently being edited)
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Launch an online course
On a personal note, I turned 39 on 29th of December and have compiled a list on my Idea’ism blog of 40 things to do before I’m 40.
I also plan to read 12 books this year, 1 a month – it may seem like a small target but I take ages to read an entire book. I love reading, but I’m a slow reader and have to absorb every word. It’s an exhausting process and therefore needs to be worthwhile – I’ve started far more books than I’ve ever completed, so reading 12 books will probably involve starting 20 books!
What are the new year’s resolutions for your business?
Keep yourself on track and achieve more of what you want by setting yourself regular goals.
Learn some creative techniques to manage your time better and set sensible goals in the first of my workshops in 2016 – Achieve More in 2016