10 Things To Tick Off Over The Holidays
The Christmas break provides a welcome opportunity to switch off for many of us but it also provides some time to do a little bit of housekeeping to make sure that, when 2021 arrives, we are ready !
Here’s my list of 10 things you can do over the next 2 weeks and feel all the better for it.
1 Take A Moment To Reflect On Progress Made In 2020
Sure 2020 has been a more challenging year than any of us came close to predicting but it’s important to reflect on the successes we have had and the progress we’ve made. Reflect and celebrate. Even small victories are victories.
2 Purge Paper
Even the most disciplined of us accumulate paper. Spend an hour or so purging it from your work bag, your home office, anywhere it is lurking. Just get rid of it and try and garner less of it next year.
3 Digital Cleanse
Delete images, files and documents you no longer need. Clean up your ‘phone - remove the apps that you never use. Make your home screens more efficient. Deleting things is really easy and can be done when you are relaxing. A major task down effortlessly. It’s also a good moment to judge if your configurations are working for you. Break bad digital habits.
4 Change Passwords And PINS
This is something you should be doing a couple of times a year anyway but now is a good time. On matters like 2FA, that you’ve been resisting - commit. Change your card PINs too. You’ll never regret being more security conscious.
5 Pick 5 People
Identify 5 people in your life you are going to connect with in January, come what may. Even if it is just a call. Pull yourself out of the predictable and cast your net a little wider. 2020 has taken its toll with regard to serendipitous in-person meetings. Make an effort.
6 Identify A New Learning Opportunity
If you are not learning something new you are going backwards. Noodle around online for a course or conference. I was gifted a Masterclass subscription in November and it’s proved fascinating - especially the learnings from people and sectors which are not my own. Familiarity really does breed contempt so stretch yourself.
7 Look At Your Calendar
By now a lot of the signature dates should be in your diary along with business meetings for the first couple of months. You should always be in control of your schedule so now, when your calendar is freer, start to block off time for you. Pencil in key milestones that align with your priorities.
8 Consider Your 3 Big Objectives For 2021
Avoid a long list of objectives - think of 3 macro ones. The strategic priorities that keep you focused - and these are YOURS. So not just business. And back to point 7, write those objectives in your calendar against a future date. Perhaps set an hour or so every couple of months to review your objectives. And, better still, commit them to an email and send them to your mentor asking them to check your progress as the year unrolls.
9 Create Objectives For Q1
You want to get off the blocks quickly in 2021 knowing that there will be significant challenges which you have no control over - COVID-19 for all of us, BREIXT for some of us. These macro issues can’t be an excuse for a passive approach so create a list of things you want to achieve in the first 3 months. That’s a long enough time frame to get them done but short enough that you can’t afford to kick them into the long grass.
10 Sign Up To THE DAILY
And as part of 3 why not streamline your morning newsletters. Every weekday we send out THE DAILY at 0700am (UK) - picture of the day, 5 news links with a pithy summary of each and a ‘wildcard’ article to stimulate. It takes 5 minutes and doesn’t accumulate unread in your in-box making you feel guilty. Stay informed with a fresh perspective.
We hope you work through some of the above - there is no other time of the year when your mind is less cluttered with external influences so you owe it to yourself to run a self-diagnosis and get ready for a great 2021.
Happy Holidays.
Mark
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Izatt is a brand consultant living in London and founder of Mission Critical, a highly focused and curated weekly briefing for time poor and information hungry decision makers and THE FIRST, a monthly briefing containing 31 inspirational insights. Mission Critical is a digital product delivered via his Estonian Consultancy business.
You can email Mark here and read about his recently published book ‘Mission Critical - 101 tips to survive and thrive at work in the office, on the move and at home’.
