We usually start musing about a resolution before the year ends. As for me, I’ve spent most of my time during the holidays by myself. In the solitude of the night (with the occasional horn blast of buses and cars), I read. Read our website. Read previous posts. Read about marketing trends and books I know by heart. Also binge-watched some episodes that I can recite the lines.  It’s my way to recharge and start to be optimistic about the new year and what could it bring. For a few days, I tried not to think about my resolution.
2016 was quite a challenging one for us, especially during the first quarter. It was not because of luck that we manage to stay afloat. It is because of hard work, motivation, and perseverance. Although of course, we could have definitely done more.
So, in the spirit of creating New Year’s Resolution, here’s my list.  I hope that you’ll be able to pick up a thing or two that can help you out.
Always have an open mindset.
When I read articles, I tend to just skim it for I usually thought that I can guess what the writer was about to say. Wrong! Now, I force myself to read everything. Why? Because the important lessons are usually squeezed between the lines. I also try to ask questions to people with different perspectives from mine. I try to listen well to what they have to say.  I also stop thinking that I know better than them (when we happened to have a different opinion). It’s quite surprising on the interesting things I was able to learn in just a few days by simply having this mindset.
Accept when tested formulas don’t work anymore and learn to let go.
The business structure of this company 5 years ago is not applicable anymore for a lot has changed. And that’s alright! Okay, maybe I had a few panic attacks episode but I got over it. With that being said, watch out for some cool changes that we will be doing soon!
Always make room to learn new things.
Last year, I finally gather my courage and studied French. I would say, c’est difficile (maybe that’s not how they use it but, what the heck). I’m still way far from being good at it. I usually take five minutes to compose a simple sentence, but that’s okay. Baby steps count! So if you are thinking about those cooking classes that you want to take our a digital marketing course that you want to pursue, go ahead!
Make an effort to be more organized.
Our brain cannot always take a mental note of everything that we need to finish or where we put our things. Now, I use a social media calendar so I do not forget to post. I will try to write a post about free tools to help you get more organized. I’ll have a few slips eventually but it doesn’t matter. We only get it right after a few mistakes, right?
Make room for improvement but do acknowledge on what you can realistically do as well.
This one might be a bit confusing so let me give you an example. 10 years of working in night shift, my body clock is in tuned to work during night time. I’ve read a lot of articles on how to be a morning person, and I’ve really, really tried my best and I always fail. Of course, I cannot start working at night time otherwise, I will miss a lot of tasks that I need to do. So to solve this dilemma, I still try to wake up early, but in a more realistic time (for me). I can manage to do “day tasks” (getting in touch with people, etc) and save my reading and writing tasks at night.
Go outside once in a while
Your office, albeit being set up to bring out your best work mode can drain your energy. And then, you will start to feel demotivated and grumpy. Try to go out for lunch or a short break. In my case, I am always with my adorable furry companion whom I need to take out midday. I’m not saying that I feel energized and ready to work afterward. But a few minutes off the screen can give a fresh input on whatever it might be I am working on.
Avoid saying that I am too busy
Okay, there will be times when I have a workload which takes ages to finish. Or, days that we just don’t feel like talking due to stress. But come to think of it, there’s always a few minutes to send a message to a friend or family. And the world will not come to a complete stop if we do that once in awhile.
Always be thankful.
Simply because there are lots of things we can be thankful of.
So cheers to all of us for surviving 2016 and let’s start being great this year!
