There is no better way to start than by focusing on the plans and goals you have for the year ahead. Whether you have 5 months to finish your financial year or whether you operate by the standard calendar, we all want to start the new year well.
Many leaders are using the start of a new year to implement new tools or to start new habits. It may be that you have decided to put in place a new weekly meeting to review numbers or implement a new tool to create proposals.
Whatever you have put in place, it’s highly likely it is important to you right now and something you are pushing others to do. You are using this new time of year to start to drive CHANGE. But I have a big question and challenge for you.
Will the new habit, plan, system or routine still be in place in 55 days time? Why 55 days?
Gary Keller in his book ‘The One Thing’ (which is a brilliant read for anyone wanting to achieve goals) talks about it needing 66 days to ensure a new habit is maintained and becomes part of your regular daily or weekly routine.
So if you want to make the Jan 1st resolution goal or new change stick (and we are 11 days into the year now!), you need to keep at it for 55 more days before it will become part of your’s or your team’s daily routine.
I have lost count of how many times someone has started the new year with a new goal but just a few weeks in, that goal has been forgotten. Change is difficult and hard to achieve and in most cases, we all go back to our old ways.
Whilst this is ok for you when you lead a team it is imperative that they see congruency and consistency in the way you act. When you start new ideas but then don’t maintain them, it can dent their confidence in you and cause them to question other suggestions you make.
When you do think about going back to old ways, go back to your WHY.
Why does this new goal or resolution matter? What made it so important for you that makes you even want to try and change? What were you trying to achieve by having this in place?
Sit down and focus on the WHY for a short time and remember why it mattered to you. Write down on a pad or on your phone the top 5 reasons why this is so important to you.
Before you give in, just have 5 minutes to sit and remember the reason you started. Re-read the notes and tell your brain the importance of what you were trying to start.
That reason is very likely to still be relevant and when we give ourselves a few moments to consider its importance, it can sometimes be the nudge or motivation we need to not give up and continue on the path to somewhere new!
So review the WHY and keep implementing the changes and plans with your team.
It may not help and 60 days from now, you may be back where you were but as Robin Sharma says…