Creating Massive Momentum
Three simple actions you can take to make 2020 your best year yet
It’s February and according to the research, 66% of you have given up on your New Year’s Resolutions. You made it a full month (or almost a month) working on your resolutions, or at least attempting them, before you got side tracked or gave up on them all together. So, now what?
Hopefully, you still have the desire for improvement and growth in your life and career! If you want to create massive momentum to make 2020 your best year yet, I’ve got 3 simple actions you can start implementing today — and here’s a hint — they aren’t hard or complicated, they just require commitment!
Action #1: Cleanse
No, I’m not talking about a juice cleanse. Though I’ve never done that before, I hear it’s great and challenging all at the same time, it’s just not for me —at least at this time. What I’m referring to, is a digital cleanse. Google defines this as a detox — stepping away from your digital life — which is not a bad idea, but I want you to think of this as cleaning up your digital life, not abandoning it.
Yes, clean it up and in a big way. A way that allows you to get organized and focus on what’s most important for your life and career.
Start with your inbox. Get rid of the old emails, the ones that your just hanging on to for the sake of hanging on to them. Store them, move them into a folder, archive them — you’ll be amazed at how you feel when your inbox is clean! We all work in different ways, and I’m not suggesting you completely change the way you work, but just clean it up. By cleaning it up, you remove the stress around your inbox, the task of email will not feel so overwhelming, and hopefully you won’t get stuck there all day.
Next, clean up your desktop — not the physical one (though that’s a good idea, too), the digital one! This was a challenge for me. My desktop was full documents, files, and screengrabs, but what I realized was that when I needed a specific document, presentation, spreadsheet or something else, I couldn’t locate it. I’d search folders and temp files, only to discover it was on my desktop! What should have taken just a couple of seconds to do, took minutes or more away from my productivity time. I was wasting so much energy looking for something that was right in front of me. Cleaning up and organizing will be freeing and give you so much clarity around where things are located. You’ll be able to find what you need almost instantly!
And with that, the next step is to organize those folders. However you store your documents, get them organized, use the tree structure of folder organization to put things where they are easy to locate for you and your team.
When you commit to and perform a digital cleanse, you’ll be amazed at how organized you feel, how easily you can access information, and how much you can improve your productivity!
Action #2: Review
This is such an important step in creating momentum for the year! However you record your thoughts or take notes, take a few minutes and review them — look back on what you did last year. Reflect on what you accomplished and what you didn’t accomplish. The things you discover, remember, and the learnings you can take away from last year, will help move you forward and make 2020 an awesome year for you.
But don’t stop there! Once you’ve reviewed 2019, make it a habit to review and reflect each week! I do this every Sunday afternoon. I grab my journal and my notebook. I sit down in my office for 30 minutes and look back at what happened the previous week — and this review allows me to plan the week ahead. This 30-minute time investment prepares me for the week. I know what has to be done, how I’m going to do it, and when it will be done — and it all starts with the review.
Action #3: Focus
We live in a world of constant distraction — social media, newsfeeds, television, Netflix, and so much more! If you work from a home office like I do, simple things around the house can be a major distraction. Whether you realize it or not, your focus is being stolen away about the things around you.
You have to get clear on what you want and need to accomplish - both tactically and strategically. Then focus on getting those things done! Create the time and opportunity for you to get your work completed - use the block time strategy I talked about in one of my recent columns.
By creating the space to focus, you can move forward on your goals and make this year great! Don’t let your focus be stolen away by the noisy world we live in.
Cleanse, Review, Focus — these 3 simple steps can help YOU create massive momentum in 2020 and make this your best year yet! It may take some time and planning to get it done — but it will never happen unless you get started.
Take one step forward — today! Only you can create the action and movement that you need to ensure your success.
Be sure to join the conversation and share your thoughts and ideas on how you can create massive movement for your life and career! Visit our blogs and let’s keep this conversation going. www.sidmeadows.com and www.embark-cct.com.