How Will The New Year Be Different?

Any fool can be busy. It takes no special talent to run around like a headless chicken. Similarly, it requires no special skill to let other people’s deadlines consume you. Instead, focus on setting goals for the year and prioritizing tasks that drive long-term growth and development.

I show up for appointments that I arrange with others without any trouble. If I say I will be there, then 99% of the time I will indeed be present. Occasionally I will be let down by my own planning, technology or traffic. But those are rare instances and I cringe with embarrassment at the very recollection of such occasions.

But isn’t it amazing that I can still shrug off a development priority (whether personal or business) with hardly a murmur?

Whether it’s planning, team development, writing an article, or improving the website; these priorities are easily replaced by the next deadline or the last email.

When delivery keeps overriding development, stress and frustration become the norm. Balance is key to sustainable success.

If we are not vigilant, delivery will always override development. This simple phenomenon accounts for more stress, overwhelm, endless feast-famine revenue cycles, exhaustion, frustration and broken resolutions than just about every other aspect of business life put together.

Recognising the truth of this changes nothing. Signing up for another development program, reading another book, buying a franchise, or embarking on an MBA won’t help on its own. These efforts are ineffective if we don’t protect our development time. We also need to hold ourselves accountable to someone else.

How do You want your new year to be different?