- Image by Martin Deutsch via Flickr
Written by Karen D. Swim
Hello and Happy 2009! Like most people I have spent the past couple of weeks reflecting on the past as I planned for the future. I took real time away from business and the internet to relax, reflect and reconnect with the neglected pieces of my life.
Before I moved forward it was important to review the lessons learned in the previous 12 months. What went right? What went wrong? More importantly how would I apply the lessons to keep growing and moving forward?
So, what did I learn?
- Sometimes you’re on the right road but you’ve got the wrong mode of transportation. For me this meant for looking at plans and processes in detail. Often the plans were solid but I needed to tweak the process which included sometime appointing a different driver.
- I am not my business. As a small business professional it’s easy to blur the lines between the business you created and you as a person. My whole reason for creating a business was to allow me to have the lifestyle I desired. I had to take a step back and realize Words For Hire is not Karen Swim. That delineation helped me to think about my business with a clear head free of emotional baggage.
- I don’t have to know everything. This was a hard one but my natural curiosity led to information overwhelm. My feed reader had more than 400 subscriptions, I was receiving alerts every 5 minutes from the 50+ forums to which I belong and I was consuming far too much “news.” I cut my feed reader down, unsubscribed from tons of email messages (which I never read, they simply taunted me until my weekly email clean-ups) and stopped the steady flow of news.
- Mindful motion trumps multitasking. I had redeveloped the very bad habit of thinking I could do multiple things at once…and do them all well. However, after a period of rest I returned to work focusing on one thing at a time, fully engaging and completing one task before moving on to another. I accomplished more in half the time.
- I’m the boss of ME. I am not an employee in my life or business. I am CEO and that comes with the responsibility of managing my most valuable asset – me. I have to chart the course and ensure ME Inc. stays on track. I also must set boundaries and block out the things that are impeding my progress.
Using the Past to Propel the Future
There would be no point in reflection if I was not going to take action on the information. The first major change I’m making is to my schedule. I’m switching to a 4 day work week with shorter hours each day. I have committed to a 90 day experiement and will share what I learn with you here.
My schedule change will enable me the time to fully engage in the things I love like the blogging community. I would much rather complete my essential tasks for the day and then spend time visiting your blogs or chatting on Twitter rather than trying to juggle it all during the “work day.” I look forward to more meaningful interaction with all of you this year.
One final nod to 2008- Robert Hruzek has graciously extended an invitation to all of you to showcase your Best of 2008 posts in his super sized, Blogapalooza. Going through my own archives proved to be a wonderful opportunity to see how far I’d come in a blogging year. Robert’s more than halfway there to his goal of 100 participants. I would love to celebrate your accomplishments, so please participate and spread the word.
What’s in store for you this year? Care to share any big hairy audacious goals for 2009? Do you have a theme for the year? Your comments are always welcomed.
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Melissa, I’m still in week one but I must say it’s going fairly well. I think it helped that I had the past two weeks to readjusting to not working. Sure, I was busy but I used the time for pleasure rather than work. What really sold me is how much energy I had. Give it a shot, you’ll love it!
A four day work week sounds pretty good to me! I’ve always thought four days a week, six hours a day would be just perfect. The problem is I seem to be somewhat of a workaholic, so I would probably just create more work for myself and call it play 😉
Hello and Happy New Year everyone!
@Robert, so far, so good! I had a long list of critical tasks today and I was done by 1:30! I focused on one thing at a time, without distraction and blew through my list with ease. Kept going even when I hit a creative roadblock – normally I’d switch away but knew that I had committed to start and finish before moving on so I worked through it.
@Hi Roland! You may hear a bit more about ME, Inc as the year progresses…not in an “oh gosh shut up about yourself already” way but you know from time to time with learnings that can help others. 🙂
@Brad, howdy Brad! So far, so good and I look forward to sharing with everyone at month end how it’s going thus far. Today was EXCELLENT! 🙂
@Joanna, with you showing me how to write audaciously I’m certain to have a perfect start for a great year! 🙂
@Ulla, hello dear Ulla! It’s really hard to juggle isn’t it? Today I had to really fight to guard my time, but it was worth it because here I am at 3 pm stress free and able to visit. 🙂 I wish you all the best this year too.
@Janice, it is going to be a fun year! Isn’t it amazing how so many of us are really moving in the same direction. I love it because I feed off of you all and get inspired, it’s also much more fun than going it alone. I wish the best for you this year too. Yes, I saw the lovely boat, I’d love to see how you would render that in paint. 🙂
We are so on the same page. It is going to be a fun year… and a themed one. Did you see the gorgeous boat photo Joanna has on her post? Looking forward to the experimental New Year for all of us. all best wishes for you.
Karen,
“trying to juggle it all during the work day” – that’s a feeling I know only too well, too. I am trying to separate work and fun – doing my feed reading, commenting and blogging at home after work, instead of trying to squeeze it between, always with a bad conscience
I wish you all the best for your plans for 2009!.
Karen, what powerful learning and reflection. I’m sure this will stand you in good stead to be super powered in 09.
Hi Karen, Can’t wait to see how your experiment goes. Sounds like a good idea, and I can certainly relate to your goals. Good luck!
I love the ME Inc. concept.
And I wish that your plans come through for 2009. 🙂
Way to get organized for a new year, Karen! Lemme know who that’s workin’ for ya… 😉
No, seriously; these are 5 great solid themes we should all be thinking of this year. Might as well build up the good habits right from the beginning!
Happy New Year, and a tip o’ the hat to ya!