Firstly, a very Happy New Year for 2024, I always find this time of year particularly inspiring as one chapter closes, and another begins. We tend to start out with great expectations of what we will achieve whether that is making use of that gym membership you signed up for six months ago or implementing some form of positive change.

It is easy to lose motivation for new changes, the key is remaining disciplined as there will be days you have zero desire to get out of bed or get on that treadmill, this is okay, its human nature. Discipline will enable you to keep going and create that new positive routine.

The purpose of this blog is to explore some personal and business-related goals you can implement to start January off with a bang which will put you in good position for 2024 throughout!

Let’s start with some top tips for personal goals followed by business ones.

Personal Goals

1. Third Thursdays

I read a blog post by Matt Ryde from Graham John which provided an excellent idea. How often do we send a Christmas card or text once a year to send well wishes and that ‘we must meet up in the new year’, sound familiar?

The sad reality is we often never end up meeting with that person or people and end up repeating ourselves again next year with another feeble message uttering the same words.

Matt has suggested “Third Thursdays”, it doesn’t have to be a Thursday, pick any day. The idea is that your friendship group commits to meeting up once a month at a venue decided by the group. Check out Matt’s post here.

2. Getting back to the gym

It is no secret that gyms signup the most members at the start of January, researchers state that roughly only a fifth of people stick to the gym for more than a year after joining. This is not only sad but also a total waste of money if you are not going to benefit from the membership.

Going to the gym and sticking to it has been a challenge for me, there always seems to be a reason why I cannot go such as I am on holiday, going out with friends or I am too busy with work. I tend to go through phases where I have a great routine only for it to be disturbed by one of life’s events that ‘pop up’. This January, I have said that I will commit again by going first thing in the morning as I know that I can get it out the way. This gives me peace of mind knowing whatever commitments arise throughout the day doesn’t matter as I have already done my workout.

Check out 6 Habits you can develop to commit to a workout routine here.

On a final note, make sure your target is realistic, if going to a gym is going to put a strain on you financially or just something you have no desire to do that is also fine. Maybe taking a daily brisk walk or jog in your local park is right for you.

For example, Thackray Williams Solicitors provide Netwalking events free of charge within the Kent and Bromley areas. This is a fantastic opportunity to exercise and meet new people. Learn more here. 

Check out keeping fit tips that do not involve the gym here.

3. Manage Stress and improve wellbeing

It easy to become overwhelmed, coming from someone who is in the tech industry, tech has become a blessing in many ways, but the negative is that there is an expectation for us to be available irrespective of the time of day.

Working from home has also added to stress as we tend to take less breaks than we would in the office. It is also easier for you and your team’s wellbeing to go unnoticed which leads to increased complications. Here are some tips on how to improve your wellbeing:

1. Take regular breaks for example get up and walk around every 15 minutes to keep your blood flowing.
2. Ask for help if you are stuck, do not suffer in silence call a colleague for support or speak with your manager.
3. Work within your contracted hours – it is easy to do that little bit more, whilst this is generally okay, if you find yourself still working away at 7pm. It may be an idea to reassess your work schedule.
4. Go for a walk during your lunch break.
5. Drink water to stay hydrated – this sounds like an obvious tip; however, you would be surprised how many people neglect to do this.

Learn more from Mind UK on how to improve your management of stress and wellbeing.

4. Manage your financial wellbeing

The link between mental health and financial wellbeing is now more acknowledged within the mainstream, crippling debt causes stress and anxiety amongst many things. Depression and other mental health related illnesses can lead to increased spending which in turn creates debt, as these topics are now being more openly discussed it easy to see how this turns into a vicious cycle.

There are many things that you can do to help with this such as creating a budget, creating one will allow you to analyse your funds to help with day-to-day expenditure and future saving goals. There are many savings tricks you can use such as the £1,500 challenge (also known as the 7-day saving challenge).

You start by saving £1 on Monday, £2 on Tuesday, £3 on Wednesday and so on. When you get to the end of the year you have banked £1,456. 

Click here to learn more about other saving tips.

If you are struggling with your finances, it may be worth getting some help and support from a professional. Click here to access the NHS support and advice for coping with financial worries.

5. Cultivate a new hobby

Hobbies are a great way to meet likeminded people and improve your quality of life. The wonderful thing about hobbies is that they are unique to each of us and deliver a sense of worth. It opens a community and fulfilment.

Whatever your hobby, if you haven’t acted on it then let 2024 be the year that you do. Have those golf clubs been collecting dust? If so, get out there and play (even if it just going up the driving range to hit some balls).

If you are stuck for inspiration, check out these 26 hobby ideas that are budget friendly in 2024.

Business Goals

6. Grow your professional network

Networking tends to divide opinion; some people swear by it and others will tell you it is a complete waste of time. From my experience, with networking it is often the expectations people have of networking for example, people think it is a case of showing up and handing your business card out, then walking away with a sale or deal. This is not the reality and will leave you disappointed.

My 2023 goal was to attend regular networking events, I was apprehensive at first as the breakfast club I was looking to join met/meets every fortnight and I was concerned about setting time aside plus whether I could bring anything to the group.

On reflection, networking has been a fantastic company decision as it has enabled me and the company to form many professional relationships that have tremendously helped with the growth of PDR IT Solutions. Not only that by forming relationships it has enabled people to get to know me and in turn have trusted to do business with us and vice-versa. Attending ad-hoc networking events that have been put on by our local Chamber of Commerce has also been great.

Set some time aside within the first quarter to attend some networking events, this gives you time to find the right group for you as you will inevitably find that some groups are not the right fit.

On a final note, networking has been great for PDR IT as it has facilitated our growth in many ways. One last tip, think of what benefit you can bring to the room, it easy to form the idea of ‘what can I get out of it’, but when you start asking yourself what value you can bring this is a game changer.

A great start is to attend an event hosted by your local Chamber of Commerce, find your local chamber here.

7. Attending meetings on time

This sounds an obvious one, however, since the popularity of online meetings have soared over the past few years, I have noticed that timekeeping and etiquette in respect of this have dropped.

One reason for this is that it is now easier to attend multiple meetings within our working day as we do not need to factor in travelling time between meetings. Whilst this is a great thing the downside is that we cram too many meetings in, which in turn leads to over running.

Here are some tips on how to improve punctuality for your meetings:

1. Do not overlap with meetings – ideally set a minimum of 15 minutes between meetings to enable you to prepare for the next meeting.
2. Communicate – important things crop up try to give people as much notice as possible that you cannot attend and need to reschedule.
3. Stick to what is in the calendar – whilst changing dates is an inevitable fact of life, do your best to stick to what has been agreed.
4. End meetings on time – It is easy to lose track of time within online meetings, however, it is critical to be considerate of others time. In addition, do not drag meetings on for the sake of it, if you finish the agenda before the end of the scheduled time, just end it. This provides opportunities for everyone to regroup and catch up on other important responsibilities.
5. Finally, just be on time – This sounds obvious; however, it is becoming common for people to arrive 5-10 minutes late to a meeting, this wouldn’t be acceptable in the real world so it shouldn’t in the virtual one. 

8. Set deadlines for decision making

Making decisions is never an easy task and it is common to fall foul of decision-making paralysis. Within your business decision making is usually a daily occurrence and small decisions can often be made quickly and without too much thought.

When we are met with bigger decisions this is where prevarication can set in and cause complications, we do not want to rush things and make the wrong decision, yet if we hold on for too long that can be just as damaging.

“The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.” Seth Godin, this is a fabulous quote as it is easy to do nothing in the fear of getting something wrong, I have certainly been there.

During the start of 2023 I took the plunge to set myself deadlines and ‘just get on with it’ as well as making a decision. I have found this a great strategy as it got the wheels in motion and allowed me to fine tune as time went by.

Did I get things wrong? Yes, I did, but it enabled me to learn and improve. Even the things I got right have been on a path of evolution that have improved further over time.

Breaking the task/project into manageable chunks was a massive help as it creates a less daunting feeling when you can break tasks down. It also creates a sense of achievement when you tick off each chunk and moving onto the next step.

Learn more here on how to meet deadlines.

9. Hire a professional

For small businesses having the right skillset or people is critical to growth, timing of when to employ such people is another factor. As much as we would all like to think we can do everything, we cannot and in the longer term this could lead to problems.

Even if you do have the skillset, there comes a time where it is not good use of your time to perform the task in question and delegating is required.

The great news is that in the world we’re in today there are lots of freelancers meaning that you do not need to commit to employing someone fulltime. For example, we hire a bookkeeper on an ad-hoc basis, sometimes this is on a monthly arrangement and others it is once a quarter. The main point is it provides flexibility and allows us to utilise resources.

Inevitably this saves us money and time, as it enables us to hire the right person for the job which in turn means the task is completed quicker and to a high standard.

Check out the eight benefits of using a freelancer here.

Here’s to a prosperous 2024!

I hope you have found this blog useful and that you have been able to implement some of the tools to improve your personal and professional life throughout the year.

If you haven’t done so previously, I invite you to have an IT consultation which is personalised to you and your development. You will also be issued with an IT Roadmap which is a fantastic tool for allowing you to plan throughout the year and beyond. We look to build long term partnerships with our clients, and we do this by understanding you and bring technology that works for you.

Book your complimentary consultation here.

As another thank you, if you end up taking out one of our services plans you will receive 20% off for the first three months.

We’re a friendly bunch that avoid jargon and work with you to develop your IT, IT doesn’t have to be daunting and by engaging with us we take on the technology load which enables you to focus on other important things.

Schedule a chat to see how we can help even if you have a burning question, we’re on hand to assist.