We hope you all had a magnificent break over Christmas and the New Year. For some, early January arrives with a sense of dread and disappointment now that the festivities have come to an end while for others it is a fresh new beginning, full of opportunities. We see it as a chance to reflect on the previous year and plan for what’s to come.
Most people create new year’s resolutions around their personal lives, such as joining the gym or cutting back on booze, but resolutions are rarely made around work practices. The beginning of the year is a great time to refine work policies and procedures that are the foundation of your Association.
The steps you take at the start of year help you visualise what is needed to succeed. Create a plan and treat it as a roadmap for improvement. This can be what done by listing your goals and sorting them by priority. Include everything from recruiting new staff/board members, to something small such as an office tidy.
Going into the new year organised can really start you off on the right foot. Having your responsibilities laid out in front of your eyes will help you gain an understanding of what you need to be doing and what you’ll find to be most beneficial in all aspects of your professional life.
As well as planning for what’s to come, it is equally important to reflect on the past. Review your past year and work out what went well, what didn’t, and what you should do differently in 2023. Recognise where you made mistakes and where you excelled over the past year in order to raise your Association’s productivity levels and achieve your goals.
One of the most important questions to ask yourself is what was your biggest time waster last year? What did you spend the most time on and get the least out of? If you can identify this, then you can identify means to change, and alter any unnecessarily lengthy processes you may have.
Let us know what your new year’s resolutions are and how you hope to grow and improve your Association.