By Annastasia Seebohm
There’s something cleansing about the first page of a new diary. A new year begins and the old one recedes into the shadows, along with the mistakes and dramas of the months that have passed. And with a new, clean diary I can refocus on the year ahead. Smoothing down that first crease and scribbling down my hopes and goals for the year ahead, I feel the same buzz I had when I first began this mini ritual.
Writing is therapeutic; it orders the thoughts whirring around in my mind. But there’s more to it than just a new start: it’s also a vital part of my business strategy. In fact, this ritual is the reason why I was a CEO by the age of 30. As a mentor on the Quintessentially talent programme, I strongly believe in nurturing and cultivating new talent. One of the most valuable things I can pass on is the importance of having your own goals and rituals.
Here are my top tips for keeping your resolutions in 2019:
Set realistic goals
Every year, I make it a priority to write four or five goals and rituals to get to where I want to be. These can be business related or personal, but it gets my mind in the right space to think about them as attainable. For me, this year’s goals include reading the Financial Times every weekend and doing Kayla Itsine’s fitness routine three times a week.
Keep reminding yourself
I take my journal with me everywhere. I can document my thoughts, and reflect on them when I’ve had time to process things properly. Carrying these notes around in my handbag with me allows me to remember them and check up on them when I need to.
Visualise
When you have a ritual, you have a stabiliser and a motivational point to improve and pursue your goals. It’s about your mindset as much as doing the action itself. Learning to set time aside to repeat activities, cultivate skills and improve your wellbeing is an essential part of any successful career. The rituals you take on to develop yourself are essential in getting to your goal: like steps on a ladder, you need to work out when you are going to find the time, energy and skillset to develop. When I write these down, I’m not only working out a plan to get there, but I’m imagining myself attaining them. That’s often half the battle: believing that you can do something and, more importantly, that you will do it.
Be consistent
Multiple studies have shown that we are more likely to succeed in a diet or resolution if we work out a strategy to get there. It takes around two months - or 66 days - to take up a new habit, something that you can do automatically without thinking. You are 53% more likely to achieve your goal if you put a plan in place to get there. Making sure you are in the best possible space to get through that time by having a plan, a methodology or even just a nice new notebook can make all the difference.
Make time for YOU
Wellness is deeply rooted in grounding yourself and your needs as an individual. Whether that’s Qi Gong in the morning (something I love to do) to get you in the right space for a work meeting, or setting a reminder to take 10 minutes out to reflect at the end of your day, they are all steps in the right direction. I advise choosing very specific, small things you can use to accumulate your skill set or life experiences.
Be grounded
I find it really important to reconnect with friends and family. I often fly back to Greece to see my loved ones and having the space to do that allows me to balance my work and home life. Take the time to celebrate when things go right, and document your achievements. They are easily lost in the bustle of everyday life.
Plan ahead
At this time of year, with the nights at their longest and the falling temperatures making a trip to the gym or classroom ever less appealing, it’s important to look ahead to where you want to be in the spring, the summer, the winter. Look ahead to what you want to be doing in your career, your family or your love life. You can do it. You just need to start on a fresh new page with a few small steps.
