11 good resolutions to give a boost to your 2019

Here we go, the year is ending, it’s time to reflect! What has this year given you? I hope it was filled with joyful moments, achievements, and the completion of goals. I also wish you were able to recover during challenging times and that you managed to push through while keeping your spirit high.

A new year is starting, just like the fresh notebooks we opened in class at the start of the school term. I loved the new notebooks and the feelings they brought, but I quickly lost interest in them after a few weeks. This often happens with the promises we make for the New Year.

Sadly, our good intentions frequently fall short. Gym memberships have never been as abundant as they are now. The first few weeks of the year are busy. After that, weeks go by and only the most committed stick around (who often had already joined for a while). Sadly, this is true in many areas: those who quit smoking, those who choose to find their dream job, etc.

The truth is that when making a choice, if there is a bit of will, there is a major lack of determination and everything crumbles at the first attempt.

Communicating during the financial crisis

What choices will you make this year and how will it shape your life? How will you navigate this year 2016? What obstacles will you encounter? Here are some suggestions and solutions that could greatly affect your work and personal goals.

To make your year count, make every day count

If you are the type who indulges in procrastination, the art of procrastination, I invite you to read this article. Don’t leave anything to chance if you really want a positive change in your year. Plan, fill your diary, plan your days down to the smallest detail so you don’t end up watching TV or surfing the web aimlessly.

Treat yourself to good working conditions

What’s worse than having to work in the middle of the living room, where the kids watch television or call you regularly. If you work from home as a freelancer, you need to be able to allocate work time, family time and relaxation time. It’s up to you to find the right balance! Also remember that you can work outside from time to time, it is good to leave your office from time to time.

Surround yourself well and build positive attitudes

Friends and family are your most precious possessions. Know how to surround yourself with those who know how to restore confidence in difficult moments. Be close to those who can give you frank and uncompromising advice when necessary.

It all starts with an idea

Professionally, look for the presence of those with more experience. Maintain humility, remain teachable, seek out meetings, make yourself known! Show them you want to learn. Ask questions to the people around you, get used to asking them the recipe for their success, whatever the field. Be inspired by others.

In your projects, associate with people who are competent in their field but who also develop a good attitude and who will be pleasant to work with. Remember, your coworkers don’t have to be your best friends, but working with nice people makes it much more enjoyable.

Don’t close yourself off in digital

When you want to build a reputation, create a blog, make yourself known to sell more or find a new job, some people may focus solely on their digital identity and forget about making themselves known in real life. I highlight this point because it is one of the mistakes I made when I started my business.

I focused my efforts on my blog and social media and it worked. I have a small community that follows me, the site statistics are constantly growing but I was missing something. One day, a Bordeaux resident (like me) who followed me on Twitter contacted me by phone. The exchange was interesting and one of his sentences stuck with me: «It’s funny, I was looking at your profile, you have a blog, a community of several thousand people on Twitter and yet I’ve never met you, I’ve never met you in Bordeaux. »

If you are like me, don’t just rely on your digital promotion tools, be present at conferences, workshops, events related to your business in your city. Go and meet other professionals, shake hands, exchange business cards, share your experiences, enrich yourself through contact with others.

Don’t just do what’s easy, aim for the impossible

It often happens that you include something I don’t know about in new projects. This has the merit of making me explore paths that I don’t yet know, of keeping my passion alive through novelty but also of restoring my confidence in myself. If you maintain a routine in your work, it is obvious that tiredness will make itself felt.

Cultivate moments of relaxation and rejuvenation

It is just as easy to fall into ineffective activism as it is into procrastination. If this is your case, learn to stop. You don’t just have to give yourself rest time, but above all quality rest time!

Go out, get some fresh air, go see an exhibition, play sports, listen to music, anything you normally don’t have time to do. Share good times with your friends, family, travel, go to amusement parks, etc.

Feed your creativity

Creativity is maintained, it is nourished! Music, cinema, images, books, conversations, exhibitions, everything is good for this devourer.

Insatiable on the other hand, the more you feed her, the more she will be able to support you when you need her.

I invite you to read these two articles which will surely give you a boost in times of drought:

– How creativity is born
– 10 effective ways to stimulate your creativity

Train

There are sectors that require constant questioning so as not to be overwhelmed, so be careful (in the sense of «doing professional monitoring»), train yourself, set aside time to learn or expand your knowledge. We generally take too little time to do this and this is a mistake. Schedule times like this to ensure you stick to them. This can take different forms: actual training if you have the budget or funding, it can be workshops, sometimes free as found in some facilities, or on the Internet. There is so much to learn on the Internet.

I think if I had to give just one piece of advice, it would be this. There is so much to learn in books, so many journeys to take, so many adventures to have! I always have several books on my bedside table, on my desk, magazines or newspapers (yes, I admit, working in a media library makes things much easier).

I highly recommend purchasing an e-reader. It’s so nice to be able to carry the equivalent of a library with you (minus the weight!) and be able to stick your nose in at the slightest opportunity. A waiting room, a moment on the terrace, a break on the sofa, etc. The screen is pleasant, not bright and tiring like a tablet, the reading sensation is close to that of paper. The device is not heavy and is even easier to hold than a book. Obviously it’s not paper…

I have a touching thought for my Kindle which was lost about a month ago…

Don’t be afraid of failure

Do you want new ideas, do you want to undertake, do you accept challenges? So don’t be afraid of failure, because it will happen to you too! Because it’s important that this happens to you, it’s almost beneficial! Error is certainly the best means of training. We still have to be able to get up with the same energy and the same desire.

Failure should not make you lose motivation, analyze your mistakes. If the problem is yours, solve it and improve. If it’s a context problem, then change your mind, but don’t stop undertaking and creating!

Build your confidence

Stop letting your insecurities and lack of confidence dictate your behavior! If now is the time, then go for it: develop your idea, take on that project that is so important to you, or gather all the resources you need to get started. Don’t let your plans die because you lack the confidence to make them happen!