It's a whole new year. It leads many people longing for a fresh start. But is all that new just too much?
The best way to discover what the futures hold is to understand the past. What we have learned about ourselves is a little goes a long way.
Let’s not be unreasonable with our goals. We’re just people – happy people, tired people, round people, nerdy people. Just people. If we walk into the future knowing and accepting our past, we enter knowing that a fresh outlook can wake us up. It's exciting.
But is making a New Year’s resolution attainable?
This is a time to embrace everything around us. Instead of attacking our shortcoming and making those resolutions too high, spend part of your day reflecting on you and your people.
A Time to Embrace
1. Your morning coffee could take on new meaning
I long for my morning coffee for one reason: It could be the "perfect cup." One of the reasons I drink coffee is to achieve this tall task. The perfect experience is having a hot cup of coffee while gazing out the window – no phone calls and no interruptions. I like to hear my thoughts in peace.
coffeecup
2) Stretching
We are driven to seek out the newness of the year. Many of us will make weight goals or exercise goals, all while deliberately forgetting about the realities of our lives – like 1099s and W-2s, and year-end taxes, which we'll be chasing our clients to get.
Shouldn’t that count for exercise?
The story here is don’t be discouraged. Stretch at your desk. Send that blood to your cold fingers and tired brains. Feed your body with much needed oxygen. I mean – do we really have time to join a gym now?
stretching
3) Connect with your people
It’s time to pick up the phone and connect with your clients. You spend so much time beating up your keyboard. Share your findings with your clients. Talk to them. Ask about their holiday. Find out what their business strategies are in 2017?
You have numerous topics to start conversations with your clients. For example, what are their thoughts about the QBO look?
Are you there
4) Fire up your spirit by learning something new
Talking about QBO, there's much to see with the new layout. I like it. It wakes me up and makes me ask questions. New Year’s resolutions are supposed to challenge us, so doesn’t the timing make sense?
And I love the dashboard. Quick Create and Print Checks have a clever location, and other new additions to billable expenses have given QBO a true makeover.
They didn’t rewrite it; they just tweaked it. Still the same, the color addict in me misses the blue navigation bar.
QBO
So, What about the New Year?
One thing will always be true – people are just people. While we all have extraordinary moments, there are more normal ones.
So, when you're setting your New Year’s resolutions and looking for a fresh start, be kind to yourself – make them reasonable.
Wanna know mine?
I want a peaceful cup of coffee at least once a day. But with three young kids, perhaps that asking a bit too much.