We might not know our goals for the next year. But I bet most of us will agree that we don’t want next year to look just like this one. Even if this year was the best one yet. We don’t want to live the same day or years over and over. Monotonous routines or repeated events can burn us out.
So if we want next year to look different from this year, what are we going to do?
How do we ensure that our lives evolve, grow, change?
How do ensure our businesses sustain or grow?
We look back first.
END-OF-YEAR CHALLENGE
As you begin to think about 2024 and what you want for yourself, I want to challenge you to schedule 1-2 hours of time with yourself in the next month.
Think of it as a date.
Put it on the calendar.
Pick a quiet, inspiring place.
Take a notebook, journal, or lose sheets of paper with a pen.
Start in January and look back over each month of the year. You can use your planner and your professional and personal calendars. You can even use your social media to look at posts (just don’t get distracted by the platform!).
What happened?
Personally?
Trips, events, friendships, family, health, loss, achievements, small successes, hard seasons?
Professionally / in business?
Clients/customers, products/services, team members (loss or gain), achievements, goals, small successes, revenue/income, failures?
Write down the good, great, hard, bad, and interesting.
How far have you come?
What did you learn?
How are you different today than you were in January 2023?
I promise if you give yourself this time to review each month, you will remember small things, appreciate or learn from the big things in a new way, and experience emotions - gratitude, joy, pride, grief, truth, humility. Don’t be afraid of it - lean in. It’s worth it!
And so now what do you do with this Annual Audit?
You decide what you want for 2024 based on what you learned from 2023.
What do you want more of?
What do you want less of?
What do you want to keep?
What do you want to change?
The crazy doesn’t stop. Let BuildWell be your constant in 2024.
This exercise is a piece of what is taught in one of the Strategy Lessons I teach in the BuildWell membership. I break down complex, intimidating tasks into bite-size steps to help you move forward. If you are a small business owner, I want you to consider joining the BuildWell membership for 2024. It’s a one-year commitment so you will only have to tackle bite-size tasks and strategies each month. Because we all know it's not one big thing. As you have probably learned from your Annual Audit, it's always the accumulation of small things over time.
Learn more about the membership and reserve one of the 20 spots at www.eloisedesignco.com/buildwell.
For my Freelancers - let me teach you to create a foundation to weather the crazy.
FreelanceWell is a 3-month program that begins in January 2024 that will teach 10 freelancers how to build their brand and business so it serves them and doesn't burn them out.
Our team will brand you in month one and then you will learn from me and other experts in months 2 and 3 on marketing, portfolio, rates, contracts, project management, technology,
communication, boundaries, and MORE.
As you complete the program, you will have the opportunity to gain clients that we have branded.
Learn more about everything you learn and receive at www.eloisedesignco.com/freelancewell
AND then go apply by December 15, 2023!
We are only taking 10 students this first round.
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