Looking for ways to make 2024 the best year ever? Having just completed my 2024 strategic plan for business, I’m battling the challenge of having so much to do this coming year, and such limited resources to get it all done.  Can you relate to this in your career?  Limited resources like time, energy, and mental capacity to get it all accomplished can stifle our potential.

Whether you’re a busy C-suite executive, manager, entrepreneur, or work anywhere within an organization, and want to have a life outside the workplace, you likely share this “too much to do with such little resources” challenge.

I know from experience that finding solutions for success starts with the habits we keep, and a small shift can make a huge impact. One of my troublesome habits as of late has been a busy mind. To make a huge shift with a slight tweak, my number one habit to improve is to be present.

As an entrepreneur who helps workplace teams connect, collaborate, and create cultures of candour, I find myself constantly in the busyness of thought.  Thinking about the past, the groups I’ve served, planning the upcoming schedule and its demands to be conquered for the best service to my clients, my home life, family and friends, etc. etc.  A busy mind has become a habit, exacerbated by my smartphone, social media, and the injection of too much information boggles my brain, and distracts me from the now.  In the busyness of thought, I miss the magic of the moment and, therefore, am resolving to be more present.  That’s my New Year’s resolution and my best tip for the best year ever.  As old habits are hard to break, I’m digging out and using more mindful tools for success.

Tools for the #1 Tip to Make 2024 The Best Year Ever:

Meditation. It’s free, available anytime, and can center me in minutes.  Most often I follow a favorite guided meditation by Dr. Joe Dispenza, but there are countless options available online. The important part is making a habit of starting or ending the day with an activity to become centered, and practice being focused in the moment, with nothing to do, except just be present.

Breathing. Also free and available anytime, deep breathing helps pay attention to the feeling and sound of inhaling and exhaling which puts attention on living in the moment one breath at a time.

Fitness. While walking, running or working out, being mindful of the muscle groups and the intention for physical wellness, paying attention to breathing, posture and the surroundings of where you are while you are there, is being present with one’s body.

Mono-tasking.  This is the opposite of multi-tasking, where a concerted effort is made to do one thing at a time, a focused effort, for a better result.  Research shows that multitasking can make it more difficult to focus, remember, and regulate emotions.

Focus. It takes effort to minimize distraction in order to focus on the task at hand.  Interruptions, eating, music, noise, notifications, etc., all pull on the present moment’s attention. By reducing distraction and carving out time for deep focus, time will open up for other things, and traction on both will be a better result.

Journal. Copied from my new book, Sandbox Strategies for the New Workplace, “There’s magic when we put pen to paper. The flow of thoughts and feelings, put to words, and the venting or dumping of ideas, helps us rid ourselves of the burdens and see the misinformation that is spinning in our mind. Life is so busy that it’s difficult to be living it and contemplating the how and why we’re living it at the same time, so I use paper to remember and also to forget.”

It’s not just the turn of the new year that presents an opportunity to value being present. Stress, anxiety, conflict, and regret can also make it difficult to be mindful of the present moment, however, living in the moment, although more challenging, will benefit overall wellness, including relationships, and productivity. 

Can being more present help you create your best year? I hope you’ll join me in creating your best year ever, whatever your behaviour tweaks may be. Happy New Year!

Penny

Learn the strategies that will help your team resolve conflict in the NEW workplace.

• Embrace, accept, and welcome conflicting values
• Understand the importance of collaborative relationships for career advancement
• Take responsibility to co-create a winning culture with productive and profitable results
• Empathize with coworkers and even competitors to be the leader others WANT to follow

Press Appearances:

• CEOWorld Magazine 
• Blue Heron Journal
• Mareo McCracken
• EverydayMBA, Host: Kevin Craine 
• Savvy Business
• Swimming in the Flood
• Get Down to Business
• HR.com Leadership Excellence
• Indian Management Magazine
• Crafting Solutions to Conflict
• Vantage Fit Podcast
• Stay tuned, more coming soon…