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Happy New Year’s

May you have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2016

The new year is a time to get recalibrated and to have a brand new fresh start to the year.  Its the time that we close the financial books, reassess our accomplishments and set a few new goals.  Like most people at this particular time of year, it is time to get back into gear after the slower, festive family time that are the Christmas holidays.  It is time to get organized and get your business into high gear.

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Man, that sounds so compelling doesn’t it.

It sounds so encouraging.

Positive and attainable.

But alas, this time of year can also be difficult as we tend to do a lot of navel gazing, deconstruct our weaknesses our failures and our woes.  My brother and his family have had a tough, tough year and my sister-in-law put it best when she said: “We can hardly wait for 2015 to be over… we are so done with it!”  It is never easy when you have so many things happen all at once.  Annus horribilis is what Queen Elizabeth called it once – Latin for a horrible year. 

For me it is the time of year that I look forward to a clean slate and a time to focus on getting organized and and starting afresh.  I like starting a new planner, turning a new page, writing a new chapter.  Unfortunately, this year’s New Year’s celebration was very low key which in turn seemed to set the tone for the year… or has it? 

I don’t want this year to be like last year (although it was a very good year), I just want it to be better, more productive, certainly more lucrative.

In order for that to occur, I realized that I needed to start setting some goals and focusing on what needs to get done.

FOCUSED

on what needs to get done.

Those seven words are the key to my success.  Actually, upon greater reflection it is just one word that is key: FOCUS.

Here’s the thing, I am pretty sure I have undiagnosed ADD.  That means I have issues keeping attentive and focus.  I have bursts of energy where many things get done very quickly and then I fizzle out because I feel I have been very productive.  I have always considered myself a night owl because I am able to work well in the wee hours of the night.  It is not unusual to find me tapping away on my keyboard at 1, 2 or 3 am.  I love the stillness of the night and the ability to hyper-focus because doing anything else would just wake up the family. 

The irony is that I am a BIG PICTURE person.  That is why I get organizing and see the end of the rainbow when others see chaos.  I can see where things should go and how to group them together when my clients just see a huge mess.  When I go through the sorting and purging part of an organizing project, I can keep my clients focused on the task at hand because in my head I see the bigger picture, the pot at the end of the rainbow, if you will.  I absolutely love the organizing process and I enjoy encouraging my clients to work through the clutter to get to the other side.  I love motivating, encouraging and cajoling them to get rid of things that are creating barriers to a simpler life.  This is what I can do very well when I am focused on my client.

When I am focused on my office and my work, the intensity is not nearly as strong.  It is so easy to lose my way when I am working at home.  I am drawn to the dog barking in the back yard, to another cup of coffee, to the laundry, just one more episode of House Hunter’s International (my TV kryptonite).  I find myself reading blog posts, commenting and reading Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  It’s all part of my job I tell myself (it actually is but sometimes I go astray and find myself reading Buzzfeed or Mashable or Huffington Post or Good Housekeeping – online).  Don’t get me wrong I am also often writing, sizing pictures, editing and sourcing more blog posts – I must have 20 or more drafts for posts that I need to finish. 

You can find me at my local library or Starbuck’s working away when I have a hard deadline.  It is where I often get my best work done.  I am amused that other’s find it too noisy or distracting.  I am the opposite, I find it stimulating and feel a kindred spirit with other on-line entrepreneurs.   When I was at McGill University I would often find myself studying in the cafeteria.  These were the days before you sat at Starbuck’s or an internet cafe to work.  I found that the hustle and bustle, the background noise of the plates and cutlery clanging was helpful.  That white noise was a godsend to my whirlwind mind. 

So for 2016 I have decided that I needed intensify my attention on one small but powerful world: focus.  I want to find the best way to keep my attention on the prize and know and understand how to get there.  Maybe it will finally be pushing my doctor for a clear diagnosis and medication.  I am not closing the door to that prospect.  I have family experience that it does help.  I have also decided to continue working with a friend that has helped me to keep focused on projects that have been rattling around in my head for a while.  I’ve always loved working with a mastermind group and I may seriously consider doing that again.  That is how I work best at times.  With people helping, encouraging and challenging me. 

I will continue to work to be more careful of how I use (and waste) my time.  I won’t worry so much about others but just focus on what I have to do. I want to get into the habit of stopping the busy work and getting the task done.  Not just putting it off or getting it ALL done at once.  I want to work more so I can travel more so I can write more.  It is pretty simple, right?  I want to be consistently focused.

What is your word for 2016?

 🥾 Explore: Tours & Experiences
🏡 Where to Stay: Top Accommodations
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🛫 Get Away: Find Flight Deals
🎒 Shop: Travel Essentials