Top tips for a great New Year.
Written by Mark Hohn January 12, 2017.
I always love the New Year feeling. For me, it is a chance to start fresh, reprioritise and take stock on the year that’s been… What’s worked well for me, what I achieved that I set out to in the previous year, what hasn’t gone to plan, and where have the largest pain points in my life come from? Most importantly how can I do better this year, and how can I create more time to help others do better this year?
We live in a busy world and it seems that we never have enough time to get everything done, which means you are so busy trying to keep up that some areas are bound to suffer. For me, this is where I start thinking about how I can work smarter. What kind of processes or delegation could I use to run my day-to-day operations better, and how am I wasting my time. This can be particularly challenging, but I have found that the following 5 tips make a big difference to the day-to-day running of my professional and personal life.
- Do what you say you will – write it down and put it up!
There’s nothing like having fifty great ideas and barely enough time to do one! You have to accept that you can’t do everything and prioritise. Number them by importance and priority and start and finish one at a time. It is a great feeling to look back in a years’ time and see that you have ticked off a number of big things on your to-do list. In comparison, it usually doesn’t feel too great when you realise you have only done 50% of 50% of your list. I also find that by writing it down on a white board, or sharing it with your network (where people can see it) you are more accountable.
- Look for systems that help you work smarter.
Did you know there are apps for managing your apps, and more importantly there are apps for better management of processes? You can use programs to deliver statistics on outbound activities, notifications, time keeping, date stamping, live job reports and more. If you are drowning in excel spreadsheets and emails – get googling. You’ll be amazed what’s out there. Click here to read Gizmodos review of the best apps of 2015.
- Stop resisting change.
In life we know things are going to change, yet we spend so much time inadvertently focusing on doing things the way they have always been done because it’s more comfortable. Change will happen – embrace the change. Social Media is such a great example of this – for me I ask the younger, tech savvy generations to teach me. Instead of letting the fear of the unknown hold me back, I am admitting it is uncharted territory for me and finding someone who’s got a better map than me to assist.
- Do the stuff that makes you better at being you.
If professional athletes didn’t train every time they felt tired or sore they would never get to be the best or show the strength they possess. They know that by eating and sleeping right and training consistently these habits are what make them perform better.
If you know that running/going to the beach with your family/ lifting weights/eating kale/yoga/a jam session/hiking (insert your choice here) helps you be more productive then don’t stop doing those things when life gets busy. It’s important to keep balanced. This is how you keep your head above the water and it is more important at this time than any other. Not feeling it? This brings me to my next point. Ask a buddy to commit to doing what you need with you, or enter a challenge for an external push to keep motivated. Again, writing it down and putting it up, I find that this helps me stay accountable.
- Ask for help – hire professionals to do the managing you don’t have time to.
When life gets hectic if you are anything like me we tend to fill our “buckets” and then just keep filling them with more. The load gets heavier and our productivity goes down. Instead of stopping and thinking about how you can disperse some water we just keep going and then you’ve got a problem, your bucket is overfull and you’re burnt out. In our industry we see this time and time again with busy facilities. So often we see one manager trying to manage multiple suppliers for a venue that their day to day venue operations suffer. We come in and take over the management of the facility and usually save them money by delivering more cost effective solutions. This then frees them up to focus on their day-to-day activities – bringing more money in for their venue. People often express regret at not making the decision years earlier when they see the operational efficiencies that can be gained.
This is just a start, but I hope these 5 tips help you have a great, productive and fulfilling year.
All the best for a great 2017.
Mark Hohn
Managing Director, CMBM Facility Services
Mark is the Managing Director of CMBM Facility Services, who joined forces with Damien Cann in 2005 to offer cleaning services to the hospitality industry. Mark has successfully grown 3 companies in Queensland (Mark Hohn Business Technologies, Advanced Business Technologies and TJS Facility Services Queensland) and together they have transformed the CMBM Facility Services business into the leading provider of facility services it is today. Mark is directly accountable for sales, operations and the service delivery of CMBM Facilities Services. Mark brings experience in asset, business and facilities management. He holds a Cert 3 and 4 in Asset Management and a Diploma of Business and Management.
