Make 2015 your best year yet

If you’ve been reading my blog you’ll know that in another existence I was a founder director of an independent television production company. And gave up because broadcasters either pinched our ideas or took so long to make a decision that economics forced me to try another career (novel writing).

One of the programmes which made it to Channel Four screens was about Jinny Ditzler a top executive coach who worked in London but is now back in her native America where her Best Year Yet programme is extremely successful. ([email protected])

Jinny has a  simple message which worked for her clients – of whom I was briefly one. When I wanted to return work after my daughter was born I suffered from the loss of confidence a career break thrives on. At the first session, Jinny described me as a train which was temporarily off the rails and which needed only a little push to get back on track. And she did the right kind of pushing to get me back into the business swing.

The method she used on me was simple. Make a list of ten items you want to achieve that week. Then tick them off once you have finished the task. My list comprised such mundane things as taking shoes to mender, changing lightbulb in kitchen etc. Top of the list was contacting the MD of a TV company. Each week, the new domestic items were  faithfully done but each time I saw Jinny that job contact had not been made. Which led to a discussion about the reasons .. And finally I did write and got the job.

Jinny has just done the same list in the Huffington Post which you may not have seen. This is what she says: “Glad 2014 is over? Fine but starting 2015 by complaining about 2014 saps your confidence and gives you a load of negative baggage about your chances of success in the new year ~ and that’s the last thing you need. .  Here’s a better idea: make 2015 Your Best Year Yet.

“Create your personal one-page road map for 2015. You’ve done all the reviewing, learning, thinking, and planning for yourself. Your answers have come from your true self, who you are — and that means you can count on your plan, trust it, and let it guide you toward making the changes and achieving the results you care about most.

“As you tick off each item, you’ll be making the smart moves that take you to your best year yet in 2015. I say this with confidence because over a million people have discovered this process, made their plans, followed through, and their results have been extraordinary. Here are the eight moves to consider:

Appreciate my success.
Learn from my disappointments.
Stop lying to myself about who I really am.
Give myself a performance review.
Set my top 10 goals.
Be accountable.
Pay it forward.”

To get you started, here is the Lady Val list of 10 things I want to achieve (mine is a monthly list but you could do weekly lists):

1.    Renew car insurance
2.    Develop workshop plan for network
3.    Contact voice expert for workshop at Feb 12 lunch
4.    Contact TV trainer for April 23 lunch/workshop
5.    Take ironing to ironing service
6.    Consider changing dining room curtains
7.    Contact neurologist
8.    Take parcel to click and collect
9.    Book eye test
10. Get rid of ^&**%% ee/tmobile and pick another

So far I have completed numbers 1,2,3,4,5. Still considering number 6, researching number 7, number 9 can wait until next month, will take parcel tomorrow (number 8) and my computer man is coming round to advise me about number 10 for a new mobile service which is more reliable than ^&**% ee.

So next month, my list would still include numbers 6, 7, 9 but would have new ones for all the other numbers. I urge you to make your own list and see how it affects your business this year. Let me know on [email protected]