Lockdown has had many of us reflecting on our current circumstances – how we work and how we live. While business plans, or personal goals are written with great intentions, they can often get left untouched while work gets in the way. It’s beneficial to regularly review your plans, to check things are on track or to consider changes. In business, we all make mistakes along the way or things we’d do differently second time round. Hopefully these mistakes are ones we can learn from. It just takes a bit of thought and reflection.
Areas that may be in need of change:
Working hours
Many of us find ourselves tied to a traditional 9-5 working model, with some working much longer hours than this. This really needs an overhaul. While there may be busy periods in your career where you need to put in more hours, it is not sustainable to be working long days for a long period of time. And as for the 9-5, it simply doesn’t work for some people. It should be much easier for working hours to fit around other commitments or goals, whether that is childcare, hobbies or learning.
Working location
Since people who could started working remotely due to covid-19, many have preferred this way of working. Cutting out the commute and getting more time with their families have been clinching factors for some. And it’s not just employees seeing the benefits. Big companies, such as Twitter and Slack, have announced that working from home will be a permanent option for their staff.
The term “digital nomad” has been popping up more and more lately, with people searching for careers that allow them to work from anywhere with an internet connection. While for you, this might not mean jetting off to Bali, maybe it’s simply the option to work from home, or a coffee shop. Not all careers or positions allow for this, but if it’s suited to you and to your career, why not ditch the office?
Your language and your thinking
With the time we’ve had to reflect, we may be realising that we want to change things for ourselves based on our outlook or our values. Maybe you want to try to think more positively and welcome more challenges at work. Perhaps it’s about changing your business to be more sustainable, or to put more focus on staff wellbeing. Whether it’s your personal goals, or your business plan, make sure that it reflects who you are and who you want to be.
What have you been thinking about doing differently? Or are there things you have had to change due to covid-19 that you want to go back to normal? If you are feeling unhappy or stressed, the first step we’d suggest is dusting off those plans and thinking about what needs to change for the better.
