In today’s article, I’d like to unpack your plans for 2020.

I want 2020 to be an exciting and successful year for you and that means doing more than just setting goals which fade away after the New Year hype wears off.

Let’s make this year different!

Below is a list of 20 areas I encourage you to focus on 2020. Whether you target one or all, by working on these important areas you are more likely to move forward in a strong and focussed way as the year unfolds.

Let’s make 2020 the start of your most successful decade yet!

1. A healthy you. I’ve put this first because too often we put ourselves last. Unless you pay attention to your health and wellbeing, you won’t be in any condition to achieve your goals. This year, set aside time in your planner and devote it to your health and happiness. It’s a good business decision as well as a personal one.
2. Believe in yourself. I’d like to see you working on your focus. Stop looking at what you see as weaknesses and start looking at your strengths. Look at what you achieve, not what you haven’t. Above all, look at the people around you and see how they believe in you. Trust them and believe in yourself, too.
3. Put your ideas into action. How many good ideas have you forgotten just because you didn’t follow them through? This year commit to turning ideas into action. If they don’t work, you’ll have learnt something. If they do, who knows how they will transform your life?
4. Build your network. Everyone is stronger with a network behind them. Tap into new knowledge, experience and contacts. Extend your field of influence and establish yourself as the expert you are. Give what you can and look for help when you need it.
5. Learn something new. Refresh your mind and your creativity. Learning a new skill or gaining knowledge will not only keep you current, but it also helps keep you young. Work-related or for fun, open those neural pathways in your brain.
6. Work on your relationships. Make a conscious choice to spend time to strengthen your personal relationships, especially with your team. It will make your workplace happier and you’ll become a stronger leader.
7. Help someone else. Servant leadership is about empowering and uplifting your people. Create opportunities to help them learn and prove themselves. If they need support and guidance, give it to them. Serve people as best as you can.
8. Volunteer your time. As leaders, we can’t ignore our social responsibilities. Show leadership by freely giving your time to help your community and make a difference. It’s good for you and for your team to see this form of leadership in action.
9. Plan a holiday and take it! Don’t let work get in the way of life. Take a holiday and spend it with the people you love. Work will always be there, but your people might not.
10. Set yourself one big goal every month and work towards it. At the beginning of the month, set a target. Write it down. Review your progress every week. That will give you 12 big goals you can achieve by the end of the year. It’s also a clever way to tackle that one HUGE goal you’d love to meet – break it down into smaller goals and it will become manageable.
11. Do more of what you love. Life is for living. Go out and enjoy it. Simple.
12. Speak up, speak out. If you have something to say, say it. If you see something that needs to change, speak out. Don’t leave the talking to someone else because the important things might never be said.
13. Clear out your office, your desk, your home and your mind. Wherever things or thoughts are crowding in on you, get rid of them. Leave room for what’s important.
14. Raise your fees. If you’re able to, ask for more money. When you stop negotiating, you undervalue yourself. Others will only value you at the value you put on yourself.
15. Take responsibility. Your team is only as good as your leadership. If something goes wrong, accept responsibility. You’re the leader so the buck stops with you even if you don’t like it. Don’t look for someone to blame. Accept responsibility and start looking for a solution.
16. Train someone to take over for you. You can call it succession planning or career planning, but it makes sense to groom your best people to follow in your footsteps. Start training them today because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
17. Choose the one issue and fight for it – improve gender equality, overcome age bias, reduce your carbon footprint – and become an organisational champion for change. Sometimes all it takes is a voice to remind people to change.
18. Find a mentor. We all need someone we can trust to give us advice and guidance, and the higher in rank you are, the more important it becomes. A mentor will help you work through challenges and find solutions. He or she will help shift your mindset when you need it most.
19. Take a risk. Stop playing it safe. Be ready to take a risk. Make sure you can live with the downside if it all goes wrong, but dive in as though it will all go perfectly right.
20. This might be the hardest thing of all. It takes discipline to reflect on yourself, your experiences and your progress. Daily self-reflection, perhaps with a journal, will make you more self-aware and improve your self-control. It will help you learn from what has happened and make better choices in the future. Above all, it will allow you to track your progress towards your goals and make directional changes when you need to.

Start now. Choose your strategies for 2020 and get to work on them.

Looking for some extra support setting up and implementing your goals in 2020? “Set yourself up for success” is my FREE online coaching program designed to help you focus on your direction, think outside the box, and plan what you want to achieve in your career and life. The perfect tool to boost the start of your year!