Monday not only was April Fool’s, but also marked the start of second quarter for businesses! This is exciting for a few reasons:
1. Quarter 2 traditionally marks the start of production starting to pick up.
2. It falls closely to the start (or hopeful start) of spring! Who isn’t excited about that!
3. If you failed at your New Year’s resolution, this could be another appropriate time to pick a goal and focus on it.
Goal setting and changing habits can be HARD! I can’t even count the number of new habits I have tried to start, and always ended up failing in the end. It’s depressing, and really makes it hard to even want to get motivated to pick a new goal, or to try again for the same one.
If you are looking for help in this area, I would HIGHLY recommend the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. Chapters are short and he lays down some very basic ideas and principles that are extremely easy to incorporate into a busy schedule. So far, my biggest take away has been changing how I look at my own success, or as he puts it, casting votes for yourself.
For example, I have always failed at working out because I would look at how many days I failed to get it done. Making it to the gym 3 days a week was a failure in my mind because to be a success, I felt I needed to be there 5-7 days a week. That is what a “fit” person does. I would get down on myself, and eventually quit all together because I felt badly about my progress and didn’t view myself as a healthy person. I now see showing up, even if it’s a bad workout, or short because I couldn’t get my kids out the door in time in the morning, as an accomplishment. I’m proud to say that I’ve been going 2-3 times a week for the past month, and while my progress may not be extraordinary, I’m showing up and casting votes for myself. I feel good about it and am motivated to slowly keep making improvements in this habit.
Now I know you’re probably thinking, great, why do we care about how many times a week you’re going to the gym? How does this apply to me? Well, maybe since the start of a new month and a new quarter coincide, maybe there’s a goal you’d like to accomplish? Maybe you’re looking to advance your skills in the work place? Did you know that Express offers classes through Express University on a number of topics from OSHA trainings to virtual classes on Microsoft Office Suite programs, along with many others? I would encourage all of you to look into this and see what’s available, and how you can advance your knowledge to keep you competitive in a fast-paced work environment. I too will be looking into these classes with a goal of completing one new training a week in areas I am curious about, or feel my knowledge is behind the curve. I would also love to hear what your goals are! Feel free to email me at leah.schulz@expresspros.com with your ideas and progress! I would be happy to be your accountability buddy!