This year will also age quickly; unless…

Every new year comes with a series of hopes and expectations. In my professional life, almost every January, I used to think “this year is going to be different” in the first few days, and I would get excited. Then I would soon realize that the year was going to be the same as the previous one.

Why?

The reason why I felt this way was very simple; because I would start repeating the routines of the previous year without changing them at all. In this way, the end of the year would come as the weeks or even months would pass one after another. For example, for me, when the next year’s budget and targets were being discussed (and in some companies I worked for, these discussions would take place almost at the beginning of summer), it meant that the year was coming to an end, and I would really feel a little bitter that “another year is coming to an end” in every new planning period.

I used to think that almost all of the routines stemmed from work or the workplace and that it was out of my hands to change them. But now, looking back, I realize how wrong it was to see every routine as an unchangeable job requirement.

Moreover, for years I would continue to do the same routines without lifting a finger and at the same time I would complain about my circumstances and I would hardly think that this was being ungrateful.

After many years I realized that what actually makes a new year wear out so quickly and easily is not the fact that the calendar on my desk or hanging on the wall gets ripped off and thrown away, or the agenda I use gets old, but the fact that I keep doing the same things.

And the growth, development or upliftment that comes with innovation would indeed often be waiting for me beyond my comfort zone. Moving away from routines meant “stepping out of your comfort zone“, as the fashionable phrase goes these days, and that’s why I couldn’t break away from my routines.

If you really want 2024 to be a year full of innovation and not just a year of changes in the calendar pages (or evernote, notion…), you need to do new things; some days you even need to push your limits.

How about starting this year by trying something that really excites you, but also scares you? Something that will make 2024 truly new for you!

It could be learning a new language, gaining work experience in a different sector, or at least moving to a different department within the company, or attending a challenging and different training that will improve your skills, it could be starting a new project on a topic that no one else dares to do… Of course, you know better than me what will challenge you and your circumstances!

And you will agree that the benefit of doing any of these things will not just be the feeling that 2024 is a year full of innovation.

Trying things for the first time and seeing yourself succeed will also strengthen your self-belief and confidence. It will make you more courageous and flexible, which I am sure will open new doors in your career and personal life.

In short, to make sure this year doesn’t get old too quickly, you need to get out of your routines first!

When was the last time you tried something challenging and brand new?