Booze off with SMART resolutions

Booze off

Back to work guys. Fire crackers’ time’s over now; the festive time too. Work resumed today, at least here in Mauritius, although quite a number of commercial undertakings are still on holiday – not necessarily merry-making, rather taking a well-deserved rest after the rush of the end-of-the-year crazy sales. Government employees were released early as on every 3rd January. Tomorrow will be a normal day, pending serious business as from Monday.

There was some rush at the petrol stations this morning. As my tank was practically empty, I headed straight to my usual petrol station. “No petrol, Sir,” shouted the attendant before I could stop. I drove to another station some 500 metres away. Several vehicles were queuing. I managed to get the boy’s attraction towards me. He approached hesitatingly. I handed over a 1000-Rupee note and he was on the point of activating the pump when his colleague snatched away the petrol gear. The service was interrupted as the station owners were awaiting a price rise to make windfall gains.

Frustrated, I glanced at my fuel meter. There seemed to be sufficient amount to run some 20 kilometres to my office. I decided to take the risk. There were at least two other stations which I could still try on the way. I was fortunate at the third one. I could have missed a day’s work.

But the much-awaited (by station owners) and much-dreaded (by customers) price increase didn’t take place. The Automatic Pricing Mechanism committee which met late in the afternoon decided to keep a status quo.

Revitalize yourself

Well, that was some side news. Let’s go back to our business.

Are you still boozy? Any hangover? OK, try the following:

(i) Take a good rest; sleep;
(ii) Avoid caffeine;
(iii) Re-hydrate yourself with water;
(iv) Revitalize with Fruit juice/orange juice for Vitamin C.

Anyway it’s always hard to start a new year. The festive mood is still in the back of your mind with the weekend ahead. 3rd and 4th falling just before a weekend always makes you feel clumsy. So you got another couple of days to revitalize yourself and get ready for the daily routine as from next week. See your activities with a fresh look. Learn from past events. Find out where you erred or failed. Don’t forget failures lead to success, only if you can recognize them.

Take a fresh look ahead

New Year is also time for new resolutions. If you made any, the routine should look different. Did you? Don’t worry if you didn’t. It’s never too late. Get yourself to the task. Work out your objectives that you want to attain for this year. Better write them down or publish them and make sure you discipline yourself towards achieving them.

Here’s how you could proceed:

(i) Make a list of the things you want to achieve during this year. These are your goals. List as many in different areas of your life.
(ii) Brainstorm at least a couple of them in each area. Find out which ones you cherish most and why. How they are going to improve your life or will positively impact on your life. This will help you gauge their importance to you, hence the need to achieve them. Make a priority list.
(iii) From the potential goals select about five or six that you feel are most important. You cannot focus on too many goals. You need to narrow down.
(iv) Make a detailed road map that’s going to guide you from where you are now to where you will have to be in order to realize them. The steps should be clear and easy to understand.
(v) Put your plan into action.
(vi) Monitor your progress regularly, perhaps at least once or twice a week. Be true to yourself. Devote some time for this exercise. This will help you to keep on track.
(vii) Keep yourself motivated and review to make sure you are not distracted or disrupted by anything that stands on your way at any time at any point. –

Be SMART…

For a resolution plan to be successful it should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

When formulating goals make sure they are:

(i) Specific – not ambiguous; exactly what you want to achieve, not just vague assumptions;
(ii) Measurable – there needs to be a system to measure progress against a standard you’ve set yourself;
(iii) Achievable – not far-fetched; and capable of being reached with reasonable amount of effort and application;
(v) Relevant to the improvement of your life; and
(vi) Time-bound – set reasonable time frames with specific start and completion dates and times.

…or rather smartER

I’d propose to add two more letters to the mnemonic:
(i) E for Enthusiastic, fostering enthusiasm towards reaching the goals; and
(ii) R for Reliable – a plan that you can rely upon to fulfill your objectives, a plan that’s not going to let you down in the middle of the road. Above all you should yourself be reliable.

If you were already smart last year I do hope you become smarter this year. All the best.

If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Shout in my comment box. You may also consider subscribing to my feed or spread the word.

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7 Comments

  1. Wakish January 4, 2008
  2. Alfa King January 4, 2008
  3. Anne January 5, 2008
  4. Alfa King January 6, 2008
  5. Anne January 6, 2008
  6. wangbu January 8, 2008
  7. Alfa King January 9, 2008

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