Perfect Time To Revamp Routines

Now that it’s springtime with great weather and longer days, those rainy months seem like ages ago.

This time of the year is an energizing time for me personally, and it’s also an exciting time for my business. I’m starting to see the fruits of my Q1 efforts, and am simultaneously planning my goals for the coming quarter. Personally, it’s also a time when I like to shift gears to make sure I’m putting myself on a path to sustain energy and excitement throughout the year. Here are some spring cleaning measures I like to take during this season to stay strong and keep myself focused for the coming year.

Change up your scenery

One of the easiest things you can do to keep yourself energized and prevent seasonal lulls is change something about your physical workspace to help keep it fresh. If you’re allowed to swap desks with a coworker, try that out. Or update the photos in the picture frames on your desk. Or get a new plant. The idea is simple: if you see new things, you'll look at the world a little differently than you did yesterday, which may inspire new ideas.Also, don’t be afraid to spend a day here and there working at your favorite coffee shop or some place drastically different than usually. You never know when a new setting may inspire your next innovation.

Evaluate your roadmap for the year

Odds are, you started the year by setting a bunch of goals for yourself and your business. The change of seasons is a good time to review those goals to make sure they still make sense for the coming months. You may find one of your projects is no longer relevant due to market changes. You may also find that due to the progress of a competitor, or the emergence of a new trend in your customer’s preferences, you need to add a new project to keep your footing in the market.

Develop new skills

Every year, it seems like there are new technology and methodologies that are introduced to our jobs that are supposed to make them easier. But in a lot of cases, we learn these just well enough to keep treading water while we deal with our crazy workloads, which means we’re not realizing the full value of those tools. Sometimes they even overwhelm us and create more problems than they solve.Take a break this spring to change that cycle, and invest in mastering those skills so you can use them strategically, not just reactively. I recommend using online learning to improve your chops or consider attending a conference to dive even deeper and hear cutting edge ideas from experts.

Abandon ‘All Work, No Play’

If you’re naturally a workaholic, long, sunny days can make it hard to draw the line between “work time” and “off time.” My biggest recommendation for spring time is to make use of that extra daylight to get in some extra exercise or quality time with your family and friends. I love my job and I love my work, but ultimately the most important thing is finding a healthy balance, which I believe will make you better in both your professional and personal life.If you take advantage of the spring to keep your setting fresh, invest in some new skills, and find a good balance between work and life, you can keep yourself energized and excited for the rest of the year.