“Should I make that into a task?” has become a punchline in our weekly Upswept team meetings.

But no love for planners, software, or stationery can overcome the reality of being a human.

Humans, despite our best intentions, have fluctuating energies that often produce a gap between what we think we can accomplish and what we actually do. I’ve been learning this the hard way in 2020, as I imagine many of you ambitious business-oriented types have.

How Resolutions Tend to Go

A lot of people in my circles, and possibly yours, are giving up on New Year’s Resolutions altogether. It makes sense—they don’t work for most people (80% of people ditch them by February by a recent estimate).

On the other hand, we constantly hear how important it is to make SMART goals, ones that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. But that doesn’t always work for everyone either.

When I started to write this blog, I began by going back through the past few years of my resolution lists, and I discovered something a little disconcerting. I’ve been making similar resolutions every year for the past three years. Even though I’d made well articulated plans with manageable milestones to hit month-by-month, I still hadn’t made the progress I’d set out to make.

Time to try something new.

Looking Back on What Really Happened

I know, I know. You probably think you didn’t do a thing this year, but that probably isn’t true. When I spent a little time pondering the past year and journaling, I came up with a whole list of accomplishments and insights that surprised me.

Your resolution to visit your relatives more may have been torpedoed, and you may have given up on learning Mandarin on Duolingo after a few weeks. You may have lost all motivation and abandoned your blog. However, I’m going to bet that one of the following still took place.

You achieved something that you haven’t given yourself credit for.

You nurtured a relationship with someone in person or remotely. This could be a family member, friend, partner, or pet.

You developed a new method of self care. For instance, I finally got into different kinds of tea, which is something I’ve wanted to do for years.

You learned something new. Yes, a comprehensive knowledge of Kate Bush’s musical catalogue counts. So does figuring out how to set up your Mailchimp account or host a webinar.

Reflecting on the things you did manage to do in this nightmare of a year will tell you something about your values and the things that bring you comfort. What can you take away from this list and apply to the year to come—whatever challenges it may hold?

Do More of What is Working for You

There has been enough upheaval in our lives in 2020 that trying to force ourselves into the patterns that we think make people “successful” is asking for intolerable stress. Instead, I suggest you take the things you’ve learned from your reflections and focus on what you know you can do rather than the results that you think you’re going to get by doing things “the right way.”

Maybe you’ve discovered that your creativity comes alive at night. Loud online entrepreneurs might be screaming that only morning people are truly successful. Forget ‘em. Instead of forcing yourself to wake up at 4 a.m. every day to do 2 hours of writing, keep doing your work at night and let yourself sleep in a little.

Maybe you managed to land a new client that you enjoyed working with. What did you like about them? How did you connect with them? Instead of saying, “I’m going to find 5 new clients,” upsell that client so you can work with them more, or ask them for a referral.

Maybe you spent a lot of time connecting with other businesses on Instagram. Instead of saying, “I’m going to bring in 500 new social media followers by using Facebook ads,” you could focus on nurturing those connections you’ve already made on your preferred platform and seeing how you can partner with them.

You might need to widen your net later on, but for now, start with what’s been working.

Change Course Whenever You Want

You might burn out on Instagram. You might get too tired staying up late and working. Maybe your client’s needs have been fully served. There’s no shame in shifting tactics rather than doubling down.

While the turning from one year to the next is a wonderful time to reflect, regroup, and create goals, our motivation and preferences shift. Don’t fight it—use it. The paper you’re writing your resolutions on is two-dimensional, but you’re not. Instead of flattening yourself, build your resolutions around who you are.

Interested in getting a little guidance on how your business can show up more effectively online without keeping your personality confined? Sarah is hosting a Purpose Powered Website program in January, for those of you who want a website that reflects who you are, and makes life and business easier. Reserve your spot here.

From making the most of your social media to stoking the fire under your online sales, now is the time to dust things off! Every week in December, we’ll showcase a new aspect of keeping your brand fresh and alive in 2015. This first week, we’ll show you some tips and tricks to get your social networks revving during the holiday season and new year.

1.) It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – all over the internet.

Google are not the only people to change their “doodles” for special events and seasons. Many websites change up their icons, colours, or headers to make things look seasonally appropriate, or just to provide some visual stimulus and keep things looking fresh.

Consider updating your Facebook cover image or profile picture, Twitter background or YouTube channel art with something fun, whimsical, and holiday-related. This is a great opportunity to do something humorous and a little different than your usual styling. Do you have some fun holiday-themed infographic you’ve been dying to create? Let us do it for you! Now is the time.

2.) Tis’ the Season… to be giving!

Thanksgiving may be over, but that doesn’t mean that it’s too late to show your feel connected. As the weather gets colder and resources wear thin, many people struggle to make ends meet. Do you have cause you feel especially passionate about? (For us, it’s our Bowlful of Heart pet food drive!)

Combine it with your social media, and get two for the price of one. Some examples include donating food to a charity for every Like you receive on Facebook, organizing a toy drive and then tweeting about it, teaming up with others to do a charity event of some kind, or even just collecting gift cards to donate to charities at your Christmas event. Be sure to mention on social what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, and how people can support you reach your goals!

3.) Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s are particularly photogenic times of the year.

Leaves, snow and ice, lights, candles, gifts, meals, ugly sweaters, fireworks…the perfect time to take some photos of your business, or even set up an Instagram contest. Get your followers to tag you in their holiday photos, compile a jury or judge the entries yourself, and reward the best photos with some prizes of your choice. You can even combine a photo contest with some charitable giving – the best photos could be rewarded with a donation to the winner’s favourite cause.

If Instagram is not part of your business repertoire, you can tweak the holiday competition idea to work on Facebook or Twitter. Asking your audience to participate, by sharing stories, tips, recipes and gift ideas helps create the sense of community and buy-in that strengthens your social media presence.

4.) Take advantage of the end of the year’s atmosphere of renewal to launch a new product line, pricing strategy, package deal or service.

Create some buzz around these new offerings by talking about them on social media first, before you create a big reveal on your website! Create a special sale, a coupon, or limited-time only deal, and make sure your social networks know about them.

Do you have any ideas about how to make your brand shine on social this time of year? Are you thinking you could use some handy internet elves to help out with whimsical Facebook headers, Christmasifying your blog, or running an Instagram contest featuring dogs in sweaters? Get in touch, we’re here for you!