7 actions to make sure you blossom by Spring

I know, I know. Six more weeks - at least - of lockdown, for those of us in the UK at any rate. Or are we just England now? I'm losing track.

Hearing this news yesterday, it was hard not to be somewhat depressed and I confess to waking up worrying mostly about hair. Split ends, greying roots, unwanted bodily hair, not to mention unwanted facial hair. Happily, being the stoic that I am, I realised all this can be fixed, in time and anyway, none of it really makes a difference right now.

Finding myself in the garden at 6.30 am with the puppy, I noticed that some daffodils were beginning to push through the sodden soil. Six weeks, I thought, and they'll be in bloom.

When we work with women who are returning to work after a career break, we talk to them about the "progress principle" and the importance of a thirty day plan. Having a clear plan, with some small, achievable goals, makes a huge difference to their confidence, sense of control and feeling successful.

So I asked myself, what's my plan? What am I going to do in the next six weeks to make sure I'm blooming too?

I came up with these ten actions. They are not massive leaps for mankind, but then that's the point. Here are mine. What are yours?

1. Pick up the phone to five old friends. People we've done business with before and who we'd like to work with again. Ignoring the fact they may have ignored our emails, we've all got stuff going on. I will ask how they are doing, where could they use support and talk about our recent experience and plans. Chat, basically.
2. Make five new friends. I will identify five people I'd like to get to know better and figure out how to get an introduction. I'm a big believer in six degrees of separation so with a bit of effort this shouldn't be too hard.
3. Say no. In the frenzy and panic that took hold for most of last year, we came up with all sorts of ways to expand our offering, create value for clients, make money, basically. Understandable but, on reflection, not good for the long term. I will stop doing things that are not absolutely core to the business and say no to any opportunities - however lucrative - that divert us from our main purpose.
4. Write an article. A proper one, with contributions from respected, influential folk, that cuts to the heart of an issue. And hopefully will be published more widely than LinkedIn, though having said that LinkedIn is absolutely fine if that's where the audience is hanging out. I have ideas.
5. Make a film. Actually, that's a gross exaggeration. I'm going to make a video, with my business partner Steph and some of our successful candidates, to bring to life what the Reignite Academy does and why we are unique (and fabulous). This has been on the end of my to do list forever but I thought it would be complex and expensive. Now I realise all we need to do is record a Zoom session so there's no excuse.
6. Take on a 16 - 24 year old. The Government's kickstart scheme means we can employ and train a young person who is at risk of unemployment for 25 hours a week for six months. I was hesitant because training someone takes time, it's so often "easier to do it myself". But where is the joy in that? If I am successful in number 3. above I will have more time and this feels like a good thing to do.
7. Sort out a new photo. The professional photos I've had taken in the past were all funded by newspapers or magazines for articles they had commissioned. They are fabulous but even I am sick of the sight of them. Being a frugal Yorkshire woman I will commission another 16 - 24 year old (my daughter) to take the photo on her i-phone.

As I say, none of these actions are earth-shatteringly original. At the same time, it would be easy to drift from day to day worrying about the state of my hair and doing nothing about the state of our business.

Better still, not only have I made these plans, I've written them down and I've told the world about them. So now you know. Watch this space.

What about you? What actions will you be taking? Would love to hear.