Bill Nelson

Well here I am, back in downtown wonderful Charlestown. The family is all back from the US and each of us, in our own way, are now back into what we have to do.

What has been interesting over the past two weeks is listening and watching how different people have gone about getting back into the swing of things as the New Year unfolds.

First there was a client, a salesman (and a very good one at that). He had a great time over the Christmas/New Year period. However, by his own admission, when he returned to his normal sales role he has struggled to get back into the swing of things. Unfortunately for him, though very early into his return, out of know where the opposition came in under his guard and took a huge sale from a major client.

Talk about a Call to Arms.

His attitude, desire, approach, discipline, every aspect of his professional being has changed. He is now back to his best, actually he is now operating at a level well above his best.

Should he have been at this higher level to start with?

Probably, but he wasn't.

And he paid the price for it.

Next came a discussion with another person we work with. They were a little different than the first in as far their business was going gangbusters. No dramas what so ever. No need to get back into things to quickly.

But the reality was quite different. Underneath the business going gangbusters, were staff who were tired and worn out.
The problem was the leader was blinded to the real needs of the team by the ongoing success of the business.

Cracks soon began to appear. Staff getting sick, staff making mistakes, staff taking time off. But through all of this, business was booming.

The call to arms was not as quick or in your face as our first example, but it was still there and to their credit, they recognised the necessity to get back into the thick of the action and work at a different level.

Different in that it wasn't so much about building the business, but more about helping, guiding and supporting the wonderful team that were delivering their business.

Next comes yours truly.

My approach is simple. It works for me but probably not for everyone. The reason being it takes a fair amount of discipline.

Before we get into what I did to get back into the work mindset for 2011, let me tell you how I came up with this system.

You see for most of my working life I have worked weird hours. As a coal miner it was midnight to 7.00am Sunday to Friday.

As a swimming coach it was 4.30am to whenever. So pretty much I had to teach myself to get out of bed at weird times.
Now, as much as my mother wanted to help me, my father had the mindset of 'His job, his responsibility' to get myself out of bed.

So I got the loudest alarm clock I could find and set it for a certain time. Now as soon as that alarm went off, I would jump out of bed, turn it off and jump straight into the shower and before I knew it, I was awake.

If I strayed from this system one little bit, I was gone. No doubt about it I would sleep in. So there was no five more minutes, put the alarm on snooze etc.

It was simple, one ring, two quick steps, one shower.

Over the years I have taught myself to be up to speed very quickly after waking up. It drives our children crazy.

But how does this transfer into me getting back into the swing of things for 2011?

My process was once again like most things I do....simple.

Before we went on leave, Joanne filled my diary with the appointments I had to fulfil upon my return. I put together a list of things I had to get done and assigned completion dates to each. And then last but not least, the Sunday we arrived home from the USA I set the alarm for 4.30am.

And everything old, was new again.

Alarm went off at 4.30 am I jump out of bed turn the alarm off. I duck the shoe Joanne has thrown at me for waking her up. I dive in the shower and by 4.40 am I am in the office and 2011 the business year has begun.

Know I am not saying use my example but what I am saying is don't use the other two examples. Find a way that gets you back into what you really need to be doing and do it well.

Find a method that suits you and your circumstance. Find a method that provides purpose, motivation excitement and reason.

And if you cant do that, just set the alarm and get your partner to hurl a shoe at you.

The Journey Continues!