Shake Things Up

The new year is nearly upon us and I call upon you to take up the challenge to shake things up like snow globe in the twelve months to follow. It’s only fair, right? This past year has shaken-up (or just plain shaken) many of the things we took for granted — being able to go out and visit friends and family, to go out to eat or to go shopping, to send the kids off to school while you went off to the office for the day — all those things so far away now. You’ve changed your life, the way you work, the way you get together with friends (how many of you have had a “Zoom Happy Hour” this past year?) and I think it’s only fair that we proactively shake things up in the new year.

Shake Things Up At work
What can you do to shake up the status quo at your office (even if it’s a remote office) and look at the “new way of working” in a new and interesting way?

What if instead of logging into Zoom rooms for random meetings during the day, you simply created a room at the start of the day and left it open and available for people to join in remotely whenever they wished? It would be like being at the office and people swinging by your cubicle to stop and say hello or talk about what they watched on Netflix last night.

Shake Things Up At Home
Since going out to eat seems to be risking exposure to a virus that can make you sick (or take home and make someone else sick), what if you brought food home (or have it delivered) and setup your dining area to be on-theme with the food you ordered? You could put up posters of the Leaning Tower of Pisa as you eat your pasta and pizza, or get out the red-checked tablecloth, scoop some ice cream into your Coke, play some music from the 50s, and turn your kitchen into a classic diner while you eat your cheeseburgers and chili dogs.

Shake Up Your Projects
The same old thinking is a thing of the past. You have to come up with new ways to engage with business prospects because you can’t just show up at in-person networking events anymore. You have to find new ways to interact with customers so you can keep in touch, follow-up, and get signed contracts. Have you thought about doing live office hours on Facebook or YouTube Live? It’s a fun way to give shout-outs to friends, clients, and prospects.

Last year seemed to shake things up in a bad way.
I think if we all approach it with a strategic mindset, we can shake things up in new and positive ways in the new year!