Phew! What an awesome end to 2019 that was. 3 weeks in France – Lyon, Paris and then Lyon again – was so amazingly refreshing. I know, I say this every year but only because it’s so true.
The cold winter air that wasn’t too cold (global warming sucks but also hey, my baby wasn’t getting frozen). The time away from vlogging and the internet. The shopping for stuff we don’t normally find in Singapore (like the 40% off sale at GAP where I could find things in my size). The FOOD. Oh my, the food. The family bonding every single day. Just the slower pace of life even when people were already going back to work after the new year celebrations.
And now, it’s the time for me to jot down some goals for the year. I know, I’m a little slow because it’s already mid-Jan but we’d only got back in Singapore 2 days ago.
Last year, I had one simple goal for my career and that was to do at least one thing a day that would help me in my career. Whether it was getting to know someone new, connecting with old acquaintances and friends, calling up people who have left their contacts on my real estate site, working on my site, attending show flat briefings to expand my knowledge about new projects and areas… I was doing at least one thing a day.
It may not sound like much because one thing in 24h honestly sounds like I’m being lazy. But things take time to do. Attending project briefings, for example, takes hours. It includes listening to the developer, watching videos, learning also about other projects in the area, making comparisons in terms of pricing etc, finding out the main concerns of investors, downloading materials to send to clients… you get the idea. Adding all of these up actually can take more than a day!
One thing a day may not sound like much, but when you add them all up, that’s about 300 things a year, if you take away some days for holidays, breaks and other instances when you just cannot work (like giving birth).
In any case, I’d like to continue doing this in 2020 because I’ve seen how it has moved me forward in 2019.
One thing I learnt towards the end of 2019 was also to slow down in life. We only ever, truly have the present. I realised that all the times I was unhappy was because I wasn’t satisfied with what I had achieved in my career. But looking back, I had achieved things that I never did before, no matter how small or how not-so-often, so I should be proud of that.
A friend taught me that what’s yours will be yours. And I’ve come to terms with that because many times, there are things that are beyond your control no matter how hard you’ve worked. So, I’ve learnt not to get stressed out about it, to just do the best I can and then let go of any attachment towards the result.
Having a baby has also taught me to live in the present. Before Aurélie was born, I was always looking to the future. My mind was always fixed on the next prospect, the next client, the next closing, the next professional partnership, the next new opportunity – that it was never in the moment.
Enjoy the process, they say. So that’s something I’m planning to incorporate in my life this year.
If we’re talking SMART goals, I’m aiming for 5 new project sale transactions this year (or equivalent), which sums up to about 1 closing every 1-2 months (I leave January, November and December out).
This year, I’m not longer a newbie in the real estate industry. So, it’s time I did away with the imposter syndrome and start being confident of my abilities and knowledge. There will always be another realtor out there that my prospects can work with, so why choose me? Simply because I’m not them, I’m me. And if they have connected with me, there must be a reason so I need to stop with the self criticism.
Finally, I’d like to go on vlogging (which I restarted late last year) because it helps give me a sense of balance. Talking about life with a baby, style, makeup and all that as a hobby really helps! Making videos as a hobby has helped me in making videos for my real estate pages, so that’s a bonus. Plus, I’d bought some cool coloured contact lenses to try out.
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That pretty much sums up my hopes and goals for 2020. Since I’m blogging with my new virgin mojito candle burning by my side, I can say I’ve managed to stick to my goals so far. 😉
What about you? What are your goals for the year? I wish you a smashing good time!