Words you might not expect to hear from me: I am feeling a seasonal slump. Now, life is good, business is rocking, family and friends are healthy, and my cats are delighted to be seeing so much of me. Yet it feels like this winter has lasted an eternity, and I am way past ready for spring. And I bet lots of you are with me!
But thank heavens, summer is on the way. Whether you have been dealing with a deep freeze, grey skies, too much to do, or just sick and tired of being in your house, spring always feels like a chance to rejuvenate, reorganize, reboot, and rebound into a fresh start in our business and life.
So, to help kick me out of my own slump (and any of you who might be feeling the same), I reached out to some of the very best and brightest minds I know for some fresh ideas. And they did not let me down. In this issue of Ask the Experts, you will gain some of the very best tips, tricks, and technologies to help all of us put a little more “spring” in our step this season. Enjoy!
Michelle Schemel
National Director, Marketing and Sales Support
AmeriFirst Financial, Inc.
Managing a very fulfilling career and the most amazing team in the industry as well as sitting on the booster board for my son’s high school football team, running a home with teenagers and too many dogs (if there is such a thing), and supporting a wonderful husband whose work travel is becoming more and more frequent requires a high level of communication and planning.
In addition to leveraging tools like Microsoft Office to stay connected to my team, and Cortana to prevent tasks from falling through the cracks, I follow three important practices to stay organized, and sane:
- Plan our upcoming week as a family every Sunday.
- Hand write tasks on a weekly planner, which helps visualize the load and manage priorities, while staying on track to hit goals.
- Get plenty of sleep, water, exercise, and sunshine to stay connected to self.
Dawn Dawson
Marketing Director
Mortgage Solutions Financial
My biggest trick for organization came from goal setting. My sport coaches always hit us with the power of affirmations. I will never forget them shouting as we worked out, “It won’t get done unless you are emotionally attached to the outcome!!” So I was taught early on to incorporate affirmations when setting goals and then emotionally attach them to every project we do.
For example, 2020 fast and smooth we’re in the groove. PERFECT theme for a year that kept throwing us curveballs and fast pitches! We broke records as I’m sure you all did too. We were fast, agile, and resilient.
Deep breath! Along comes 2021. I noticed how serious everything got in 2020. So for 2021, I wanted to keep a fast pace BUT I vowed to enjoy every moment. I want my team to enjoy as well.
So we created this theme for 2021: It’s all about fun in 2021!
Fun is the center of everything. I remind everyone that while being dedicated is important, we don’t have to take ourselves seriously at all. Every meeting must include fun!
- In our communication we include a fun element, including fun affirmation cards.
- In our projects we give ourselves fun rewards when we hit goals.
- We even have fun officers to enforce the fun.
It may sound frivolous to some, but creativity cannot thrive in a tightly bound, panic driven environment. Marketing departments are dependent on great creativity.
My advice? Baby bring back the fun! It is 2021!