Here at OfficeTribe we’re proud of our achievements this year: supporting our tribe through lockdown and beyond, and being ready to open as COVID safe, as soon as we were able.

We have also secured another site in Tunbridge Wells for co-working and hot-desking this year which is currently undergoing refurbishment — in time for Spring 2021.  A definite punch the air moment!

What are your achievements this year?  Or do you feel as though there are no successes, big or small, to note?  We disagree.

‘To do’ lists

Did you know that someone has actually studied how the brain deals with tasks and how incomplete ones are easier to remember?  If you think about it, when you wake up in the middle of the night, your mind isn’t racing with what you’ve completed that day; it’s racing with what you haven’t done.

Our fascination with incomplete tasks is the foundation of the infamous ‘to do’ list.  The lists that we write at the start of the day, detailing what needs to be completed by the end of said day — collect dry cleaning, phone school, do that piece of work, invoice that person.  For some the list helps them mentally deal with overwhelm as they know they won’t forget to do the tasks — they’ve written them down after all; while for others, the sheer joy of crossing out items once complete is the motivation for writing the list in the first place.

It goes without saying that this year’s task lists have been somewhat different — more ‘print off schoolwork’, ‘zoom mum’ and ‘lookup tier-three restrictions’ whilst the most lauded of ‘to do’ lists, the New Year’s Resolutions’ list, had to be abandoned by April, if not earlier.

This feeling of incompleteness and dissatisfaction could lead us to feel as though this year has amounted to nothing.  Bear with us.  We understand that some holidays haven’t happened, and special occasions couldn’t be celebrated quite as we’d hoped; maybe that marathon you were training for has been put on hold (aggghhh all that training!) and you haven’t been able to expand your enterprise, say, and move into offices.

But, we encourage you to take the festive season to stop, reflect and consider not what you haven’t done, but what you have. It sounds cheesy, but it’s important — we would even say crucial — to step away from the day-to-day, to recognise your achievements, celebrate your successes and give yourself a pat on the back.

Top three reasons why you should celebrate your successes … especially this year

1. It’s great for your mental health. Our mental health has taken a battering this year so why not give it a reprieve with some happy, positive thoughts?! Noting all the good that you’ve achieved can boost confidence, boost self-esteem and belief in what you’re doing.

2. It helps you identify what’s working well and what isn’t. If you had a particularly great day of home-schooling, why was that? Did you make sure no child could become hangry, perhaps? Maybe you became involved in the task at hand that prevented your child becoming distracted. If you won a pitch at work over video conferencing, how did you do it? Was it because you felt calmer at home rather than being in a conference room? Perhaps it was because you still had your PJs on, but no one could tell! After an achievement, savour the moment and then perform a mini-debrief to decipher what was different this time to last time. What could you implement in future to ensure success again?

3. Success often isn’t achieved alone and celebrating success allows you to congratulate those that have helped along the way – share the love, if you will. This is bonding, helping to strengthen teams but it also gives the ‘helpers’ a moment to stop and savour the moment too. Give them their moment in the sun to revel in that boost of confidence, self-esteem, and belief.

How do I know what I’ve achieved? 

Jane from Successful Mums encourages her course attendees to keep a ‘Confidence Folder’ — this contains your CV, certificates of qualifications and records of other work achievements.  This is a great tip (also great for children) and, if you prefer, could be condensed into a ‘Success Journal’, or even just a list in a notebook or on your phone.  It may sound a little self-indulgent but when you’re writing your CV, or even just prepping for seeing that relative at Christmas who always needs reminding about what you do, your achievements will be fresh in your mind.

We often remember the big things like award-winning, appearing in the press, moving house, but what about the smaller day-to-day wins? They deserve recognition too and may well give you the same glow.  To recount what went well this year, we recommend chatting about it and sharing memories.  This would work around the dinner table with the family or over video conferencing for a team meeting — ask people what achievements they remember from 2020.  Colleagues and family members will come up with all sorts of things that you’d forgotten about — small things that you may not have seen as an achievement at the time but that had an impact on someone else.

Alternatively, dig out the notebooks or wherever you write your notes and flick through.  You’ll be prompted to remember meetings that were successful or that led to greatness.  Scribbled shopping lists will remind you of that Masterchef-style meal you whipped up in lockdown and surprised your family with, or that little Phoebe finally decided she’d like to try spinach.  Photos on your phone will work for this exercise too – you’ll be reminded of little moments on a random Tuesday that made you punch the air with satisfaction!

At OfficeTribe, we can’t help but celebrate the success of our coworkers. If a coworker has finalised a long-running deal or won a new piece of work, their joy is shared. We’re happy someone we work alongside is doing well and it spurs everyone on — good news is contagious! Which is a word we are surprised to be using in a positive way at the end of 2020…!

If next year you would like to stop working from home and start co-working in Tunbridge Wells, then please contact us: Hattie 07780 598 808