My Year In Review

Plus how I’m going to improve in 2022

I recognise that Medium is typically a platform for sharing information and stories designed to help others. My disclaimer before you read or choose to ignore this piece is that although there is an element of self planning and journaling here, I am writing it within a public forum to discuss and take guidance, plus also hopefully provide others with a platform as to how to review situations and events, then re-evaluate them and improve upon them.

I have broken the elements of my life down into core areas as below and reviewed them following a technique with the acronym: WWWWWWEBI (not so easy to remember but has always stuck with me somehow!).

I picked this up from a training session with Peter Knight, who is a leadership and management coach, with particular prevalence in the Property Industry.

He is worth following on all platforms as an influential speaker, author and coach. You can find out more about him here.

He is in the process of writing a book based on Ghandi’s quote that

“life is all one indivisible whole”

Which highlights the point that work and home life can be a blend, not just a balance to strike. As such the review of all life’s elements for me is an absolute must.

Home life

What went well?

Harry had a great school year, Tilly is developing beautifully, Max has proven to be a wonderful little boy. We have been able to successfully balance, work/home/childcare through the most challenging of times with COVID policies changing within the schools. My wife has also settled back really well post a 3rd maternity leave. We had a wonderful summer holiday in Cornwall and a lovely Christmas together.

A big home improvement was completed in the spring, when we did the driveway at the front of the house.

What went wrong?

We have spent no where near enough time as a family, just enjoying life. The little time we have had has often been interrupted by either work emergencies or other practical issues. My father in Law has not been well which has been tough for all of us.

Our support network drastically changed as a result of COVID and illnesses, resulting in us spending a lot more this year, leading to a cancelled holiday and a loss of some additional quality time.

I personally have been up and down in terms of my stress levels which has an impact on how I am sometimes at home.

Even better if?

Looking ahead, we need to plan our time together better and when we are together, we need to stop worrying about other stuff!

Another Cornwall holiday on the cards, however ideally we need something else alongside it to break up the year.

We need to lower our overall cost of living so that we can relax a little. We have planned this already with our mortgage repayments.

I would also like us to set ourselves clearer personal and family goals to give us things to work towards as a family.

In summary:

-Sort the mortgage out and get paying back into our pensions

-Schedule all holiday for the year

-Make proper quality time, a minimum of one day per week

-Minor house maintenance, with some splashes of colour

-Work on self improvement and compartmentalisation so I am present for home life only when at home, reducing stress levels.

Work (my 9–5 as an estate agency manager)

What went well?

A successful year financially. The Lettings department recovered from the losses caused as a result of the ban on Tenant Fees in 2019. Although the sales department had a flat year overall, the end of year improvements following my takeover and placement of the new team in the last quarter of the year led to much better results than predicted.

We have won some excellent instructions, I have worked alongside some brilliant staff and the businesses that I am responsible for have grown and developed both through its personnel as a result of regular one to ones, plus technologically as a result of investment from our managing directors and trust from them to me in other to achieve results.

I have achieved promotions within the business and my skill sets have been well recognised by the directors, leading to my own employee satisfaction being very high.

What went wrong?

We have been unfortunate to lose some good staff this year and turnover has been higher than any year previous (which is of some concern to me as it has happened under my management). I have had to be a part of a very unpleasant disciplinary procedure of a staff member and we have had to complete quite a recruitment drive.

Whilst the sales market has been very buoyant, the Lettings market has seen a lot of landlords leave due to rising costs and a peak in house prices, which is a dynamic within the business where sustainability is key to success.

Even better if?

I have created business plans for both departments in the new year, with key goals in mind:

-A recruitment drive and sustained staffing

-An improved cross department referral process

-A proactivity drive on turning more prospects into new deals

A full team will solve a lot of problems, there is also the importance of continuing the development of client relations to ensure that the only lost business is down to decisions on a personal level to the client, as opposed to a decision our business has made.

Medium

What went well?

I’ve more than doubled my followers in less than a year. On average I get more story views than I did the previous year. My writing quality and structure has improved and I have made some fantastic connections.

What went wrong?

I have been lazy at times and my writing has either been too brief or there hasn’t been enough of it.

Even better if?

I need to write more!

I was fortunate enough to take some guidance from Tim Denning who has broken down my capability based on my lifestyle and we are mutually in agreement that for notable improvement, I need to get out an article a week in 2022.

Other Areas to work on in 2022

• Reading: in 2021 I read the most books I ever have done in a single year, which unfortunately wasn’t enough. I am a slow reader, however I intend to conquer a minimum of 6 books in 2022.
• Exercise: my exercise regimes have been a real frustration this year. Walking/hiking is always top of the list but nowadays we have an old dog who is much slower on his walks! Making the time to let them last longer is priority in 2022 and I will be completing at least 3 per week on our current schedule. I also intend to summit all of the local Malvern Hills and if we can manage with the kids maybe also try the Brecons!

I need to re-factor back in my body weight training exercises so that I am completing these at least twice per week also.

• Diet: 2021 was the year that I successfully turned vegetarian. I was very proud of myself for this. My main reasoning is really overall to improve my carbon footprint. Looking ahead I now need to take the next step. I have replaced meat with a lot of dairy (which in reality isn’t much better). 2022 needs to see more plant based sources of food and a little less cheese and chocolate!
• Education: I will request to my employer that they continue with the academy course run by Peter Knight every quarter. They are insightful and inspiring and there are always some really important takeaways for both management skills and self improvement.

I have already renewed my membership to the Lettings regulating body and I intend to either complete Level 4 of the training or re-apply for a regional representative position.

The Resounding Theme

I intend to make 2022 the year where I really push myself to become the best person I can be in all aspects of my life. I also want to enjoy every step of the journey with the people that surround me.

It’s much too easy to take life for granted and if this review does nothing for anyone else, it’s demonstrated to me how fortunate I am and how much opportunity I have to capitalise and improve.

Thank you for reading. If you have the opportunity and you enjoyed, I would really appreciate it if you subscribed to my work, or better still if you love what you see on Medium, follow my link to join :)