2 weeks.  14 days.  Welcome to 2016. And the summer holidays is but a vague memory, with your old friends, Fatigue, Stress and Overdue tasks very comfortably back in your life. Except that they are not really welcome….

With the financial year (for most) coming to a close, we tend to hit the ground running after December break. Its tax deadlines (hard earned money to SARS!), stock-takes, new employees and financial year end,  intertwined with kids in new schools, stress at home and (for some) overdrawn credit cards after Christmas.

In this chaos, you need to determine what is really important and how you will prioritize that in terms of your limited resources.  Minimize to Optimize.

• Are you spending time / resources in business ventures/projects that will most probably not really yield a positive return? What is the opportunity cost (i.e. the next best alternative foregone due to this “investment” of resources) and what can you rather be doing?
• Are you involved with a Non-Profit out of guilt/obligation? Have the guts to say no and rather follow your heart
• Are you sitting in long meetings with no specific outcomes, when you can rather be spending quality time with your kids?
• Are you gathering loads of things in your life, for the “what if” moments, which never comes? Clean out…
• Are you doing admin / work which you should delegate but do not have the “time” to explain/train your employees? Use that which is at your disposal

The old adage goes: “less is more” and it still holds true. Opt for quality, not quantity. This will ensure the longevity of your business and relationships and in the end your family, staff AND clients will appreciate you for it.