Best Year

The first assignment of the Tracking Wonder Quest 2018 is to reflect on the year 2018 as if it had already happened..  One of the recommendations is to focus on the process it took to get there and not only on the outcomes.

Here goes:

I am sitting outside, writing at a table on the stoep of our small house in the bushveld, where my partner and myself have spent some time during 2018, making a functional Perma Culture garden and added some touches to the house and garden. Since we did not want to spend money, we tried to be innovative in creating garden paths and benches, using the resources at hand. 

 

 At the end of 2017, my colleague and myself transformed our little business ... by starting a new company which is now owned by 5 partners. We have just registered this company and sat together crafting a vision for this company, but in December 2017 not much has happened yet.  During 2018 we wrote our business plan and logo.  We developed a website and social media linking to our work and set out marketing ourselves.

Our company supports other companies to engage in Corporate Social Responsibility activities.  When we developed our vision, we found that all 5 of us did not only want to do this selfishly, but we wanted to show that, by aligning to the national objectives, companies could really have an impact to make this country (South Africa) a better place.  Sometimes we had to show work away since we thought that a company did not understand this mission, even after extensive engagement. We provide a professional service, assisting them to show how social projects add value to their work.

We engaged with some youths within the areas where we work and they have been taken on as interns to assist.  This is very useful since we work in rural areas where we cannot maintain a constant presence.  They are continually mentored and provided with skills necessary to provide this support.

 On a personal level I feel very proud of myself, since I was able to put together a book of poetry, which has been submitted for publishing.  I have also written a short story every month, although these still need some editing before I submit.  I enrolled for a short story writing course.

My biggest challenge has always been procrastination. I also feel a lack of energy. I found that decluttering our house of all material stuff that we do not need, and creating a dedicated space as a home office has helped. I am also using the Stephen Covey 7 Habits System again to prioritise Important vs Urgent. I have asked my colleagues to assist in setting interim milestones and we have two-weekly meetings to assist us all to stay on track.

I set aside Saturdays as my "writing" days. These are the days that I organise all the bits and pieces of inspiration and ideas I jotted down during the week.One of my goals was to get rid of all debt by 2020. I have stayed on track with this.

I have dedicated some time to relearning negotiation skills and facilitation skills, which comes in handy when we do CSI strategy for Corporates. I have also read extensively about CSI requirements, Good Practice and relevant legislation in South Africa. This includes understanding the Broad Based Black Empowerment codes and translate these into useful information for companies that we engaged with. My colleagues have also engaged in improving their skills in terms of training and evaluation, as relevant to their roles and interests.

Overall I was more motivated than during 2017. I do not work every day and am starting to feel less guilty when I just engage in dreaming and spending time with family and friends - even in the middle of the week.