When you run a business, you’re always looking for ways to improve your efficiency, your customer service, your bottom line, and the pleasure you gain from your work. (If not, you probably should be!) This is probably especially true in December, as we and our clients begin to plan and set goals for the upcoming year.

I recently came across these great resolutions for women who want to “live large” in the new year:

1. Tame the female ego — If men feel the need to be in control, women feel the need to please. Ask yourself: “Am I doing this because I want to do the right thing, or because I’m afraid to be seen as selfish, bitchy, rude…?”
2. Just say “No!” — Every time you begrudgingly reply “Yes” to someone else’s priorities, you say “No” to your own.
3. Add Mozart to the mix — This measured, buoyant music is an immediate antidote to the manic moment. You’ll find yourself able to breathe, relax, and focus.
4. Don’t say “should” — Eliminate the word from your vocabulary. Find alternatives such as “want” that declare your power and responsibility to make choices.
5. Stop Multitasking — It’s not a productivity tool. It’s an excuse for perpetual distraction. Instead, plan your time well enough to focus on one task–or person–at a time.

Source: A Year of Clarity: The Monthly Guide for Women by life coach Ann Daly, PhD

I know I could benefit from applying some of these suggestions, if not all of them, in my life. How about you?