As I have written before I am not one to make too many New Years resolutions although I do find the period between Christmas and New Year a good time to reflect.

This year is different of course, because our confidence in our own planning will have been rocked by how 2020 turned out! But don’t be put off. Don’t write 2021 off just yet!

We had all sorts of plans as a family; an 18th Birthday party, a wedding in the family, A-level and Final year Law exams, a big family holiday and a daughter heading onto University and a son entering the jobs market. Add on top of that plans to slow down and ‘retire’ Saje Impact. I think you can guess most of the list for 2020 never happened. (although thankfully heading to University and finally landing a potential job for our children did fall into place - just)

So I am heading into 2021 in a more reflective mood. Losing all of this in 2020 was hard but putting it into perspective we are all healthy and well. We have come out of 2020 stronger in many respects. We feel very blessed.

I have put into place the means to retire after a slight delay caused by the global crash caused by Covid-19. As you can see form this short video I am clear that I am going to slowly change Saje Impact over the next couple of years. I am moving from hands on running of the business to supporting many of our Associates on their projects and taking up more NED roles. So in the widest sense I have had a ‘Plan’ since I started work in my early twenties. To be able to stop working in my mid 50s by taking a few sacrifices along the way. It has been reasonably detailed but like all plans has not always gone according the original trajectory. And that’s where I suggest we place all our plans and goals. As broad aspirations ready to be knocked back and forth by what life throws at us.

If I am being really frank about it the pandemic helped me speed up this process of retiring. We lost clients and those in the pipeline for 2021 have not emerged. Quite rightly they are in survival mode. But out of this adversity I realised I was not sure why I was chasing the work. I now feel there are others who need it more than me and I want to help them. So mentoring and supporting others through 2021 is a key part of the plan! Some times it takes a set back to realise what you really want. I don’t want or need to put the energy into rebuilding the Pre-Covid SajeImpact. I can now let it go.

On a personal level I thought I had been having a reasonably healthy lockdown. I was certainly using the time and space where we live to walk, run and exercise more than ever despite my gym and rugby were shut off to me as an option (More on why I cancelled my gym membership another time)

BUT at the end of August I weighed myself and found I had crept up to 14.5 st. I knew my clothes were too tight. Something had to be done. I had tried all too often (or so I thought) to get weight under control but I now realise that I had never fully committed, I was half hearted and never really stuck at anything long enough to see any transformation. This time has been different. From August to December I decided to do #Keto and and to take my exercise to a new level. It has paid off. I lost a stone and feel much better, even though I haven’t made as much progress with my running as I would like (Lack of commitment to the plan. All my fault). So this was another lesson of #lockdown, to be more committed and better at using the time and space made available. I will carry this into my ‘retirement’

I hope to write a little bit about this health lifestyle from a middle age blokes perspective. Despite the image I have never really been the fittest. I am still not elite at anything or any of the sports I pursue or the running times I achieve. But that is no longer important. For me it is now all down to living a healthy lifestyle to enjoy life!

I hope to share a lot more of my thoughts and campaigning in 2021. Certainly for the first few months of the year I cannot see life going back to what we called normal. Sitting at home on Zoom/Teams will give me plenty of thinking and writing time. I feel the need to share some of it for my own enjoyment. Writing it down makes me think through ideas.

The Youtube summary above does neatly sum up what is happening. Our direct client list will reduce over the year, although I will support other work and projects. I will spend a lot more time with the Sports Think Tank and my voluntary roles as Chair of the Sport for Development Coalition and as Deputy Chair of the Local LEP and Chair of its Investment Panel. I enjoy the NED roles I have so will be looking to deepen those relationships as well as any other opportunities that arise for paid NED positions.

If there is anything you would ask me if we were meeting - ask it here and I will try to answer. Let’s create and find solutions together

It will be a tough year ahead. I hope by sharing some random thoughts, perspectives on what I read, hear and see may help a little. It will certainly help me get things out of my head and into a Blog!

So yes have a plan for 2021 based on what we know it will look like. But be prepared to adapt and change as circumstances dictate. Don’t plan in too much detail and go with the flow of new opportunities if they arise. Sometimes taking the risk and leap into something new because you are forced is the only way many of us who are naturally cautious will ever do it. So grasp what comes your way in 2021. You never know where it will lead.