Author: Jade Donno

Christmas picture

How to combat Christmas stress in your workforce

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Although Christmas is a magical time of year full of celebration and quality time with family and friends, it can cause stress too. Beyond just the pressure of gift buying and financial stress, the month is a lot shorter and there’s an increased pressure to meet deadlines, hit end-of-year targets, and attend additional social functions. And that’s not even mentioning the stress that comes with hosting people for the actual holidays!

According to the Health and Safety Executive, approximately 50% of all work-related illnesses in 2019/2020 were caused by stress, anxiety or depression. And that was without the stress that comes with the holiday season. Too much stress at work can lead to bigger problems for your employees – impacting productivity, morale, and wellbeing – so as an employer, you need to think about how you can support your team through this time of year.

To help combat Christmas stress (so that rather than burn out, your employees come back in January refreshed, engaged and motivated to get going), here is an essential checklist.

Your ‘combat Christmas stress’ checklist

1 . Plan Christmas-themed activities

If you have your team in one office, get everyone to decorate together. An easy group activity such as this can be very therapeutic. As well as decorating their own desks, you can also arrange festive activities such as Secret Santa, Christmas jumper day, and of course, the office Christmas party.

If you have a remote team, think about how you can bring the team together and nurture festiveness. Can you send the whole team gifts which will be opened together at the virtual Christmas party?

2. Help staff manage their workload

Time management is a big source of stress in December, so can you help your employees with this? Since the season has fewer work days but the same amount of work, help your employees plan ahead as much as possible so that their productivity isn’t affected.

Another option is to outsource or take on temporary staff over busy periods.

3. Maintain effective communication

Is everyone doing okay? Do your employees need anything from you to make this time easier on them? Make sure to increase your communication with your employees this season or at least maintain effective channels when things get busy.

One of the most important things to communicate during this period is when everyone will be taking their holiday. Help your employees communicate this to each other and also to their clients! If everyone is clear who is off and when in advance, then things won’t build up right before Christmas and your employees can properly switch off without worrying about what they are coming back to.

4. Help staff reduce their financial stress

Financial stress is one of the biggest pressures during December, so think about the ways you can help your employees with this. Can you give your employees an end-of-year bonus? Or other financial rewards such as gift cards or vouchers? Can you recommend finance planning apps for budgeting? Or get a financial expert to come in and run a workshop on “holiday budgeting” or “how to avoid overspending”?

5. Encourage healthy eating and exercise

The holiday season is full of rich, unhealthy foods and drinks, all of which can reduce mood and energy and increase stress and anxiety. If you want your employees to come back in January healthy and raring to go, help them to make wiser food choices.

You can start by offering healthier food at the company Christmas party and encourage the team to compete over the holidays – who can eat healthier and log more steps? Maybe you can all do a food or exercise challenge together?

6. Check for signs of anxiety/depression

Is anyone displaying signs of social withdrawal, anxiety, depression or grief? Keep your eyes open for the tell-tale signs and be prepared to give extra support to these people.

Christmas and New Year can be a lonely time for people, especially for those who have recently lost a loved one, so be aware that some may need alone time while others may feel isolated and will need encouragement to get involved.

Other things you can do is to maximise natural light in the office and encourage employees to take vitamin D!

7. Encourage work/life balance

Can you offer your employees flexible hours or to work from home this season? If your employees can schedule work around their personal lives, you’ll see a huge difference in productivity and wellbeing. Even if it’s a simple as allowing people to work earlier and leave earlier, so they can take care of their children or finish their Christmas shopping. A good work-life balance is essential for mental and physical wellbeing.

Pave the way for a prosperous New Year!

The more you can reduce stress in December, the more productive the New Year will be, so help your employees. Help them manage their workload, their client expectations and their work-life balance. Think about how you can help to reduce their financial stress and always keep an eye out for anyone who is struggling.  If you do this, you will combat Christmas stress and you’ll have a full team who switched off during the holidays and have come back refreshed, motivated and raring to go.

 

why should I switch to a digital payment process

Why should I switch to a digital payment process?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

According to studies, SMEs spend on average, a whopping £4.4 billion per annum chasing late payments. This problem is only exacerbated by traditional (and slow!) payment methods too such as cash and cheques, so what is the solution to this?

To reduce the time between invoicing and the money actually clearing into your accounts receivables – thereby minimising the negative impact on your cash flow – small and medium businesses should consider switching to digital payment. Here’s why.

6 benefits of switching to a digital payment process

1 . Consistent cash flow

Digital payments mean a faster processing time which results in a much faster cash conversion cycle. This means no more big gaps in cash flow due to late payments.

2 . Lower processing costs

Switching to digital means lower payment processing fees than standard bank transfers. As there’s no need for manual reconciliation, labour costs are also reduced.

3 . Greater visibility of your finances in real-time

Businesses that use a digital payment process always have their accounts receivables in real-time. This allows them to refine their credit control processes and make informed strategic decisions.

4. Quicker reconciliation

Digital payments don’t take days to reconcile, they show up on your accounts receivable almost instantly. The result? Better documentation and more time for your staff to focus on the high-value stuff instead.

5. Happier clients

Going digital benefits your clients too as it gives them the widest and most convenient range of payment options to choose from. Making it quick and easy for your clients to pay makes them happy and it builds loyal relationships too!

6. Security compliant

The vast majority of software providers abide by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This means all business and client data can be processed securely.

Wave goodbye to late payments

Payment delays can build and threaten the future of your company. To avoid potentially irreparable damage, implement digital payments sooner rather than later. Not only will this balance out your monthly cash flow and reduce manual work and extra costs, but it will also improve your client journey and most likely ensure repeat business.

 

What is a Registered Office?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

What exactly is a registered office?

A registered office is the address which your Limited Company is registered to. This is a legal requirement for all companies that are incorporated in the UK and you cannot form a company without one.

This address will be placed on the public record and will also serve as the legal postal address for letters from Companies House, HMRC, and all other government departments and agencies. It must be a physical postal address that is in the same UK jurisdiction in which your company is registered.

What is a correspondence address?

All directors and persons of significant control for your company will also have to provide a correspondence or service address. This serves a similar purpose to your company’s registered office in that it will be where HMRC, Companies house, and other government agencies send important post, and will be displayed on the public register. We usually recommend keeping the correspondence address the same as the registered office address, however it can be different it you wish.

Can I use my home address?

You can use your home address as your registered office, however if you rent your home you may need permission from your landlord. You should be aware that by doing this your personal address will appear alongside your company on the public register, so we do not recommend this for privacy reasons.

We believe that your company will also look more professional if you are not using your home address as your registered office.

Where else can I use for my registered office?

You are able to use anywhere as your registered office providing you have permission from the property owner. Here are a few ideas of spaces you could use:

  • Your own office space
  • An external company that provides this service.
  • Your home (although we wouldn’t recommend)

If you are a client of ours, you are able to use our office address. This is included in all of our limited company services.

What is a Confirmation Statement?

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Have you heard your accountant talking about your confirmation statement and been puzzled by what it is? Are you wondering about who needs to file one, when, or how?

Wonder no more! We have all the answers for you. Read on below…

What is a confirmation statement?

A confirmation statement is a yearly statement that is sent to companies house to confirm that all the information they hold about the company is correct and up to date.

This video from the government’s website contains a good overview.

Who needs to file a confirmation statement?

Every Limited Company or Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) needs to file a confirmation statement, even if they are dormant or non-trading. Sole traders and companies that have been officially struck off do not need to file a confirmation statement.

When is my confirmation statement due?

Your confirmation statement is due annually, usually around the same time as your company incorporation date. When you register a company, your 12 month review period starts. Your first confirmation statement will usually be due 14 days after the end of this 12 month review period.

You can file a confirmation statement early, if you have had some changes to the company for example. When you do this, you will start a new 12 month review period and the next confirmation statement wont be due for another 12 months.

You can check when your confirmation statement is due by searching for your company on the companies house register.

What happens if I don’t file my confirmation statement?

You will not receive a fine for missing your filing deadline, however if you do not file your statement within 14 days of the end of your review period, your company and its officers may be prosecuted. Your company can also be struck off the register for failing to file a confirmation statement.

How do I file my confirmation statement?

In order to file your confirmation statement you will need your company authentication code and your login to companies house. The government’s website has more information.

There is good news for all 1 Accounts clients however as this is included in all of our service packages! We will need to confirm with you that no details have changed (we may know this already) and you will receive an email from us once it has been filed and accepted by companies house.

What information needs to be updated?

We will have to confirm the below details are still correct before we file so we may contact you to make sure there have been no changes that you haven’t told us about. However, if you do make a change, please make sure you tell us!

We will need to confirm the following details before we file your confirmation statement

  • Company directors and shareholders are the same
  • People with significant control are the same
  • Company’s registered office is the same

You can also update the following information at the same time as filing your confirmation statement:

  • Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code
  • Statement of capital
  • Trading status of shares
  • Exemption from keeping a PSC register
  • Shareholder information

What if nothing has changed?

If none of your company information has changed then a confirmation statement saying that nothing has changed still needs to be filed so Companies House know the information they have is still correct.

If you have any questions regarding confirmation statements please let us know! We aim to make this process as easy and stress free for our clients as possible.

Autumn Budget 2021

The autumn 2021 budget

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Small business owners hopes for some crumbs of comfort from the chancellor in his budget and autumn statement were dashed. The triple hit on small businesses coming from April 2022 is still very much happening.
Watch Paul’s response in this video or keep reading below.

The triple hit?

Hit 1

Corporation tax from April 1 2023 to increase to 25% for companies with profits over £250,000. Companies with profits under £50,000 will be taxed at 19%. Companies with profits between £50,000 and £250,000 will be taxed between 19% and 25%.

tom and jerry hitting each other
hit in the face

Hit 2

The dividend tax rate for basic rate taxpayers will increase from 7.5% to 8.75% from April 2022. Higher rate and additional rate taxpayers will see their dividend tax rates increase by 1.25 percentage points.

Hit 3

In April 2022 all 3 rates of National Insurance Contributions (NIC) will increase by 1.25%. Then in April 2023, the 3 rates of NIC will reduce back down to their current levels and the new Health and Social Care Levy will come into place.
minion getting hit

As was leaked this week, small business owners have another hit to their finances….

Hit 4

The National Living Wage is increasing from £8.91 to £9.50 an hour from April 2022.What does this mean for your business? It means that your wage costs – both salary and National Insurance contributions – have increased significantly. We can help you understand what this means for your profits and how income you can safely take out from your business.

So what else was announced in the budget which is relevant for small business owners?

A reform of business rates

  • A new temporary business rates relief in England for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties for 2022-23. Over 90% of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will receive at least 50% off their business rates bills in 2022-23.
  • The government is also freezing the business rates multiplier in 2022-23. This will support all ratepayers, large and small, meaning bills are 3% lower than without the freeze.
  • From 2023, a new business rates relief will support investment in property improvements so that no business will face higher business rates bills for 12 months after making qualifying improvements to a property they occupy.

A reform of R&D tax credits

  • The qualifying expenditure will now include data and cloud computing costs
  • R&D tax reliefs will at some point be only allowed to be claimed for activities taking place in the UK
  • Later on in 2021 the government will set out plans to tackle abuse of and improve compliance with the R&D tax reliefs later in the autumn

Other announcements relevant to small business owners:

  • The Annual investment allowance which was raised to £1m temporarily is now being extended to 31 March 2023. After this point, it will revert back to the £200,000 limit.
  • The Recovery Loan Scheme will also be extended until 30 June 2022 to ensure that lenders continue to have the confidence to lend to small and medium-sized businesses. Finance will be available up to a maximum of £2 million per business, supporting them to recover from the impact of the pandemic and to grow. The government guarantee will be reduced from 80% to 70% to encourage the lending market to move towards normality as the economy continues to recover.
  • Vehicle Exercise duty for HGVs has been frozen and the HGV road user levy has been suspended for another 12 months from August 2022.
  • Apprenticeships funding will increase to £2.7 billion by 2024-25 – the first increase since 2019-20. Part of this funding will include, by May 2022, a new enhanced recruitment service for small and medium-sized businesses to help them hire new apprentices. The £3000 apprentice hiring incentive for employers will be extended until 31 January 2022.
  • From 2023, the government will introduce exemptions for eligible plant and machinery used in onsite renewable energy generation and storage, and a new 100% relief for eligible heat networks, to support the decarbonisation of buildings.
  • Simplification of the Alcohol Duty System. Drinks will be taxed in proportion to their alcohol content.
  • Pubs serving draft beer and cider will have their duty rates on these drinks reduced by 5%
  • Fuel duty is frozen at 57.95 pence per litre UK-wide for 2022-23
  • The duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits will be frozen for another year

How do I make more money without spending a penny!

Posted on | by Jade Donno

If you’ve lost clients due to the Covid-19 pandemic, you are not the only one. Countless businesses have lost a substantial amount of revenue, some of which have been forced to declare bankruptcy or shut their doors for good.

When we lose clients, it can be tempting to jump back on the sales horse and concentrate on winning new business. Of course, this isn’t wrong, but there are better ways to initially generate new revenue than trying to win more leads.

In this blog, we outline 6 ways to generate more revenue from your existing client base without spending a penny!

1. Prioritise the money you are owed first

Talk to the clients who owe you money and negotiate how they will pay their debts. You have already provided this service, so chasing up and agreeing on payment dates is the first thing you need to do. Next, bill any work in progress or completed work that has been invoiced.

If you need help getting your invoices paid then read our blog 10 ways to make sure your invoices get paid.

2. Review and start charging for your ‘freebies’

We all like to go above and beyond for our clients, but sometimes this comes at a cost. Review what you are currently giving away above and beyond the service your clients are paying for and start charging for it. Usually, this is an area where significant amounts of extra revenue can be found.

3. Consider increasing your fees

You may be hesitant about raising fees during a recession, but ask yourself: when did you last do a fee increase, and how much more time are you having to spend with your clients to support them right now? If you’re doing a lot more for less, explain to your clients that you need to increase your fees to keep giving them the level of support that they need.

4. Analyse your current client portfolio

Look at your current client base and segment them into A, B, and C clients. A clients are your most valuable and tend to bring in the most business and/or they pay very well. B clients are good quality clients who usually make up the majority of your business. C clients are usually not in line with your business anymore or are low payers and/or are picky.

Using your analysis, identify which clients need more help from you and who could benefit from other services that you offer. Start increasing your communication with your A and B clients and ditch or convert your C clients.

5. Follow up with old leads

You can ring old prospects or existing clients to check in and see how they are doing. Due to the social restrictions during the pandemic, there isn’t going to be anybody that won’t appreciate you asking how they are. Make sure to catch up with your good referrers too!

6. Increase other marketing activities

What other marketing activities can you do that won’t cost a penny? One of the best tasks you can do for your business is to focus on increasing your online presence. Good ways to do this are to regularly post to social media and to start writing blogs. Read our blog about why you should be regularly publishing blogs for some tips.

This will enable you to stay in front of prospects and clients and it ensures that you are remembered when they are ready to buy your service.

7. Always focus on your existing clients first

Your clients already like you and trust you, so they will be a lot more willing to buy more from you. If you’re looking to increase your revenue during times of difficulty, always turn to your existing clients first. You may find that you don’t need to go out and find new business after all.

blobs

How to recover your accounts receivables

Posted on | by Jade Donno

How to Recover Your Accounts Receivables After Covid-19

The pandemic has not been kind to business. Many companies have struggled with poor cash flow, defaulting on payments and many have even gone bankrupt. Even now, businesses still struggle, so, understandably, that the financial situation of most businesses in the world is bleak. With that being said, however, with the high vaccine rollout, Covid-19 IS receding (albeit, slowly).

To plan for post-crisis growth, every business will soon have to assess its financial position. This includes a review of receivables: how much they are owed and how well they’ve managed them before the crisis.

Here is how to recover your accounts receivable to prepare for post-Covid growth.

1. Take an honest assessment of your current business situation

Although the business world is slowly opening up again and life is resuming to some sort of normality, there will be an inevitable lag in business. What this means is that business liquidity isn’t going to improve until 2022.

So how can you prepare for this? First, look at your receivables, specifically how much you owe and what percentage of these will be paid back in the next year. Next, you need to forecast your cash flow to make sure that you can survive this period. Lastly, it’s good practice to segment your portfolio of clients into A, B and C. A are great clients, B are average, and C are the poor payers. Prioritise who you need to chase for cash flow payments.

2. Prepare for different scenarios by improving your processes

Things are changing all the time still, so consider what changes could help your business if a third wave of Covid hits or you experience other technical challenges. How will this impact your business? Could you survive?

To remain financially stable in almost any scenario, you need to improve your processes, especially shifting your accounts receivable set up to recall more reliable payments.  You can also reset your accounts receivable to be flexible for the recovery by closely examining payment deferrals and ensuring that payment chasing procedures are followed up consistently. The goal here is to get more customers to pay on time moving forward.

3. Think about customer expectations and invest in tech

Needs and expectations are evolving, especially throughout the pandemic, so the key to recovery is to anticipate these needs. Technology is a big area that a lot of businesses are focusing on and for good reason.

To build recovery-proof receivables in your business, you need to streamline and automate processes. For example, automated invoice reminders, credit control software, and customer payment portals etc.

Prepare your business for whatever comes next

The pandemic recovery is going to be painful, but you can take a few steps to prepare for and quickly react to changing situations. This is the key to post-crisis growth: consistently analysing your accounts receivables and adjusting your processes and operations until you create an adaptive model that aids growth instead of hinders.

 

10 ways to make sure your invoices get paid!

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Wouldn’t life be simple if you could guarantee that your invoice would get paid on time every time? Sadly, this isn’t always the reality. With the economy coming out of recession, there is a danger that your business invoices may not get paid in a timely fashion. Here are our best tips for getting your invoices paid:

1. Invoice promptly

The longer you take to invoice someone, the more likely it won’t get paid. Of course, no invoice normally means no payment…

Cloud accounting software such as Xero includes the feature to do recurring invoices. So, where you have a regular repeating invoice for the same amount with a customer, use this recurring invoice feature to cut down the chance of missing an invoice.

If you are finding that you are getting behind on your admin, then give us a call. We can take care of your bookkeeping to leave you free to run your business

2. No surprises!

If a bill is not expected, it probably won’t get paid! If a project is going to occur some extra expense or cost, always talk to the client or customer about it. If you just crack on with it and don’t tell the customer about the unexpected cost coming their way, you risk getting into a payment dispute.

Before you bill someone, always make sure that:

  • They are aware and expecting the bill
  •  They have agreed to pay the bill

3. Make it easy

This is such a simple one but easily missed. Make sure you are removing any barriers to pay your bill. Such as:

  •  Including a ‘pay now’ button linked to a payment gateway on your invoices. For example, Xero will do this for you with a Stripe account. Some customers may be happy for you to type in their card details over the phone using this option.
  • If you visit the customer on-site, then have the means to take payment whilst you are on site. E.g. with a card machine.
  •  Including your bank details on the invoice. (You will be surprised how many businesses and tradespeople don’t do this).
  • Offer multiple ways for your customers to pay. Eg. Bank transfer, direct debit, or credit card. Try to avoid offering the option to pay by cheque as getting to the bank can take time.

4. Set up a Direct Debit

If you have regular customers, getting a direct debit mandate signed from them is a great way to be more in control of when they pay you. GoCardless is an inexpensive direct debit solution that integrates well with the likes of Xero and other accounting software.

5. Get paid up front

There is no rule saying you can only invoice after you start work for a client. In fact, we will ask for payment upfront for some of our services, such as a client wanting a one-off tax return. If you or your customers are not happy with a 100% upfront payment, why not ask for a deposit to get the work started?

6. Build a relationship with the person who pays you

It always helps to be on good terms with the person at your customer’s business who pays your invoices. The stronger the relationship you have with them the less chance you have of having your payment “delayed”. If you don’t already know who this person is at your customer’s organisation it might help to find out.

7. Understand your customers’ accounts process

Do you need a PO number on your invoice? How does the invoice need to be addressed and who too? What needs to be on the invoice for it to be paid promptly? Who at your customer’s organisation needs to sign off the invoice before it will be paid? Who in the customer’s organisation is responsible for accounts payable? And can you get their name and contact details to help ‘ease the way for your invoice to be paid’?

When a finance department is preserving cash for a business, they will reject an invoice for payment for the smallest reason.

8. Create a process for unpaid invoices

For example, this could include a series of communications when the invoice is issued. Then a call or email the day before the invoice is due to see when it is going to be paid. Then a series of calls or emails several days and weeks after the invoice is due to be paid.

Also, most accounting software have a feature that will automate reminders for you.

9. Consider offering a payment plan

Most customers want to pay your bill, but sometimes stuff gets in the way. Consider offering a payment plan. Getting paid over 6 months in instalments is better than not getting paid at all.

10. Stop work if your invoices don’t get paid

If you get to the point where you have unpaid invoices and work still to do, stop working. Don’t carry on in the hope that they will get paid eventually as you may start to incur debts yourself. You’ll be surprised how quickly your unpaid invoices may get paid if you stop working for a client.

Our Covid-19 Policy for returning to the office

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Even though there are no longer any legal covid-19 restrictions in England, here at 1 Accounts we will be keeping some measures to ensure the safety of our clients and staff.

This is especially important to us as not all of our team members have been double vaccinated yet so we want to make sure they remain as safe as possible as we return to the office!

What we’re doing to stay safe

We are planning a staggered return to the office, with most staff members moving to a hybrid work week which will include some days in the office and some days working from home. We will be making sure we are all testing ourselves weekly with lateral flow tests and will not come to the office if we receive a positive result. As we have managed for over a year with the majority of our team working from home we believe that our service will remain the same and we will be able to continue with the same level of service you expect from us.

We are keeping many Covid restrictions inside the office as well. We are maintaining social distancing and have had a 1-way system in place in the office to avoid people having to be in close proximity when passing each other.

For visitors to the office

For visiting clients we have hand sanitiser available and we are asking you to please wear a mask while inside our main office. If you have scheduled a meeting with us, you will be able to take your mask off once we are sat in the meeting room if you are comfortable doing so.

With Covid-19 cases still rising, we are being cautious about our response and will be monitoring the government and medical advice. If our response changes in any way we will be sure to let our clients know. We ask our clients to please be understanding and adhere to these requests as safety of our team and clients is our biggest priority.

How to find purpose blog

How to find purpose in your work (and day) again

Posted on | by Jade Donno

Are you feeling burned out from the chronic stress that has been our lives over the past year? Perhaps you are run down or fed up of every day feeling the same as we are stuck indoors? Maybe you feel just generally overwhelmed with everything at the moment, as you juggle work and family life at home 24/7?

If you see yourself in any of the statements above, you are not alone. Many have said that they feel bogged down with everything at the moment and don’t really know how they feel. Conversely, many others have said that they feel too caught up in their feelings, whether good or bad, and have lost sight of the big picture.

It’s been an extremely taxing year, so it’s no surprise that many of us have strayed from our purpose. With that being said, however, it’s important that we don’t let this happen for too long.

We all need to feel a sense of purpose. It gets us out of bed in the morning, fills our days with meaning, gives us motivation and energy, and carries us through the difficult times. What many don’t know, however, is that often, purpose is built not found.

4 ways to find purpose in your work (and day) again

1.Connect your work to service

Finding your purpose again can be as simple as asking yourself ‘who do I serve?’ and then shifting your perspective. For example, think about who you actually serve and the benefits they get from the work that you do. Then, consciously and concretely, connect this result to your day-to-day jobs. You may just find that shifting your thinking makes your work more purposeful.

2. Pursue excellence

How can you adapt your job to provide your clients with exceptional service (whilst also making your days more meaningful)? For example, would devoting time to learning a new skill make you happy but also benefit your clients? Enhancing your assigned work to make it meaningful to you and to those you serve is a great way to nurture a sense of purpose.

3.  Focus on building positive relationships

Who we work with, who we live with, and who we have in our corner, is just as important as what we do. Therefore, to feel completely happy and fulfilled, we must develop and maintain these relationships. Take some time every week to reflect on your relationships. Whether it’s a colleague or a family member or a friend, try to understand him or her and why you’re grateful to be working with them or to have them in your life. Think of ways that you can help them.

4. Reflect on what matters to you most

You can only find your purpose again if you know yourself, what you want, and what matters to you. If you don’t know this, then this may be why you feel aimless or demotivated. To help you delve deep into what ‘purpose’ means for you, try the following tasks:

  • Remember your ‘why’ – why do you do what you do? Why did you want to pursue this direction in the first place? Who are you working for if it’s not yourself?
  • Review your values – if you have role models, what are the qualities/values that you most admire? Do you exhibit these qualities/values or try to in your daily life? Does your work satisfy these values?
  • Keep a ‘purpose’ diary – for one week, whenever you feel most purposeful or energised or passionate, write down what you were doing at the time and why you felt that way. Review your notes after the week is over and you’ll identify exactly what aspects of your work you find most rewarding.

Purpose is built, not found

Contrary to what many people might think, purpose is something that is built or pursued, it’s not just going to get dropped in your lap one day. If you want to find meaning in your work and find your purpose again, reflect on what matters most to you and work on shifting your perspective. If you think about the people you serve and spend your time improving your skills to provide an even better service, your days will be filled with a lot more purpose.