Have you heard of SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder, more commonly known as the winter blues?
It’s a mood disorder, where people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms during the winter months. Even people who aren’t diagnosed with SAD are often affected by the winter blues during the colder months.
The truth is a combination of a lack of sun and cold weather invariably strains your mood as well as your metabolism. It’s an energy-depleting form of stress. If your energy systems are already low or your plate is full with things to do, the addition of this weather stress can be significant. It can also impact your business and your efforts at BNI.
It’s natural for most people to feel less energetic in their businesses during the middle of the year. At the beginning of the year most people are energised from their holidays and excited about the upcoming year in their business. Similarly towards the end of the year it’s usual for people to be keyed up as they look forward to the holidays and end of year festivities. The middle of the year however – coinciding with the colder weather – is when most business people experience a slump in energy and commitment.
Here are some tips to break out of the mid-year slump.
1. Evaluate your progress at BNI.
Consider the objectives you set for yourself and whether you are meeting these. What percentage of business did you expect to see coming through BNI? Have you achieved this? If not, what could you do to increase your referrals? Do you need to increase the number of dances you do?
2. Re-establish your BNI relationships.
Do you need to get to know new members better or re-establish connections with people who have been in BNI for some time?
3. Use BNI to test new strategies.
Take advantage of BNI and use your chapter members to test new services or products you are launching. Use your 60 seconds to introduce new strategies you are developing for your business. The middle of the year is a great time to shake things up and bring energy to BNI with new ideas and business developments.
4. Stay committed to BNI.
If you’ve had a holiday and have returned energised, try to bring this energy back with you to BNI. Remember also, the most successful members of BNI are those that keep their attendance up even during the colder months.
Follow these four tips and you’ll soon find you’ve broken out of the mid-year, mid-winter slump – remember spring is just around the corner!
