I’m not an economist, let me say that upfront. But I do watch people, like most of us. And that’s what this blog is about – what people will do and how that could affect the economy. The more economists say that there’s a recession coming, the more worried we’ll all be. And the more worried we are, the more risk-averse we will be, the less decisions we’ll make, the less new initiatives will roll out, the less stuff will get bought. On the supply side, companies will make less money, so banks will tighten credit, there’ll be less money circulating and the GDP will decline. And so, we’ll ring in the recession all together, like it or not.
All that’s well and good, you’re thinking, but what can I do to make things better? Well, let’s look at two “fundamentals”:
– Are you as a person making enough money to pay your bills and then (even a little) some? If so, you’re going to be OK in the short term. If not, cut out that shiny new phone you wanted to buy. And focus on those new skills you wanted to develop. Whether you’re thinking transferable skills or company-specific, now’s the time to get that going and up your game.
– Is your company OK? You may not know the details, but the indicators will be everywhere. The toilet paper goes from 3-ply to 2-ply, for example – yes, I’m not kidding. And regardless of how the company is doing, you can do better. For example, you can talk to your manager about focusing on projects that deliver value in the short term. That’s not to say long-term projects must be dropped – in fact, with enough money in the bank, some companies choose to weather a coming Recession with longer-term initiatives. The point it, talk about it with your peers and managers about the “R word” of Economics.
Whatever you decide to do, do one thing for sure: Make the most of your time. How, you’re thinking. You want me to work on new skills, you want me to focus on stuff at work, there’s stuff to do at home – hello, how do I do all this? Well, track your time (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?):
– At a professional level, use a good time-tracking tool to track what you do and then analyse where those hours went (we have a good one here, if you’re in the market). Something that works specifically for your business and operating culture (oh yes, time-tracking can be seriously against general belief in some companies). Something that isn’t intrusive but is detailed enough so you can tell what you were focusing on. So you can decide what you should be focusing on.
– At a personal level, look at what you’re spending your time on. Start with a simple digital-health analysis (Android Digital Wellbeing or iOS Screen Time). If you spent 3 hours every day last week on Instagram and/or WhatsApp, you may want to think of other things you can do with that time. I’m not saying either of them are complete time-wasters. That’s for you to decide. But to decide that, you need to first know where your time goes. And that’s what these apps will tell you.
With focus, time-tracking and a little bit of luck, let’s beat the Recession. Then we can worry about Inflation.😊