Meet the Matchable Team: Sophie tells us about her goals for 2022
With 2022 well underway, our Client Engagement Lead, Sophie, chatted to us about her goals for the past and current year, and why she tries to avoid the ‘new year, new me’ trap.
Could you introduce yourself?
I’m Sophie, the Client Engagement Lead at Matchable employee volunteering. I joined in January 2021, so I’ve been here for just over a year.
Reflecting on 2021, do you feel like you achieved the things you wanted to?
I know there’s more to life than work, but 2021 was a really important and exciting year for me professionally. When I joined Matchable in January, I knew that I wanted to put my heart and soul into it, and I ended up being promoted in less than 12 months, and managing a team when the amazing Lindsay joined in October!
One of the great things about working in a startup is that you’re able to really shape your role and make it your own, and I’m really proud of how I’ve done that in the last year.
What about in your life away from work?
I set a goal to read a book a month last year, and I managed 13 - so I was pretty happy with that! I also made a commitment to be outside more and spend less time on my phone. I think with COVID we all realised how important it was to prioritise fresh air and and a bit of space from the craziness of life.
I also got a puppy (Nelly). That wasn’t really a goal, but it was definitely a highlight.
Have you set yourself any goals for 2022?
Hmm… yes, but I think sometimes there’s too much pressure on January to be a time to set new goals; to go at 100 miles an hour right from the first day. January is always such a busy time anyway, it doesn’t always feel like the right time to make new commitments.
I do have some things I’d like to focus on for this year, though. Work-wise, I’d really like to master the work-life balance - I know that’s a bit of a cliche now, but for good reason. I want to keep on learning new things and stay professionally motivated and ambitious, but also make sure I take enough time off - and actually enjoy that time off. Sometimes it’s easy to feel guilty for taking time away from work, or to get competitive with how much you’re doing; this year I really want to focus on working hard when I’m working, and relaxing hard when I’m not! I’m grateful that Foong puts such an emphasis on mental health and a healthy work-life balance at Matchable, it definitely makes it easier.
You said there’s too much pressure on making new commitments in January - do you think the process of setting resolutions is a constructive one?
I’m sure they work for some people, but I don’t really understand why so much emphasis is placed on January as a month for change. Are we somehow less capable of change in March? Or October? For me, January is more about re-setting and checking in with yourself, making sure that you’re going at a steady pace - back to work, back to normal life, back to eating regular food rather than a chocolate orange every day!
I think the whole notion of ‘new year, new me’ is a bit of a trap, to be honest. You can make positive changes at any point in the year. And, if you try to make a positive change in January and it doesn’t come off - you shouldn’t feel like you have to wait until the start of the next year to give it another go!
“For me, January is more about re-setting and checking in with yourself, making sure that you’re going at a steady pace”
If you could achieve one thing by the end of this year, what would it be?
I would really love to have exercise as an enjoyable part of my life. I know that’s probably a boring answer, but I love all of the mental and physical benefits of exercise, I just haven’t really found my thing yet. I’d love to find something like that - a specific gym-class or a team sport - that just felt like fun rather than hard work.
Maybe a Matchable sports-day social then?!
100%! That would be hilarious.
ABOUT MATCHABLE
At Matchable we work with companies and their employees to match them with high impact and innovative skilled volunteering projects at non-profits and impact startups.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how your employees can upskill through our social impact projects, get in touch here.