28-29.qxp_Grid 21/12/2021 12:41 Page 2
OVER THE
COUNTER
BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.
An Olympic
Effort January is a fresh start; a fresh page to turn and a sense of optimism. Our last three Januarys however have started with a cloud. In 2020 we didn’t know what was to come. In 2021 we had the optimism of the vaccine and a belief that ‘it’ may be coming to an end, but in 2022 we simply don’t know, but I’m thinking that it could be time to put a new ‘Olympic’ training plan into action.
We are all rather tired of adapting, changing, moving, fighting and somehow it feels like we may be back to the beginning again. Our businesses and more importantly our minds have been resilient, but I don’t know anyone who isn’t worrying about what is to happen. I am writing this on 19 December with BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year on in the background which somehow this gives me a little reassurance of normality as I remember watching it from a young age with my dad. The first year I remember the winner was Daley Thompson, way back in 1982. Daley won because he was the Decathlon champion at consecutive Olympic Games and quite simply an amazing all rounder, who could run, throw and jump. As retailers I think we forget just how amazing we are. We too are ‘decathletes’. We literally do it all and we should never forget that. Harking back to reassuring childhood memories is something that you do as you get older, especially in these uncertain times. Thinking about comforting memories helps, whether it was watching the A-Team on a Top: To triumph in 2022 David to putting in an Olympic effort. Above right: You can buy this Daley Thompson poster, hand signed in marker pen from A1 Sporting Memorabilia’s website for £17.99. Right: The 2021 SPOTY presenters on stage before Emma Raducanu was pronounced the winner.
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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
Saturday night or bashing the buttons on my ZX Spectrum pretending to be Daly playing the Track and Field game. All of these things stir feelings of family, normality and fun that we all need. As indie retailers we live by the calendar, with so many key events dictating our buying and how our shops are. We should be gearing up for Top Drawer and Spring Fair, but right now there is that feeling of not knowing and not being able to plan for certain, of having so many jobs to do and not completing them. With the constant disruption to normal life and the constant distractions, I feel I am achieving less and less. It feels like I am trying to win the game, but keep falling short. So, my New Year resolution is to figure out how to achieve more and tonight I have started on my journey to do just that. Now everyone knows that to win an Olympic gold like Daley calls for more than a few training sessions, it needs a strict programme. Without doubt my daily list of things will need to evolve.
No more will I be able to simply write anything and everything on that ‘to do’ list hoping that at least some of it will be achieved. I am now going to split my list into different groups with a focused approach to each day and week ahead. I thought I’d share my thinking in case it helps you. Quick wins - These are the things that you can do in minutes or hours and give you that feeling of satisfaction. For example, review that new card range, change your window display, answer that niggling email. The consumption of the task - Where you finish things that you have started to read or watch. It may be
