There’s a whole new year ahead so aim to make the most of it. New Year resolutions are about deciding what you want to achieve in the year ahead. Your career plan is more likely to succeed if you review and adjust your plan on a regular basis.
Steven Covey in “The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” studied executives and found that the most successful wrote down their goals and reviewed them periodically.
Tips for sticking to your resolutions:
- Don’t keep your plans secret. Tell friends and family members who will be there to support your resolve to change yourself for the better and get your career plan on track.
- Keep track of each small success; short-term goals are easier to keep, and each small achievement en route to your goal will help keep you motivated.
- Stick with it – experts say it takes about 21 days for a new activity to become a habit and six months for it to become part of your personality.
A useful trick, one we sometimes use at events, is send yourself a postcard. Write your three key resolutions down and send the card to yourself. Pin it somewhere that will catch your eye, as a reminder of what’s important to your career plan in 2024.
Welcome the New Year as the perfect opportunity for a career plan review. A whole new year full of possibilities and opportunities is our preferred world view. It’s dark and cold outside so smile and make the most of all there is to be grateful for and celebrate whatever you can.
Realistic resolutions
Keep your career planning goals SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
10Eighty offer some simple goals to help you focus on personal growth, professional development and your career plan.
- Choose a skill you are interested in, that aligns with your career plan, then work out how to develop that skill and spend more time working with that skill.
- Ask for feedback, ask what do people like about you and what you do and then ask what they think you should work on.
- Take two hours a week and devote that time to personal development, it can be work related or personal, but it should be aligned with your overall goals and career plan.
- Make sure that every month you do at least one item of professional development work to ensure you appreciate as an asset, that you are enhancing your employability.
Plan to succeed
Recharging your batteries with a well-earned rest from work is important, boost your personal growth by making the most of the holiday period. It’s a good time to work on your career plan as commitments to work and colleagues no so pressing.
If you fail to keep your resolutions in the first week of January, never mind, try again the following week and remember there’s always Chinese New Year, the lunar new year, for a reboot. If you do manage to keep your resolutions, pat yourself on the back.
Think seriously about your career plan. Focus on the steps you need to take to achieve your goals. Ensure that you are moving in a direction aligned with your values and strengths.
Season’s greetings from the team at 10Eighty, we’re glad to know you and we’d love to hear from you. Keep safe and healthy and cheerful and we hope to meet up in the New Year.
