Kick start 2016 with these 4 professional New Year’s resolutions
New year is a time for renewal and positive energy: you’ve got your classic resolutions to get fit, lose weight, find a new hobby or eat healthily. These, although hard to keep, are great ways to start off the year by making small improvements to your personal life.
What we want to discuss, however, is how you can improve your professional life in 2016. What about being more happy at work, and becoming more successful? Don’t you want to start 2016 by kick starting your career and putting yourself on the right track? Well, now is your chance to get excited and set some professional resolutions, such as the ones below, that could help you do just that.
1. Work to live or live to work?
There’s a saying that if work doesn’t feel like work, you’re doing it right. This is a great code to live by, however, many would say that you’ll have your up days and down days in any job. It won’t always be fun, but it also shouldn’t take over your life. There needs to be a clear work-life balance whereby you can separate your personal life from what’s happening in work. This year, make a resolution to keep a balance and don’t get too bogged down by your job. This can make you counter-productive in the long run.
2. Make a choice
The New Year is a time to reflect on the past year, or even the past few years. Now is the time to take a look around you and decide whether you’re in the right place, and doing the right job. Can you see areas to progress into? Are there skills you can learn here or are you becoming stagnant in your role? If so, then now is your time to shine and start anew for the New Year. You may find that other employers would spend more time helping you progress and offer more opportunities. This is something well know building society Nationwide works hard to achieve as you can see here.
3. Network, network, network
There are plenty of people out there who could help you progress in your career. All you have to do is find them. This will demand a bit of research and some of your time to attend events and meet with the right people, but it could all be worth it in the end. Don’t wait for the right people to find you, take control of your own future.
4. Goal setting
Set yourself one main goal, something big and meaningful that will keep you motivated and on the right track. Alongside this goal, set smaller goals that will help you get there. For example, your main goal may be to move into a managerial role. Therefore your smaller goals might be to take on more responsibilities, to find training courses and to improve your skills. By doing this, your resolution may seem much more manageable and achievable, encouraging you to stick at it, rather than go the way of so many New Year resolutions.
Make 2016 your year and make a career move in the right direction.
Good luck!
