The holiday and new year are upon us again. It’s a great time to look back on what we’ve done over the past year, and look forward to new opportunities and prospects in 2010. Studies show that people who set goals and plan their lives and careers are more successful, so set some time aside away from the normal holiday distractions to think about the following:
1. Create a personal career plan
As we have mentioned in previous columns, it is vital for successful professionals to have an overall career plan that sets career objectives and defines strategies for success. Consider it as your roadmap to where you want (or sometimes don’t want) to be. The more precise you can be about your vision for your future career, the more likely it is that you will attain it. You may want to explore using a career coach to help you navigate and avoid any minefields on your journey.
2. Create a personal life plan
Your career is only a part of your life, so you must put your career plan in perspective of your broader life plan. For some people, their plan is to work for several years to save enough to retire early and build their dream house, while others want to balance work and life. There are as many plan possibilities as you can imagine. Whatever you wish to accomplish in your life has a much higher probability of coming to fruition if you actively plan for it to happen. Don’t forget that not planning becomes a Plan to Nowhere.
3. Create yearly goals
A long-term career and life plan needs short-term goals to make it happen, so if you don’t do this already, you should set goals for yourself that are SMART – specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound. So “putting aside some money for a rainy day” is not a SMART goal, but “have at least $5,000 in my savings account by the end of this year by putting aside $100 per week from my part-time job” is a SMART goal.
4. Understand your personal values
We all have inherent values, such as love, security, integrity, faith, etc., that are important to us in how we live our lives. From A Christmas Carol and other holiday feel-good movies to the many cards and greetings sending best wishes, the holiday period is naturally a time to look at our values and realign them if necessary. It is very easy for our everyday work-a-day, hectic and over-stressed existence to become the norm. Career and life stresses often develop because we are not living our lives in accordance to our values, so reconnect with them. Like a well-built house, these should be the foundation of a happy and healthy life.
5. Learn something new every day
Vow to look on life over the next year as a big opportunity to learn more about yourself, others, and the world we all share.
6. Keep healthy
While this can also be considered a personal value for many (see number four), it is a central part of everyone’s existence, so don’t neglect your physical and mental health. Gyms and health clubs see a spike in memberships in January that tapers off quickly, so try to come up with a regimen that you will adhere to. One tip is to make it part of your regular routine – before or after work, for example.
7. Keep focused on your family and friends
Most of us would rank family and friends very highly on our personal values list, but ask yourself, are you spending the right amount of quality time with them? It can be easy to focus on other areas of our lives, (like work), to the detriment of our relationships. If you want to focus more on the important people in your lives, make it one of your SMART goals for 2010.
8. Enjoy your job
We spend a large chunk of our time at work, so it goes without saying that we should enjoy what we do for the 1/3 of each and every work day. While it can sound trite to simply say “Enjoy your job” it can end up being the net result of achieving success on the previous steps outlined above. If you cannot see yourself loving (or at least liking) what you do, talk to a career counsellor about your options – we all have options, so don’t limit yourself through self-imposed constraints.
9. Worry less
I’m talking about not sweating the small stuff, which takes a predominant and undeserved role in the lives of many of our clients. Try calming techniques such as meditation (or exercise) to help you. Think back five or 10 years ago – can you even remember what was stressing you then?
10. Network more
Networking is like insurance – you don’t need it until you need it. Make sure that you stay connected with old acquaintances and strive to make new ones. A nice personalized card at this time of year can certainly help you along the way.
From everyone at CatalystCareers Canada, we wish you the very best of the holiday season and continued good career fortune for the new year!
Mitchell Stephenson M.A., CPCC, is a senior partner and a certified professional career counsellor at Catalyst Careers, a career transition, counselling, and outplacement firm. Mitch has been involved in human resources, career counselling and coaching in the health and legal sectors for many years. To contact him, visit: www.catalystcareers.ca.
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