Five Tips For New Year’s Resolution Success At Work
New Year’s resolutions are often considered unworkable but they can be a useful way to focus your career ambitions. At TempsAhead, we encourage our candidates to set achievable targets. Sometimes the goals are grand, sometimes they are bitesize. Whatever the case, it seems that the people who are most successful in realizing their resolutions are the ones with a clear plan. As such, we are happy to share a few New Year’s resolution tips that we have learnt over the years.
1) Pick one
Overwhelming yourself with too many career targets is unlikely to work. In any walk of life, the chances of success are statistically higher when goals are tackled one at a time. Are you keen to learn a new piece of software? Do you feel ready to pursue a promotion? Has the time come to improve your KPIs? Whatever you are striving towards, make sure the path is straight and clear before you begin. Unfortunately, people who set multiple goals often fail to achieve a single one.
2) Break it down
Now that you have one goal that you are determined to work on, you can break it down into smaller pieces. Schedule incremental targets that can be pursued over a course of days, weeks or months. An employee who wants to increase their productivity in 2016 cannot double last year’s figures in January alone. But targeting, say, an eight-percent increase per month throughout 2016 might be a workable strategy. However you work out the details, be kind to yourself for the short-term and you will be have more success in the long run.
3) Share with those who care
Encouragement from those who want to see you succeed can be a wonderful boost to your resolve. The kind words of friends and family when you stumble or fall are priceless. On the other hand, if you are in a field that is ultra-competitive and those around you are not invested in your success, perhaps keep your resolution quiet in the workplace. New Year’s resolutions are about improving your performance, so your coworkers do not necessarily have to know about them.
4) Take care of yourself
Your job success is not determined by a target chosen on 31 December 2015. The coming year will have its ups and down and maybe your resolution will look unachievable in June. Do not lose hope. Stress and anxiety will only compound your problems. So, when times are tough, encourage yourself and repeat the “break it down” step. Setting mini-targets will help you to get back on track.
5) Celebrate success
As you achieve targets and pass milestones, allow yourself to be happy. Do not be afraid to check off your successes on a chart or spreadsheet. Witnessing the changes you have made is a useful technique for self-affirmation that will transform your goals into tangible achievements.
