Take Stock of Your Career and Set New Goals: A Five-Step Strategy for Success

The New Year is a great time to take stock of your career—where you are, where you want to go, and how you are going to get there. Whether you want to make small changes, learn new skills, get a promotion, or even find a new career, it starts with a few simple steps. Here is a five-step strategy to help you reach your goals:

1. Take stock of where you are now. This includes the obvious—the things you do on daily basis, what you are responsible for, what you enjoy doing, and what you don’t enjoy doing. Think about your job or career. Do you have all the skills you need? Are you happy? Do you want to stay, grow, move up, or move on?

Step one: Make some lists.

This step is as simple as making three lists. First, list all the things you do. Second, list the things you like about your job and enjoy doing. And third, list the things you don’t. 

2. Once you’ve taken stock, think about the future--one year from now, five years from now. Do you want to be doing the same thing? What do you want more of? What do you want less of? What skills do you want to learn? What type of people do you want to work with? What sort of work-life balance do you want? Do you want to stay in the same field?

Step two: Where do you want to go?

Think about what you want, the things you want to change, the ways you want to grow, the things you want to do differently or better, and the job or career you want to have.

3. Write specific goals. What do you want? This is where the rubber hits the road. Once you’ve determined what you are doing now, what you want to be doing more or less of, and where you want to grow, it's time to set specific goals.

When setting your goals remember to make them smart, or rather S.M.A.R.T. Achievable goals must be:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Actionable
• Realistic
• Timely

In order to be doable, goals must follow these five rules. If your goals don’t meet these criteria, rethink or modify them.

Your goals must be S.M.A.R.T.

And be sure to write them down. Studies show that people who write down their goals outperform those who don’t by a whopping 300 percent. When you write it down, it becomes tangible. Make it a daily visual reminder; post it where you see it every day. 

Successful people write down their goals.

4. Now, develop an action plan. I like to do something called backward action planning. Here’s how it works: Look at your goal and work backward from it. How will you get there? What are the steps you'll have to take from where you are now to your ultimate goal? You may have to develop a series of subgoals to get there. 

For example, let’s say your goal is to be president of the United States. What is the goal that happens right before that one? Probably being a governor or senator. And what is the goal that happens right before that one? Probably being a U.S. representative. And before that? Local or statewide office. And before that? Working in a congressional or state political office or on a campaign. And before that? Studying law or political science. You get the picture.

Whatever your goal is, figure out where you are now and the steps it takes to get where you want to be. You may be really far off or you may be closer than you think. Either way, you have to figure out the subgoals and milestones it takes to get to your top goal.

Then, you have to figure out the steps to get there, including all the actual, tangible tactics and strategies you will need. Think about what it takes to be vice president of marketing, for example. Do you need to go back to school? Learn new skills? Your action plan has to include all the work, networking, skills, education, abilities, and steps it takes to get there. You have to understand all of the actions it will take to reach your goal.

And you have to include the things you don’t like or want to do, too. If your goal is to hold public office and you hate to fundraise or schmooze, you have to rethink the goal or suck it up. It’s not easy and you don’t always get to do just the things you love. You have to work at achieving goals, and that means doing things you don’t like.

5. Finally, just do it. This is where most people fail. You have to align your actions with your goals, and that means every day you have to do the things that get you there.

Let’s say one of your professional goals is to become a better writer, but every day you don’t write. You put it off or simply choose to do other things. Well, that isn’t going to get you to your goal. You have to practice the steps every single day, or pretty close to it. Your everyday choices must be aligned with the actions you need to take to reach your goal.

Schedule it. Put it on the calendar. Do whatever it takes to work in the steps, strategies, and tactics necessary to reach your goal. You have to do the work.

It’s not easy, but it’s pretty straightforward. There is no magic bullet here, just hard work and dedication. Be clear about your goals, make sure they are realistic, write them down, make a plan of action, and then take the right steps every day. If you stay focused and strong, you'll get there.

Good luck!

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http://www.careerstonegroup.com

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Stressed at work? Four tips to simplify for success

We are busier than ever. We have more technology to contend with, which means many more forms of communication and interaction to master and address. We have more work to do, as many companies are making do with fewer employees, piling the work of many onto the shoulders of few.

Work stressing you out? Feeling overwhelmed at work?

Do you need to simplify your work life? Well, you might, if:

•You feel completely stressed at work.

•You feel overwhelmed, with too much on your plate.

•Your productivity is decreasing due to an inability to handle your projects.

•You spend too much time on things that just aren’t priorities.

•No matter how many hours you put in, you can’t seem to get out from under your workload.

•You bring stress and anxiety home with you.

Simplifying your working life will help you find balance and do a better job.

Here’s how:

1. Streamline your work environment.

Your physical environment has an enormous impact on your wellbeing, productivity, and intellectual ability. Your workspace should be as minimal and efficient as possible.

Look around your workspace. If you have a lot of clutter, chances are it’s creating or contributing to inefficiencies and distractions. The key is to create a clutter-free distraction-free, stress-free, and productive workspace.

Is this what your desk looks like?

First, organize your computer desktop. Move things off that do not need your attention. Next, edit your walls and desk. Does all that stuff really need to be there? Yes, you want a few personal and inspirational items, but you only need a few. Pick two and get rid of the rest.

What papers or files are on your desk? Decide what you need and file the rest away. Organize your tools. Do you really need a stapler, tape, and paper clips on your desk? Put them in a drawer.

Ahhh...that's better.

Simplifying your workspace will help you become more productive, and it will also provide a powerful psychological support system for keeping your work life simplified.

2. Prioritize your work.

Now that you have streamlined your work environment, you can get to work. Start by prioritizing your workload. Look at all your projects and determine the method of prioritization.

If you are self-employed, use whatever system aligns with your business. For example, most of my work is based on a deliverable, so I prioritize my work based on due dates and the amount of time each project will take.

If you work in an organization, your supervisor or manager should direct or help you prioritize your workload. Meet with them to go over your projects and find out what the priorities are. When a new project is assigned bring up existing projects, go over your workload, and reevaluate all of your priories.

Work with your manager to stay clear on your priorities. People who are afraid to have this conversation with their supervisors are not going to be able to simplify their work life. And it’s a simple conversation, not a complaint that you can’t get something done or a demand that they give you less work. What you are doing is asking for clarity.

3. Use technology the right way.

Look at the different technologies you utilize to complete your work. Do they make your life easier or add an unnecessary layer? Email is a perfect example of a very common time-suck. Ask yourself: Do I need to start what could be an endless and unnecessary stream of electronic messages when I could have my answer in a minute with a little physical effort or a phone call?

Talking in person instead of emailing might save time!

The problem with technology is that we fall into the trap of relying on it for things that may be better and more efficiently handled the old-fashioned way. Decide what actually works for you and use it. Lose the rest.

4. Be realistic, seek clarity, and say no.

In terms of your physical work habits, it is imperative to be realistic about what you can accomplish, both in terms of time and skills. You must know what is important and what isn’t. Then, focus on what is important and let go of the rest.

           

You also need to learn to seek clarity and/or say no. If you are completely swamped, say so. Perhaps you can renegotiate the projects you already have or get someone to help you. Seek clarity on assignments and expectations. Find out exactly what is expected and what will satisfy their requirements. These are called the conditions of satisfaction, and you should understand them from the beginning.

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By simplifying your work life, you can be far more productive and much less stressed at work. Minimize distractions—physical, visual, and technological. Start small and build to where you can prioritize your projects and work on them with focus and clarity. Simplify, and you will increase your productivity. And your sanity.

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For more information, please visit:

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