For most people, while January signifies a fresh start—it’s also a great time to create resolutions and set goals for the rest of the year. While it’s easy to get caught up in making goals for eating healthier and exercising, don’t forget to create resolutions for your professional life.
Whether you’re looking to enhance your skills through further education, like DNP programs online if you’re a nurse, or networking to improve opportunities—New Year’s resolutions are a fantastic way to hold yourself accountable and set clear goals.
Not only is it important to set resolutions for your professional life, but it’s critical to stick with them. Recent research shows that only 9% of Americans actually keep their resolutions throughout the year.
So, we’ll be covering the different ways resolutions can be used to enhance your professional life. Most importantly, it’ll also be delving into how to stay on track to success in reaching your goals through action plans and helpful tips.
Ideas to propel your career
If you’re looking to stay competitive in your job market, a New Year’s resolution is a great opportunity for personal and professional growth. Below, we’ve outlined a few ideas for how you could improve your professional knowledge and open new doorways.
Enhancing skills and education
In today’s fast-paced, dynamic work environments, continuous learning is no longer optional—it’s essential. If you want to propel your career, you must commit to deepening your knowledge base and expanding your skill set.
Developing your skills and further education should be one of your top New Year’s resolutions. Ways you could achieve this are through:
- Further education or certifications: Further education, like a Master’s degree, or industry-recognized certifications can be a great way to build on your skills and open doors for better opportunities. It can also increase the chance of promotions and salary increases occurring.
- Personal development workshops or classes: Attending workshops or training sessions offered by your employer can be a great way to improve specific skill sets and demonstrate your commitment to the career path. Many organizations now offer online courses and webinars too, making personal development more flexible and easier to schedule.
Statistics show that individuals who invest in their education tend to climb the career ladder faster. Data also reveals that employees interested in learning and development also have a better chance when it comes to unlocking opportunities, like promotions and salary increases.
Networking and building relationships
Networking and building professional relationships correlate with better job opportunities.
- Expanding professional networks through events and online platforms: Events and online platforms, like LinkedIn, can be a powerful tool for connecting with other professionals in your field. Wherever possible, engage in discussion, attend seminars/webinars, and expand your network.
- Seek mentorship or a mentor network: Mentorship is invaluable in the professional world and can be a great way to gain career guidance, support, and insight. Similarly, a network of mentors with a variety of backgrounds and strengths can also be beneficial, providing a wealth of experience and knowledge to draw from.
- Mentoring another person: Similarly, mentoring another person can be a great way to build new professional relationships and develop your leadership and teaching abilities.
Beyond continuous learning and networking, here are a few other business-related New Year’s resolutions you could make:
- Sign up for blogs relevant to your career path. It’s a great way to stay updated.
- Review and improve your professional profiles and resume.
- Start reading career-related or motivational books.
- Improve your interpersonal skills. Communication, especially face-to-face, is important in almost every industry.
Creating an action plan
Statistics show that as many as 23% of adults quit their New Year’s goal by the end of the first week of January. Setting your New Year’s resolutions is only the first step—achieving them requires clear action plans.
There are a few tips and strategies you can adopt to ensure long-term success with your resolutions. These include:
- Breaking down your New Year’s resolutions into smaller, manageable steps. Setting yourself a massive goal is incredible, but it can also be daunting. Take some time to break your resolutions into smaller, achievable goals with a reasonable timeline.
- Create milestones that you can use to track your progress and stay determined. Additionally, rewarding yourself at each milestone can be a great way to increase motivation and add a sense of accomplishment.
Following the SMART goal framework is a great idea, too. It works by setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. Data shows individuals who use the SMART goal method are more likely to achieve their milestones, like New Year’s resolutions.
