About 40 percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions each year, but most of us don’t make it to February with our goals intact. The secret to keeping any New Year’s resolution is start small — and focus on incremental change.
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“Setting small, attainable goals throughout the year, instead of a singular, overwhelming goal on January 1 can help you reach whatever it is you strive for,” psychologist Lynn Bufka, PhD, tells the American Psychological Association. “Remember, it is not the extent of the change that matters, but rather the act of recognizing that lifestyle change is important and working toward it, one step at a time.”
The good news for folks who are focusing their resolutions on their careers is that there are plenty of opportunities to make small changes at work. You never know what will have a big impact on your career.
Don’t know where to start? Pick one of these:
- Sign up for a class
- Develop a skill
- Apply for a job
- Read a book
- Find out how much you should be paid
- Talk to someone on another team
- Say yes
- Say no
- Ask for more
- Update your resume
- Update your LinkedIn profile
- Email a former coworker and set up a coffee date
- Connect with an influencer on social media
- Tidy your workspace at the end of the day/week/month
- Do one thing every day to further your goals (not the ones your company selected)
- Ask for help
- Try to understand a coworker’s perspective
- Unplug for an afternoon or a weekend — or commit to going offline at X time each day
- Plan a vacation
- Take on a new project
- Keep a time diary, and find out where the day goes
- Think about your dream job…
- …and then look at what’s stopping you from having it
- Set up an informational interview to learn more about a job/employer/career path
- Bring your lunch to work…
- …and eat it somewhere other than your desk
- Get up 15 minutes earlier
- Pick a quitting time and stick to it
- Change up your to-do list
- In your calendar, block off time for heads-down work
- Volunteer (as in, donate your time and money)
- Volunteer (as in, raise your hand at work)
- Talk a walk outside every day
- Sit less
- Attend a function where you’ll meet new people
- Send a thank-you note
- Write a recommendation or reference
- Endorse a colleague on LinkedIn
- Make a personal budget
- Find a side gig
- Update your interview uniform
- Update your professional attire
- Change your social media head shots
- Work on your elevator pitch
- Identify your personal brand
- Be a mentor
- Find a mentor
- Join a Lean In Circle/professional association/group
- Ask for an introduction
- Replace “sorry” with “thank you”
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