5 Ways to Make New Year’s Work Resolutions That You’ll Actually Keep
While hunting for a job, it pays to make goals. Keeping focussed and motivated during the job search takes a little planning, and a well-chosen goal can be just the thing to keep you motivated. If you’re unemployed over the New Year, take the time to make smart New Year’s resolutions for your career that will actually stick. Here’s how.
Be specific
The worst goals you can make for yourself are those that are vague and ill-defined. Choose only those goals that are specific enough that you’ll know when you’ve accomplished them. Ask yourself exactly what it is you want to achieve, then word it in such a way that you can clearly reach a point where it’s done.
Bad resolution: “I’ll send out more CVs”
Good resolution: “I’ll send out 3 CVs every day starting in the second week of January”
Make it time sensitive
Setting yourself a goal that merely sits in the future is like unconsciously sabotaging yourself. Doing something “someday” is more or less giving yourself permission to never do it. Put a little pressure on yourself and make a fixed deadline.
Bad resolution: “I’ll rewrite my whole CV”
Good resolution: “I’ll rewrite the first half of my CV by next week Monday, and the rest by the Monday after that”
Be realistic
Another way to make sure you never achieve your goals is to expect too much of yourself. You may feel inspired by a lofty plan, but if you can’t achieve it, you’ll likely just get demotivated. Manageable, realistic goals that are achieved are worth much more than epic plans that are never even started.
Bad resolution: “I’ll apply to 100 new jobs every day”
Good resolution: “I’ll spend 1 hour every morning scouring job websites”
Make it measurable
This can be tricky, but make sure your goal can be properly measured. If you don’t really know when a goal is “finished”, you’re not focusing your action so much as muddying the waters.
Bad resolution: “I’ll have a more positive attitude in 2015”
Good resolution: “I’m going to start thinking of three things to be grateful for each day in January”
Make it achievable
The thing about your goals is that they are just that – yours. If a goal rests on external factors or the actions of someone else, you have no control over whether you accomplish it.
Bad resolution: “Someone will offer me a job in the New Year”
Good resolution: “I will maintain a positive outlook no matter what”
The truth is, the goals that have the best chance of being achieved are those are made carefully and with foresight. Don’t sabotage yourself by making New Year’s resolutions that are impossible to keep, vague or actually completely out of your control. This will only stress you out and make it less likely that you get where you need to be. Instead, take some time to appraise where you are at the end of the year and make goals for yourself that will truly help you reach your fullest potential. Happy New Year!
