The New Year has just arrived, and let’s face it: telling yourself to start exercising or sleep more is so last year. Each year, more than 80% of people that make New Year’s resolutions don’t keep them, the 12th of January being the most common date people are likely to give up on their resolutions. Only 9% of people actually end up keeping their new year’s resolution for the year.
Repeating the cycle of doomed-to-fail health and finance resolutions is something you don’t have to fall into, and there are many other kinds of New Year’s resolutions that are easy to follow through with and almost come naturally as a by-product of hard work.
Here are 8 easy and straight forward New Year’s career resolutions you can implement in 2023:
1. Get a meaningful upgrade
Whatever job progression you may be looking for, take some time this year to aspire to do more. Seek out a new role or promotion. Just know why you’re doing it – the promotion/new role should be meaningful and not just for show. You must really want it. Some employees want to have more money while some are looking for the job title, it’s different for each employee. Whichever matters to you the most, if you work hard and make the right decisions that reflect this priority, it’ll be on the cards for 2023.
2. Make a six-month plan
For you to know what type of upgrade you want in your career, you’ll need to do some inner searching into you mind. Get clarity on your personal and career goals and have some semblanceof where you want to be in six months’ time. This could consist of up skilling, taking on a new project, completing a course, further education to name a few. In six months, think about how your everyday life will look in light of this plan. This resolution may be harder to stick too with everything that’s going on but the effort you put in will be worth it by the six-month mark.
3. Work less- and more
Another new year’s career resolution is to cut off the extra pounds off your working week. You want to be doing the same quality of work that you are doing now, perhaps even more, while also optimizing and streamlining your processes. Start small, move your to-do list online, take up a new project management software to help keep you organized, automating your calendar, or opting out of some meetings. By doing a little bit of hard work upfront in the first part of the year, your resolution will pretty much run itself, and you can utilize the back end of your year to focus on the content of your work rather than the process.
4. Do something that scares you
New Year means new opportunity, especially for something crazy! In the past, you may have felt comfortable cruising or getting into a new rhythm. Perhaps you’ve made a wild choice before and just needed some time to wind down. But now you’re ready to go back to your wild ways and test your strength in something new. Take on a risk you wouldn’t normally be up for, like a side hustle, a new job, or even something like a new project or a new responsibility. Just one scary thing (even a temporary one) can invigorate you and help shake off boredom – and all it takes is the word “yes” to make this resolution come true.
5. Finally update your resume
Even if you are not looking for a new career, an updated resume is of the utmost importance. It’s important to have a good grasp on networking, social media and other prospects. Whether you’re updating your LinkedIn profile or your CV. In a time where one’s personal brand matters, you always want to keep yours in tip-top shape.
6. Be healthier at work
Work takes up most of your waking hours, and often, that can mean a lot of sitting around and snacking on sugar filled or caffeinated food/drink. Make an effort to integrate some wellness into your working day. Something as simple as going for a walk on your lunch break or getting a yoga/gym class in before or after work. This will make you feel less sluggish and more limber, which will encourage you to keep up the resolution after you start. Here are a few micro-resolutions you could introduce to start:
Taking the stairs instead of the lift
Stretch a few times a day
If possible, change your setup to include a standing or walking desk
7. Spring (or winter) cleaning
Occasionally you may realise that things are building up around you, and that can happen with your desktop as much as your desk itself. Don’t spend all your time re-organising your physical office, clear out your virtual office too. That means binning files you don’t need, clearing clutter from your team’s Google Driver and organising it, and making sure your Dropbox isn’t all over the place. This is one of the resolutions that will require a bit of leg work at the beginning but after a while it will just require maintenance.
8. Go to an event
This year if you are interested in expanding your network, that can also mean new friends. Find a networking event in your area, a conference that your team might be interested in, or a virtual lecture that will increase your skills. If socialising isn’t your forte, try bringing a work colleague to help decrease social anxiety, they’ll also hold you accountable for fulfilling this resolution. You can also network virtually by exploring LinkedIn and finding those with common interests like yourself.