It’s that time of year again. Start the clock, renew your gym membership, set up that savings account, and vow endlessly that this will be your year. You guessed it- it’s New Year’s Resolution time once again. Most of us are religious in creating personal resolutions for the coming year, but why don’t we use this opportunity to hit the reset button on our work life?
Certainly, we all have goals and targets we’d like to see realised in our professional lives? Why not commit to a Work New Year’s Resolution instead? You might even keep this one...
It’ll Keep You Focused
As with any New Year’s Resolution, the act of writing it down or saying it out loud that this is your intention for the year, immediately makes you more focused on the task at hand. The good thing about having a work-based New Year’s Resolution is that you can tie it to practical tasks and goals that you know are in your future. Say there’s a new client you want to bring in, or you want to retrain in a different area, or you want that promotion - you can track and plan how you’re going to get there because you know what steps you need to take to achieve those goals, which brings us onto the next point.
It’s More Attainable
Attainability and whether or not you’re going to stick to a New Year’s Resolution is always a big question. The majority of us don’t stick with them past January, let alone the rest of the year. Nevertheless, with a work New Year’s Resolution, it’s an unavoidable reminder. Unless you’re in that lovely position where going to work isn’t a financial necessity, most of us have to attend work five days a week, so the constant reminder of your goals are there. Imagine if you were in the gym five days a week and didn’t work towards your goal, it would be a waste, right? Well, being at work and not trying to achieve your work-based New Year’s resolution is the same principle. As such, it’s a much more attainable resolution than personal ones that aren’t tied to something you already do. It’s a classic tactic used to build good habits, but you can read more about that here.
It Has A Tangible Benefit
With a lot of common New Year’s Resolutions, the tangible benefit isn’t always apparent, and when it is, it often takes months to realise. For example, if your resolution is to be happier and more open this year - it’s a great goal, but what does that actually look like for you? With work-based resolutions, any improvements or steps taken towards your ultimate goal tend to be a tangible point that is recognisable to others. Whether this be through traditional praise from your bosses or peers, or you being given more responsibility as a result of good performance - there are tangible touchpoints to guide, inspire and reinvigorate you towards your main goal or resolution. This is turn makes you much more likely to stick with it.
So, why not switch up your New Year’s Resolution this year focusing on achieving success and happiness in the workplace? After all, it can’t go much worse than that year you vowed to give up chocolate…
