Happy New Year! Now is the best time to set goals. Here is how...

As goals need to be specific, measurable... and time-based, this time of year is the perfect time to review how your career has progressed in the last 12 months and think about the year ahead.

Everybody needs a goal. Something to aim for. 

While it is important to live in the moment, we need to have some sort of direction. Life is short. We all need to step back and critically review our career and work to ensure it is bringing us joy. We need to do this a couple of times a year (my birthday is in July, so for me this is a perfect time to review my goals and make small adjustments, to re-set my direction).

If we don't critically review our careers, if we don't step back, we are taking our hands off the steering wheel, switching off the GPS and driving blind. Just as a rocket ship doesn't swing wildly from left to right while half-imagining that there is something out there to land on, you shouldn't either. 

So what's the best practice for implementing change and achieving goals?

Just one word: "kaizen". Kaizen is the art of making tiny, gradual improvements in your habits and work practices, over a period of time, that get you to where you want to be.

Firstly, you need to have a direction in mind. 

Then, simply by setting specific goals and embedding daily habits that support these goals (actively networking, undertaking part-time courses that align with your interests, telling colleagues and managers the type of work you want) you will be making small adjustments here and there. 

Keep doing this and you'll soon be enjoying professional success!

However - don't jump in saying you want to change 5, 6 or more things. Less balls are easier to juggle (and less likely to be dropped, too). You might discover that you'll have to give up some less important things along the way to maintain your focus, but it's worth it in the end. Pick the core 3 things you want to change and balance only these.

Let me show you what I mean...

I have two small children - ages 5 and 7, a husband who is never around (travels extensively for work), a household to run, and my full-time business to balance. 

I've some tough choices. What do I focus on? How do I balance children, house and work? Should there be 'me' time in there as well? What do I need to give up to work more? (I LOVE work, and as I don't yet have any online or passive income products, less work = less money.) What can I give up to see my children more?

It is a juggle. A day-to-day juggle, and during school holidays, almost an hour-by-hour juggle...

So, in 2014 I gave up watching television (gasp!) and being glued to the news. I used to love knowing what was happening in the world, but I can't stay informed of world events, and read books, and listen to the latest podcasts that contribute to and shape the quality of my work, and pay attention to my children. Sorry America, and Brexit, but as I can't stop your madness I am going to stop watching and worrying about it! I'm going to focus closer to home - work and children.

In 2015 I consciously lowered my standards around housework. This actually wasn't easy for me. I'm a perfectionist by nature, highly detailed in everything I do. But my children won't remember when they are fully grown how clean our floors were. They will remember the time we had together. Besides, I'd much rather be working than washing bed sheets constantly.

Thinking annually, and reviewing my progress mid-year on what I need to give up, has enabled me to maximise the time I spend on what really counts to me. 

I use my time more effectively by juggling less balls and I even get to go to bed early! (Great TV starts at 8.30pm and I’m avoiding temptation by being curled up in bed by then with a book, reading for an hour.)

Also, when I've only a couple of priorities, and I am doing one of them I'm focused only - and ONLY - on that…

When I'm doing a jigsaw with my children, I don't scroll through emails, or reply to text messages. I LEAVE MY PHONE IN ANOTHER ROOM (radical, huh?)

And from a work point-of-view, I've scheduled my time into three sections to manage it more effectively. Meetings with clients occur during school hours. Writing LinkedIn profiles or content happens between 4.30am and 7am when my mind is at its clearest (it's all about flow). Replying to emails, answering queries, and keeping in touch with my sizable network happens on the train home from meeting people or in that quiet period when homework is completed but it is too early to start cooking dinner.

What people tell me

Sometimes people come to me and say they don't have time to achieve their career goals, or they can't start a side business that might one day morph into a full time lucrative business (as I have done). This sets off the warning lights for me. Simply, it means you don't want it enough. Think about how you use your time. Think about where your attention is REALLY spent. And consider re-directing it.

Small steps are crucial, and celebrating small wins and successes throughout your journey helps. Because you will encounter obstacles, setbacks and naysayers along the way. Celebrating those achievements - however small - will keep you forward focused.

But you've got to make a start. As Wayne Gretzky once said, "You always miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

Getting started

First, you need to choose what's most important to you, and filter out the rest. Ask yourself, what occupies your thoughts when they wander? What do you think about before you fall asleep at night? Or, what would you love to do, but don't? Once you've identified these things, make them your focal point.

Looking forward, making changes, setting goals for the year ahead so that your work can flourish means being open to change and being willing to give up distractions. It also means stepping back to review your progress and in doing so seeing obstacles as challenges . To help you with this, I recommend reading Carol Dweck's book Mindset, which highlights the benefits of getting yourself into a growth-focused mindset, rather than sitting tight with a fixed mindset.

Also check out Positive Psychology by Martin Seligman. As the saying goes, "Don't spend time flogging a dead horse." Don't focus your attention on fixing your weaknesses, but on amplifying your strengths. This idea has been supported in studies such as this one by the Gallup Organisation, which confirmed that people who implement their strengths are 6 times more likely to feel engaged in their work.

Although, truth be told, I feel both the above only talks about half the picture. We also need to ensure that everything aligns with your true values.

But, that's for discussing another time!

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