Welcoming the New Year by Taking Stock

With the new year fast approaching, this is wonderful time to take stock. Look back at 2009 and consider what went well professionally and what areas need improvement in 2010. Write a list of your accomplishments in 2009. What would you like to accomplish in 2010? Where would you like to see yourself in December of next year? Take a hard look at both what growth you have experienced and what areas need to be fortified.

Create a visioning board.

Set some short term goals for what you would like to accomplish over the next year. Each month set yourself objectives that are small steps to your short term goals. These objectives should be concrete, measurable, and achievable in the time that you have set. You should also create a plan section that lays out your thoughts about how you will achieve the objectives. You should be able to change the plan section in case an opportunity should come up that you did not anticipate.

For example, if you would like to build a bigger network in 2010.

-Your monthly objective could be to meet 2 new individuals per month.

-Your quarterly objective (3 month) could be to attend 1 networking event.

-Your plan could be to ask your contacts on LinkedIn to "introduce" you to 2 new people

You should post your goals, objectives and plans in some visible area. You should be able to see them regularly and be able to mark that you have achieved them. If you do not meet an objective, it is important to readjust and not feel that you have failed because it will sabotage your future success.

In today's professional world, you need to be able to manage your own career and to set professional goals for yourself. You should not expect others to set them for you and motivate you to achieve. This you NEED to do on your own. Your professional success and ability to leverage your assets will be reward.