Behavioral psychologist Miriam Schneider explains which job goals are suitable as a New Year’s resolution, how to implement them – and why they don’t have to have anything to do with the career ladder.
Ms. Schneider, should we even make resolutions for the new job year? Or do you prefer to spare yourself the frustration that nothing has come of it anyway?
It has probably happened to each of us that we started the year with New Year’s resolutions and then didn’t implement them at all. Nevertheless, it is worth planning something for the new year, including at work. For the simple reason that goals motivate us, act as an incentive, and it is fulfilling when we achieve them.
What is better as a New Year’s resolution: one big goal or many small, quick-action goals?
It depends on what you want to achieve. As a rule, I would recommend formulating a large milestone with small actionable pebbles to lead you there. Indeed, if we set ourselves too many different goals at once, we run the risk of being unable to focus and getting bogged down and giving up in frustration.
How do I come up with a good professional resolution for the new year? Thinking about something with three champagne on New Year’s Eve is probably not the best strategy …
Good goals have a certain clarity, are challenging and at the same time manageable. This is not something that comes to you on New Year’s Eve. You should think about it a little more calmly. Where am i? Where do i want to go What do I have to do for that? You can either do this for yourself or in conversation with someone else – the manager, a coach or your partner at home.
What is the main question I should ask myself?
An important point that is easily overlooked is the question: Why do I even want to achieve this goal? Those who have intrinsic motivation will achieve their goal more easily. If the resolution is more extrinsically motivated, for example based on the expectations of others, I may not even be happy if I implement it successfully.
You have to explain that.
On the job, we are very quick when it comes to status goals: promotion, more salary, career. For example, there are many people who are looking for leadership responsibility as the next supposedly logical step in their careers. When they find themselves in this role, some realize that they don’t enjoy leading people at all and that they lack their content-related work as experts.
So the New Year’s resolution for the job doesn’t necessarily have to have something to do with the career ladder?
You can also look at it with other glasses. When I think about what makes me happy in my job, other goals quickly come up that may also be relevant. For example: creating role clarity. If it is not clear what tasks I have to perform and what is expected of me, it can lead to stress. One goal could therefore be to clearly define what I have to do and achieve in order to do a good job – and what may not be part of it.
What other sensible job resolutions are there?
A stress factor in the workplace is often that relationships with colleagues or the manager are not good. That can be changed. I could set myself the goal of networking more and building a circle of professional supporters. This is an interesting goal, especially for women. Studies show that women who actively work on their network benefit greatly from it in their further professional careers.
How do I ensure that I am really working on the goal I set myself at the beginning of the year? Write on a Post-it and stick it on the screen so that I can see it every day?
People have different preferences here. Writing it down can help, or it can help to talk to someone about their goals. In any case, it makes sense to think about specific steps on how to proceed. For example, if networking is a resolution for me, then I could decide: By the end of the first quarter, I had attended two digital conferences. And already in the first week of January I organize which conferences I go to.
The more concrete the goals, the more clearly I see a possible failure. How do I deal with the moment in which I realize: None of this works?
If you don’t achieve something that you set out to do, you shouldn’t scourge yourself, but see what the reason was. Can I do something differently? Was the goal set too high? Or was the resolution not important enough to me to invest enough energy? Then I can adjust my goal or think of something else that is more important to me.
Corona has messed up the world of work. Do you also see this in the changed goals people set in their coaching?
Yes, we see that. Of course, digitization and its effects are of concern to many. Time management is a big issue, the blurring of work and private life in the home office or the breathless jumping from one video call to the next. Many also miss personal feedback on their work from colleagues and superiors and the coffee conversations in the hallway. In this respect, for some this year it may not be the big career development goals at all, but rather the question: How do I shape my job and other everyday life in this Corona world and how do I get a good balance?
Is it okay not to plan anything for the new job year?
Naturally. The goal does not always have to be: I have to get ahead in my job now. You can also decide that other fields are more important to you in the next year. Family and friends, health or personal development in fields that have nothing to do with our job. And if you can’t even reflect around the turn of the year because you have so much on your mind, you can also sit down during the summer holidays and make new resolutions.
Source From: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
