As we near December 31st and the countdown into a new year, there’s one thing we know for certain:
We are DONE with creating New Years resolutions centred around weight loss and “self-improvement” that leave us feeling worthless by February and that profit big corporations who want us to hate ourselves. DONE.
So this year we’re setting ourselves manageable goals that are going to improve our careers, earn us money, and bring us long-term happiness.
Here are 14 New Years Resolutions you might want to try out in 2022 to help you hit your career goals but stay healthy while you hustle.
Get Your Branding In Order
It doesn’t need to be a huge thing, but deciding on your house colours, or a font you want to use when you write your PDFs, can bring a real sense of togetherness to your brand.
Set a Social Media Goal
Want to hit that next 1000 followers? Post at least once a week? Maybe you’d like to try going Live, or getting more into Twitter. Social Media goals are good ones because they’re easy to calculate and keep track of.
Keep a List of Positives
Imagine the list you’d have by December 2022 if every time you got a great bit of feedback from a client, a compliment from your boss, or smashed a goal out of the park? Start keeping a folder of screenshots, or write in a diary, to keep all of those positives in one place. It’s so easy to forget quite how well you’re doing – make it easier for yourself to remember what a star you are.
Learn a New Skill
No matter how big, new skills are a great way to enrich your career and life. Maybe this is the year you finally commit to using one of those language-learning apps, or you learn to touch-type?
Think of Who You’d Like in your Network – Reach Out to Them
Even just a DM introducing yourself can be the beginning of a lasting, helpful connection. Who would you love to be in contact with, to pick their brain and ask them for advice? Try reaching out to one person per month and up your networking game.
Say No
Especially if you’re freelance, it can be hard to not say “yes” to everything. But saying “yes” to everything is going to leave you burnt out and stressed – which are two things we want to leave behind us in 2021. Hone the skill of saying “no” to things that won’t serve you, aren’t worth your time, or aren’t at the pay level you deserve.
Reconfigure Your Work-Life Balance
Burnout and dissatisfaction is out, balance and flourishing is in. Working too hard – to the point of exhaustion – is actually going to hold you back in your career more than it propels you forward. Make 2021 the year that you strike the perfect balance between working hard and hardly working.
Sort Out Your Savings
This is the year we finally work out what an ISA is, and how buying stocks works. Get a hold of your finances this year – do you have a pension pot? Have you paid off any of your student loans? The only way to start growing your wealth is to know where you stand right now.
Bring Pre-Cooked Food to the Office… Sometimes
We all know the temptation when you work in an office to nip into the patisserie next door for breakfast, go for a working lunch in a cafe, and get coffee and snacks from your favourite chain. Save some ££s and increase your cooking repertoire by aiming to bring in your lunch from home a couple a times a week.
Show Off More
Show up for yourself and share that achievement on your social media, put that new mini-qualification you’ve been downplaying on your CV, tell you boss everything you’ve been smashing out of the park and ask for that raise. Women, AFAB people, and femme individuals have often been raised to be humble and self-defacing, because “cockiness isn’t attractive”. It’s not being cocky, it’s being proud of how brilliantly you’re doing. And you are doing brilliantly.
Get A New Qualification
This doesn’t need to be a big deal, maybe it’s getting your First Aid training, or doing a languages course. Add something new to your CV and expand your multifaceted skillset.
Update Your CV and Website
Challenge yourself to do new things that you’ll be able to add to your CV and sing about on your website. Even just refreshing your online presence by redoing your website can feel like an achievement in itself. What might your CV be missing? Find it!
Attend Networking Functions
Maybe monthly, maybe once a quarter, maybe just one this year – attending events for networking purposes can be daunting but we reckon 2022 is the year to challenge yourself.
Have Regular Check Ins With Your Boss
No more working hard behind the scenes to no recognition, this year, ask your boss if you can have regular catch-up sessions where you can show off your achievements, get feedback, and discuss new ideas for your career path. The mentorship you might receive can be invaluable, and it’ll show your passion and proactiveness which never goes amiss in salary renegotiations.
Author: Verity Babbs
