It's officially almost 2025 (yikes!). Ready to make next year, your year of success? Well it all starts with goals, goal setting and with being realllly clear on what you want.
So, exactly how do you set effective career goals in order to really move the needle in the near future? You have to reverse engineer your ideal day and take just a few steps.
1 - Take a Step Back
First off you take a step back look at your life as a whole.
Envision who you want to be in December of 2025 (not necessarily what you want to be doing, but who you want to be). Who is that person and what does their ideal day look like?
2- Ask “Who Do I Need to Be?”
You need to ask yourself one question: “Who do you need to be this year to make that ideal day a reality?” Who do you need to be to make it happen?
Not ‘what do you need to do’ but who do you need to be. Going through the motions and ‘doing the things’ won't get you where you want to go in the same way that becoming that person, by being that person will.
3- Get Smart
You need to set smart goals (not ‘intelligent, but S.M.A.R.T.)
I’m sure many of you know what SMART goals are - they’re amazing wether you’re training for a marathon or gunning for a promotion - but for those of you that haven’t used them before they go like this:
S is Specific: You need to set a specific goal. Not just “I want to have a better career” but “I want to be the SVP of the western region by December 30th 2025”. The more specific the easier it is to create a task list and set milestones to get you where you want to be.
When setting this part of the goal think of all of your W's: who, what, when, where, and why. You need to answer all of those questions you need to get down to the nitty-gritty and once you do you’re good to go!
M is Measurable: This is where when you have a specific goal you are able to create milestones that act as metrics that allow you to see your progress that allow you to know what is left to do how far you need to go so… it needs to be measurable.
A is Achievable: You need to set smaller clearly achievable goals on this path. You need to have little chunks to bite off. Small baby steps to take so that a you’re making continuous progress but you don't become disheartened by this giant goal you set yourself. You need to set little attainable, achievable, chunks within that larger goal.
So say, if you want to get this big promotion there will most likely be things you need to learn, contacts you need to make, maybe a certificate you need to acquire - those are your small, achievable pieces on the longer path.
R is Relevant: You need to make sure that your goals are relevant in both the short and long-term in terms of your bigger picture it's completely relative - but in terms of your career you want those goals that you set to be relevant to your field to your position to your desired outcome.
T is Time-based/bound: This means timelines! This means deadlines! This means you are attempting to achieve this goal within a specific time frame. This allows you to again create milestones to act as a motivating force for yourself and to allow you to engage in metrics. Without a timeline this goal could go on forever - never quite being met.
If you're in a traditional corporate environment it's a great idea to set your timelines in quarters that correlate with your company or financial calendar - especially if raises and promotions are given in cycle with those business quarters.
Even if you don't do it on your company’s quarterly schedule - keeping to a quarterly schedule personally allows you to have very measurable timelines that makes sense within a corporate environment.
And if you’re not in a corporate environment - if you’re a freelancer or contractor - keeping things on a quarterly schedule can really help you come into your own as your own boss.
4- Engage Help
Once you know who you want to be and when you want to be there, you need to engage help. You need to engage your work wife, your manager, a career coach, your spouse, your board of directors, your women's group, your network - anyone and everyone who can help you reach your goal.
Start by letting them know that this is a goal you set and ask them if there's anyone they know you can talk to or should meet. Ask them for advice if they've taken a similar path or ask them if they know someone else who could give you advice.
Let them know that you are going to need their support and help to get where you want to be, to be who you want to be. and allow them to help you.
Unfortunately, a lot of folx feel that this isn't acceptable - that you are meant to do it all on your own. The secret is nobody does it on their own.
Even people who are “self-made” or pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. Someone, somewhere along the way helped them, introduced them to someone, spent the first dollar with them, or gave them advice. Your career does not exist in a vacuum. You Are Not Alone. Engage help.
5- Check In
Once all of your goals are set and your support network is in motion do weekly check-ins with yourself to make sure you stay on track. Keep a wins list, do monthly reviews and planning.
These don't have to be really long and involved, they can be just two questions: ”Where do I want to go and how far have I come?” but they can also be as in-depth and introspective as you want them to be. They can take you 10 minutes or 4 hours - whatever you need - but continuous check-ins, check-ups and course correction will help you reach your goal all the quicker.
6- BONUS
This is a doozy of a bonus step: You have to prioritize yourself. You get to be first.
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Remember as you embark on this journey of new goals for 2025 that you need to make time to do your job as it is, the work to reach your goals, as well as take care of yourself. You cannot forget to take care of yourself.
Here's to an amazing 2025 full of new adventures and to the person you will be a year from now!
Yours in holy crap it’s almost the new year goodness-
EBS
If you want help to make your 2025 your best ever, hurry on over and get your free workbook “5 Big Questions To Find A Career That Makes You Happy”!
