5 New Year’s resolutions for successful career growth

Now that 2021 is well under way, the time is right to start working on those NY resolutions you’ve made. If you still haven’t made any, though, don’t worry because there is plenty of time to make a plan for career growth and advancement.

After all, the year is still young, and many people are rethinking the viability of some of the resolutions they made before the end of 2020. Most resolutions are going to fall through, but the ones that stick are going to redefine your career and well-being in the new normal.

That said, the best thing to do is to skip the extra steps and get right to the resolutions that are guaranteed to take your career in a positive direction. That’s why today we will be taking a look at the key steps you need to take in order to ensure the growth of your career in 2021 and the years to come. Here’s what you should do.

Start mapping out new goals and objectives

To start 2021 off right and make immediate headway, you need to analyze your professional standing and create new, tangible goals.

These are two very different tasks you need to complete, though, because you can’t set realistic goals for your professional life if you don’t have the necessary data to support your every decision. Without data, you’re bound to take a wrong turn on this path, which can cost you money, valuable time, and plenty of mental energy.

So, your first order of business is to conduct a personal SWOT analysis, in order to define your current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and potential threats to your career. The SWOT analysis should be as detailed as possible, so leave nothing out. It will allow you to set goals that are realistic and attainable, but also to prioritize these objectives so that you can pursue them and achieve them relatively quickly.

Embrace remote work and maximize home office space

Once you know you have all of that information in your hands and you have listed several key goals you’re going to achieve in 2021, it’s time to optimize your professional life for the new normal.

For many of you, it will mean finally accepting the fact that remote work is here to stay, and optimizing your personal workspace for maximum productivity. Even if you’re a digital nomad working in the post-pandemic world, chances are that you will need to hunker down for a while until the borders open up again and travel is once more permitted.

No matter if you’re working from home or as a digital nomad, it’s important to optimize your environment for maximum productivity and day-long zeal. The pandemic has been hard on all of us, and being stuck in one place can breed dissatisfaction and contempt for something we used to love to do.

So, instead of letting yourself slowly get more anxious about your work, be sure to organize your workspace, surround yourself with greenery, let plenty of natural light into the room, and set the temperature just right – around 21°C or 70°F.

Decide to upskill and get new certifications

This year is the year you want to take actionable steps to take your career forward as a whole. You want to get a better job or a better position at your company, you want to become the top talent in your industry, and you want to future-proof your career by upskilling in something that is in high demand. Take the pandemic as a great example of how job-seekers in the medical sector are growing.

Now that there is a higher need for certified medical staff on the front lines, those looking for secure employment are getting advanced medical certification like BLS (Basic Life Support) or ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) to become indispensable to healthcare institutions around the country.

No matter the industry you’re currently in, you want to find the training and certification necessary to grow your career in 2021, or even take on a completely new, more rewarding career path.

Get organized and create an efficient routine

Of course, an organized workspace alone is not enough to keep your productive and happy all year round, which is why it’s also important to finally organize your professional life and build a healthy routine. This routing should encompass your everyday life and not just your time spent working, because the way you treat yourself outside of office hours will have a big impact on your career as well.

From getting to bed early and rising early every morning to get a head start, to eating healthier and exercising regularly, all of this will help you become better at what you do. Add an efficient, more scheduled work routine to that and you have yourself a recipe for a productive year.

Learn how to deal with people better

Last but not least, one of the best things you can do to advance your career and ensure success in your personal and professional realms is to learn how to deal with others. It might sound trivial, but mastering interpersonal relations and learning how to influence people in a positive and constructive way is a difficult goal, one that will allow you to grow and achieve your goals more efficiently instead of struggling to overcome every hurdle.

To that end, arm yourself with books from prominent individuals in the realms of business and psychology to learn how to better interact with your colleagues and fellow human beings in general.

Wrapping up

The new year is still young, and now is the right time to make it the best year of your career. Use these tips to set yourself up for a successful 2021 and set the stage for many successful years to come.