I like to use the new year to create new goals and figure out what the next year brings. I’m extremely type A and I love writing everything down, so thanks to my always favorite Keith Ferrazzi’s Never Eat Alone and this blog post from Nicole is Better, I created my goals for 2012 and some steps to accomplish them.
I wrote down large goals for the year, both personal and professional because I think they’re so intertwined (and really lots of goals for both categories is just daunting) and three concrete steps to reach those goals.
Some of the bigger buckets I’m looking to fill for the year are personal in nature, like being a good friend, trying new recipes, and finding ways to donate my time, as well as professional, going to networking events and becoming a thought leader in my field.
For me, the secret to these resolutions is to create some easy ones, to at least FEEL like I am accomplishing something along the way. So, I include, as is now usual, reading 12 books a year, and have now added visiting old friends and updating old professors to maintain my network.
Some of the more challenging goals this year include exercising 5 days a week (we know this is on everyone’s list!), learning Adobe Creative Suite and calling someone other than my parents once a week.
As we begin this new year, figure out who it is you want to be, the categories of you that fit into that, and the goals that help you accomplish that.
It’s that easy, right? I’ll let you know.