We’re officially three days into 2022. How are those New Year’s resolutions going so far? We won’t judge you if you haven’t made it to the gym yet (this may or may not be a cry for help for me).

Those pesky resolutions can be hard to keep. Not because we don’t want to keep them or just can’t be bothered, but because change is difficult. And if you’re making alterations to long-held habits, these changes can be even trickier to make and keep.

That goes for career resolutions as well. This year we’ve given you 22 ideas for how to kick-start or progress your career in 2022, but how do you actually go about keeping them?

Keep reading for five tips on smashing your career goals this year.

Be SMART

Before you think about keeping your goals, we should probably talk about making them.

The SMART method is a wonderful tool to help you set realistic and achievable goals. It stands for:

S_ Specific

M_ Measurable

A_ Achievable

R_ Relevant

T_ Time-bound

This doesn’t mean we don’t want you to set ambitious goals – of course we do! But if you go completely out there with your goal-setting, it’s kind of like setting no goal at all.

Take, for example, the goal that you’re going to build a billion dollar career. Love this for you! Don’t forget us on the way up!

This goal (while admirable) isn’t exactly following the SMART structure. Let’s try to make it a little SMARTer.

Instead of the vagueness of building (how?) a billion dollar (really?) career (in what industry?), let’s make this goal more targeted. Maybe something like: In the next five years, I will have built my business up to the level that I can employ a team of staff and quit my day job. Can you see how this goal more closely follows the SMART structure?

S_ This goal is much more specific than the previous one. The goal-setter has thought through how this goal could be pursued, and what it entails.

M_ The details of the time this goal will take, as well as the elements of staffing make it measurable. The goal-setter would be clear as to when this goal has been achieved.

A_ Five years seems like a reasonable amount of time, and having the success rest on making the business financially independent means it’s a fairly achievable goal.

R_ The goal is also relevant to this person’s career aspirations.

T_ There is a specific end date for this goal – it’s time-bound.

Chunk it

Not only should your goals be SMART, they should also be able to be broken down into different chunks. This will ensure you won’t get overwhelmed too quickly, and will be able to more easily track your progress (more on that later!)

Let’s look at a few examples.

Say your next career goal is to land a job in your industry. A worthy pursuit, to be sure, but definitely a big task! Chunking goals like this will make them seem less daunting. Some dot points underneath this goal could be:

• Update my resume
• Spend one hour a week looking on job boards
• Apply for x number of jobs a month
• Create a spreadsheet to track applications
• Meet with a careers advisor

…or a whole host of others! Doesn’t look so daunting now, does it?

Track your progress

As mentioned earlier, tracking how your goal is progressing is a great way to keep your spirits up and keep you accountable.

One simple way of keeping your goal front and centre in your mind is by making sure you can see a representation of this goal every day. You could write it on a post-it note and stick it above your desk, make a vision board, or even make it the lock screen background on your phone.

Dominican University found that people who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them than those who don’t. It makes sense – having your goals right in front of you makes it easier to keep focused and say no to things that could derail your progress.

Then, from there, make sure you tick off each step of your chunking process. Doing so will give you a little boost of confidence each time, and make sure you’re actively working towards your goal.

There are tonnes of different ways to keep track, from making a spreadsheet, to keeping a journal, to asking a friend to check in with you every so often.

Setting goals is an important part of ensuring your career aspirations come to fruition. And what time could be better to set those all-important goals than the new year? If you follow these tips, we’re sure you’ll be smashing those 2022 career goals in no time.

Featured image courtesy of Unsplash