So many people give up on their New Year Resolutions that January 9 has been officially established as Quitters Day – the day by which most have given up.
Here is a way that you can reboot your work-related Resolutions and move your career forward.
The following three-step exercise was taken from an article in Harvard Business Review. The Press Pause, Play It Back, and Fast-Forward framework provides a way to turn your past experiences into future progress.
1. Press Pause. Slowing down is often what helps us eventually speed up; zooming out provides the perspective necessary to propel us forward. By identifying successes, you can stretch your strengths; by spotting mistakes, you learn rather than repeat them. Action: Quiet Questions. Find a quiet environment where you won’t be interrupted. Set a five-minute timer for each of the following questions to think deeply and avoid recency bias:
- When have I learned the most this year?
- What do I feel most proud of?
- Who has helped me at my best?
- How have my strengths helped me succeed?
- What is the one thing I wish I had done differently?
2. Play It Back. Reflection is most effective when it includes others. Peers often spot insights we miss, and sharing thoughts aloud creates a level of clarity that is otherwise difficult to achieve. Action: Peer Playback Prompts. Choose a trusted colleague to be your playback partner. Schedule time to answer these prompts together, listening to and learning from each other’s experiences:
- What three words describe your last year?
- What have you found to be most fulfilling and most frustrating?
- When were you at your best this year?
- What “confidence gremlins” (limiting beliefs) got in your way?
3. Fast-Forward. The final priority is turning awareness into specific action. Instead of creating unrealistic, demotivating to-do lists, be pragmatic about what is possible. Action: Focus Finder. Complete these definitive “I will” statements and save them somewhere you will see them frequently:
- One learning goal I will make progress on:
- One habit I will commit to:
- One person I will have a curious career conversation with:
- One way I will support someone else:
- One mistake I won’t make again:
New Year Resolutions are often overwhelming. This simple process, resulting in just a few important next steps, can reboot your Resolutions and provide some insights to move your career forward. What a nice new year gift you can give to your career!
*Ideas for this blog taken from: Tupper, H. & Ellis, S., “How to Create Your Own ‘Year in Review’,” Harvard Business Review online, December 14, 2023.
