How to ensure your career supports your lifestyle

If you haven’t read my last blog, either hop over and do it now, or read this one first and then jump in and read it for some more great prep tasks for your 2022 goal setting. You can find it at here.

Goal setting is, for most people, something that happens at work and more often than not, as part of a performance appraisal or annual review process. Very often the focus is primarily on what works for the organisation and with very little focus on your career. On top of that, anything set here is very often consigned to the metaphorical cupboard only to be dusted off a year later having been rarely, if ever, looked at.

To be honest, that’s almost always a massive waste of yours and your boss’s time. But you can change that, and it will benefit you and your employer.

A good way to start setting your goals effectively is to do those exercises from my last blog, and then start by thinking about what you want your life to be like next year (or further into the future if you want).  For example,

• Who do you want to be spending time with?
• What activities do you want to be involved in?
• Are there any holidays you want or things you want (or need) to purchase?

Once you've though about  your lifestyle, then start thinking about your career.

• What needs to happen in your career to support that lifestyle?
• What do you want to be doing at work that means you’ll look forward to going, and enjoy it when you get there?

Your career is an important part of your life. After all, its usually what pays for everything you do and everything you have. However, it’s only part of your life and you need to have balance to be fulfilled as you want to be fulfilled, and create success on your terms.

I call this Personal Professional Goal Setting. It’s on Summit 2 of the 5 Summits of Career Success) and using Wheels (on Summit 3) helps you stay on track. If you want to find out more about the 5 Summits of Career Success, watch the free on-demand training at www.davecordle.co.uk/5-Summits.