Casting a fresh perspective on 2018
As another new year rolls in, it’s time again for us all to decide what we’d like to do differently, or better, as we look forward to the future.
This time last year, I was only four months into my new role as an IT graduate at the John Lewis Partnership and still trying to find my feet. When I look back at how far I have come in the last 12 months, I feel proud of the growth I have made on both personal and professional levels. For me, 2017 was less about setting myself specific goals for the year, and more about throwing myself into each new role I entered with an open mind. Now, after over a year in John Lewis IT, I am more aware of both my strengths and weaknesses in the workplace and I’m ready to set myself some new challenges as we head into 2018.
One of the hardest parts about setting New Year’s resolutions is actually finding meaningful objectives that are both 1) achievable and 2) things we want to keep.
How many times have you set yourself a resolution but didn’t stick to it?…
…If you’re anything like me, the answer is many.
This year, to improve my chances of success, I’m making my goals as SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-based) as possible and I’ve chosen three resolutions that I strongly believe will benefit my workplace happiness and productivity.
1. Reflection.
My first resolution is to put aside a little time each week for reflection. When project work is extremely busy and you are drowning in a sea of tasks, one thing that many of us are guilty of is forgetting to take a moment for ourselves. Previously, I have even felt guilty for thinking about taking time out from tasks for personal development. This year, I am putting all feelings of guilt aside, as I genuinely think spending as little as half an hour each week to reflect on it’s happenings could benefit my development and help me to learn from my experiences.
Give it a try… Ask yourself:
What went well?
What could have gone better?
How could I have responded differently to a situation?
What have my strengths been?
Where could I seek more guidance or support?
2. Self Belief.
My second resolution is to have more self belief and improve my confidence. I know what you’re thinking — it’s not as easy as simply flicking a switch and emanating an immediate confidence — this one will definitely take work.
I see this objective like building a house. Only when all of the bricks have been laid, the roof tiled, and the interior decor complete do you have the final property. However, as each room comes together, you can see the progress being made and learn from the experiences of completing one room to take onto the next. Similarly with self belief, it is the accumulation of each small success, along with an understanding of your strengths and abilities that allow you to realise that you can succeed in a given situation.
Improving confidence requires real perseverance to alter your mental state. I hope that through sticking to objective 1. weekly reflection, I will be more frequently reminded of my strengths and successes, which will be a positive step in the right direction. On top of this, I’m planning to create a one pager full of positives — be it small successes, feedback or achieving something new — so that I can refer to this if I need a pick me up.
“We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in.”
Sheryl Sandberg
3. Fun.
My final resolution for the year is to have fun in the office in some form every day.
So I’m not talking about theme park rides, office parties, no work and all play — but I do believe that in the UK we can get tied up in the stresses of daily life and forget to enjoy ourselves. In a recent work trip to India as part of the graduate scheme, I was inspired by some of the differences in workplace culture. We were invited to a large announcement meeting which not only delivered the key messages, but also showcased employee talents such as dancing and playing the keyboard, and on top of that we all joined in with team games. This got me thinking — we should all make the time to have fun, or at least enjoy something, at work everyday… no matter how big or small.
In RoomY we are encouraged to challenge, create, to be curious — I feel lucky that my environment supports this element of fun. But I intend to take this resolution with me to any new team I join, because ultimately a huge proportion of our days are spent at work and quite simply, life is too short to not enjoy it.
I can’t wait to put these resolutions into practice in RoomY and I look forward to what 2018 has to offer!
I hope that this blog has inspired you to set your own workplace resolutions. If you enjoyed this post, please clap or even comment with your own resolutions for this year — I’d love to hear them.
