Insanity and Resolutions

Happy New Year to all!

I'm sure, like many of us, you are thinking about making some New Year's Resolutions. I'm going to suggest that you think about New Year's resolutions in a different way perhaps than you had in the past.

Remember the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

I'm going to suggest that you resolve to do things differently this year.

First, really determine what you want to achieve this year (Your goal). the goal you set should be SMART - that is, it should be Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.

For example, your goal for this year should not be "Pass the test and go into training" A SMART goal would be "Work to improve my basic math skills so I can retest and attain a score of 8.0 or higher on the TABE in the next 6 weeks."

Next, you should list the activities you will do to achieve this goal. These activities could be broken down into small activities that can be done daily or more general activities that can be done throughout the time you have designated. Example: I will do Skills Tutor lessons for two hours timeperiods three days per week for six weeks. (36 hours)

Look back at what you did in 2010. Did you make a specific goal involving Skills Tutor usage? Can you think of a way to do so now?

If getting a job is your goal for this year, I would like you to think of (maybe write down) all the activities you did toward attaining this goal. Did you use Employri.org to research jobs openings and forecasts? Did you network with friends, family, past colleague or past employers? Did you do research on companies that you would like to work for? Find people to network with at these companies? Did you use social media to network with people? Did you use Linkedin or other professional social network? Did you redo your resume? Go to a resume writing class? Did you research ways to upgrade your skills - free courses online or in your neighborhood? Did you volunteer? Did you read blogs or articles on getting a new job or job search? Did you read blogs or articles on personal development?

Really think about your activities for the job search for 2010. Think about how you can do things differently this year. Share your thoughts here on this blog. I would love to see this site be a place to share great advice and place where clients from Network RI can "network".