Spring Cleaning Your Career Plan

With only a few days remaining before summer officially arrives, now is as good a time as any to do some professional spring cleaning. In her book Secrets of Super-Productivity: How to Achieve Amazing Things in Your Work Life, renowned productivity expert Neen James offers some helpful tips in taking a periodic assessment of your work life. When we were in grade school, we received a report card at the end of each school year quantifying our academic accomplishments and meriting us the opportunity to advance to the next grade. James argues that we should treat our professional development with the same attention, to avoid getting held back in the same professional "class." Below are some things to put on your "report card":

• Review yourself - it only takes one hour every six months to review every possible aspect of your working life. Think about your job growth, working relationships, salary and benefits, work/life balance, etc., and jot down what you think is and isn't going well.
• Create a career plan - make a list of 10 career goals you want to achieve this year.
• Make it visible - put your career plan somewhere you will see it each day to hold yourself accountable.
• Set financial goals - review your salary and benefits, and don't be afraid to ask your employer for a re balancing of compensation to suit your priorities. If you want more international travel, more vacation time, or a flexible schedule, consider taking a pay cut or asking your employer to pay for your international travel in place of a bonus check to achieve what matters most to you.
• Interview your seniors - if you admire someone higher on the corporate ladder, ask them how they got there, and what their job is like. Learn from their recipe for success.
• Develop two new skills each year - whether it be improving your professional writing, learning a new language, or mastering an IT tool, find something you can apply to your every day life as well as your professional responsibilities.
• Multi-skill - spend some time in other departments or industries to gain a new perspective. Even if you work for yourself, you can still challenge yourself as a volunteer on a non-profit board or by attending an industry panel outside of your industry.
• Read four professional books this year - this keeps you relevant and interesting when networking or interacting with colleagues and clients.
• Collect data for your annual review - most employers assess their employees' performance at least annually. Take time to reflect on and document your accomplishments, challenges, and accolades throughout the year.
• Get an accountability partner -Find someone you trust and share with them your career goals. Ask them to check up on you. You're much more likely to stick to your plan if you know someone will be asking you about it.

While this may seem like a copious to-do list to add to your already busy schedule, the hour you invest each year in tracking your professional progress and developing yourself will pay off 100 fold over the course of your successful career.