We’re in the final stretch of 2014, and that marks the best time to squeeze every last moment from what has hopefully been a great year for your career. From a performance perspective, it’s easy to either hit cruise control and assume you’ve achieved as much as you can for the year, or press the gas and push yourself too much without enjoying a little bit of holiday downtime.
So what’s the middle ground? I would encourage you to think about what how you can make the most of the next month or so before popping the New Year’s champagne.
The final months of the year are a great time to take stock in what’s gone well this year and what’s gone not so well. As you start to think of 2015 and its possibilities, being conscious of where you are from a work performance standpoint will help you more easily think of your goals or resolutions for the year ahead.
Here are a series of questions that will help you find clarity on where you are—and where you want to be. You might try asking a mentor or colleague to review these together.
- What have been the most exciting wins of your career so far in 2014?
- What have been the most disappointing moments in your career in 2014?
- What are you most grateful for so far in 2014?
- Do you feel you’ve taken a step forward in maximizing your potential thus far in 2014? If so, how?
- If not, what has prevented you from maximizing your potential and performance at work this year?
- Is this something that is in your control?
- What is one powerful change you can make right now that would impact your performance almost immediately?
- Can you make this change now and try operating differently for the rest of 2014, to help you continue the progress into 2015?
- Is there someone you can call to help you be accountable for this change?
- How would making this change set you up differently for 2015?
- What has been a theme for you in 2014?
- What would you like your theme to be in 2015? Come up with one or two words at the most.
- What is the predominant feeling you would like to be having at work for the rest of the year?
- With that in mind, what is the predominant feeling you would like to have at work in 2015?
- What are three actions you can take to ensure that you feel that way at work for the next month or so?
These questions are meant to be a catalyst for you to get clear on what has been working well in 2014 and what singular area you can focus on before the year is over. You still have time to rack up some more successes before we start celebrating the ball dropping in Times Square. Here’s to making the most of the rest of 2014!