Page 11 - Planning And Prioritizing Time Management Manual

you have ever had to cram a year’s worth of education credits in the last three weeks of the year,

you are in good company.

So, do a periodic check of how well your daily to-do list aligns with your big-picture workplace
goals. If the two have nothing to do with each other, talk to your manager and take action.

10. Track your accomplishments.

We have all been there – as you’re preparing for your annual evaluation (or revising your resume
for your job search), you draw a complete blank on your past accomplishments. You know you

have been busy, and your manager is generally happy with your work, but you cannot name a
single specific success over the last year.

The lesson here is that it can be difficult to recall success details at the end of the performance
period. After all, you have a full year of projects to think through! Save yourself the trouble and
keep a running list of your wins (a simple Word or Excel document will do just fine). List

everything from meeting regular deadlines to stepping in to help with an urgent research project,
to completing successful client pitches and presentations.

In closing, remember that setting goals for work is best when it is an ongoing practice. Do
yourself a favor and treat it as a conversation that never stops. Every time you get a new

assignment, ask your manager to clarify expectations. What does he hope to accomplish through
your work? Where does he anticipate difficulties? What is the timeline, and why is this project
important? After the project is wrapped up, have a conversation to debrief and talk about what
went well and what could have been done better. Many professionals are apprehensive of
performance discussions, but the truth is that you can only get better if you know what skills and
habits need more work. Keep the communication lines open, and you will set yourself up for
more interesting work and a faster career progression in no time.

Starting to Set Personal Goals

You set your goals on a number of levels:

• First you create your "big picture" of what you want to do with your life (or over, say,
the next 10 years), and identify the large-scale goals that you want to achieve.

• Then, you break these down into the smaller and smaller targets that you must hit
to reach your lifetime goals.

• Finally, once you have your plan, you start working on it to achieve these goals.

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