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Everyone wants the new year to bring them new victories and accomplishments, but what are you willing to achieve this? You will have to performthese super tasks, which we at Lectera have compiled for you, at the very least!
These top tasks will help you make a breakthrough in your career and professional development, to shine by the end of 2022 and, looking back, admire your own perseverance.
You can print this list out and hang it on a cork board or cabinet, to perform our tasks regularly and systematically, for example, exactly one task per month. This way you will effectively allocate your time, definitely avoid emotional burnout and, in addition, enjoy not only the maximum benefit, but also pleasure from each task!
Task No. 1. Master a related profession
In 2022, cross-functional specialists are at the peak of demand, which are, specialists with a different set of skills tied to different, but overlapping professions. Hiring such specialists who can be responsible for several business functions at once is objectively beneficial for companies. However, it is even more profitable for these specialists, because they get an enhanced salary.
In addition, a related profession is a chance to expand your career horizons. If you are faced with professional burnout or have hit the ceiling in your niche, then this is exactly what will help you get a breath of fresh air in your career. Choose those areas that are most effective to combine with your current skills. For example, if you are an email marketer, then try to master contextual advertising. This way you will be able to increase the effectiveness of the impact of your content and advertising.
Task number 2. Upgrade your soft skills
Modern employers are simply not interested in employees without soft skills, because they determine how effectively you will demonstrate your professional skills. Let's say, what is the worth of your product management knowledge if you don't know how to work in a team?
Lectera's catalog offers a wide range of courses on a variety of soft skills. The most sought-after skills in today's market are:
- emotional intelligence (understanding your own emotions and emotions of others, empathy);
- public speech skills (especially relevant for negotiations);
- stress, time and conflict management (indispensable for team management);
- critical thinking;
- ability to adapt to changing circumstances;
- leadership.
Mastering these skills will help you not only improve relations with your superiors and co-workers, but also, perhaps, open up your professional niche from a completely different perspective for you. To start off, choose a couple of soft skills you want to develop. Start with our courses or online exercises, and then make sure to breathe life into this new knowledge, and try it out in practice.
Task number 3. Improve your financial literacy
Scammers are not sitting with their arms folded and always come up with more and more ways to steal money from your bank account and other virtual accounts. In addition, most people do not know how to save money and effectively plan their budget! And we are not talking about giving up your favorite coffee or going to the cinema in 2022. According to statistics, every fifth person has taken a loan from a bank at least once. This proves the inability of people to live within their means.
Try to study various fraudulent schemes to avoid becoming their victim. Study the security rules for conducting financial transactions on the Internet and be sure to familiarize yourself with how to plan a budget - there are a lot of ready-made templates for this. Try to set a goal to save a small amount of money by the end of the month, and then increase it over time. The skill of saving money is the first step to using these funds to increase your earnings. Which, by the way, is another task for you!
Task number 4. Create a source of additional income
According to the OECD Department of Finance, for 70% of the population, work is their only source of income. Imagine what will happen if these people lose their income? Or, even worse, they will lose the ability to work altogether! There is another reason why you should think about creating a source of additional income - this is inflation, which, according to some experts, reached 8-9% in the United States alone in 2021. This means that your savings are in danger: even the interest rate of bank deposits barely outstrips inflation.
Today there are a lot of different financial tools to pick and choose from. Investing is the most effective, reliable and fastest way to create a source of additional (and with a competent approach, passive!) income. You can invest not only in stocks, but also, for example, in cryptocurrencies, as well as futures and startups. You can also learn all this in our course "Investing In the Market", where you will learn in detail about different types of assets and safe ways to acquire them.
Task number 5. Take care of your mental health
Most motivational speakers and bloggers lead a healthy lifestyle and motivate their subscribers to do the same. However, what is usually understood under this "healthy lifestyle"? As a rule, regular exercise and proper nutrition. Undoubtedly, this is important, but certainly not more important than your mental health.
To strengthen it, you don't need to immediately contact a psychotherapist. It is enough to monitor your diet and make sure it contains lots of multivitamins, address your stress in a timely manner, and be able to protect your personal boundaries. Develop your own plan to restore your nervous system! Analyze which hobbies help you generate internal energy, which things or people put pressure on you, and also how you can find a balance between work and leisure. The course "Create yourself anew", for example, would be ideal for this.
Task number 6. Build a career plan for the next 10 years
How many people know what will happen to their career in a year? And in three years, five or ten years? Many people forget that planning is the key to balanced and therefore effective progress. You don't have to anticipate events in advance, but you have to be ready for them. In addition, statistics say that people with a career plan are 30-40% more likely to get a promotion. This is not surprising: knowing where you should be tomorrow, you will find the right route very quickly and easily and will not lose your way.
Start by setting goals. What position would you like to hold in a year? And after that? Then analyze your weaknesses and strengths. What is your competitive advantage in the labor market? Which of your current skills will help you achieve your goals? And which skills do you lack? Of course, drawing up a career plan or, as it is also referred to, a career road map is not a matter of one day. That is why it is really worth allocating a whole month to complete this task. Lectera also hosts a special career marathon, which is led by the founder of the platform Mila Semeshkina herself. During this marathon, you will not only create a clear vision for the future of your career, but also develop the necessary competencies to make it happen.
Learning by topic
Task number 7. Sign up for LinkedIn and start being active on social media
Why is LinkedIn in the first place in this task? Because it is a business social network designed specifically for work purposes, such as finding partners or employees. It is here that you should engage in networking and develop your business connections. Other social media platforms, however, are also extremely useful! You cannot get by without them in 2022, so if up to this date, you have been distancing yourself from them, it's time to fix it.
First, select one social media platform (except for LinkedIn). Instagram is better if you relate more with the visual materials, and if you prefer texts - then use Facebook. Write 1-2 expert materials on the topic of your professional activity, and publish them. This is a great way to create your own personal brand or increase the awareness of your business by becoming its face. You can also start an account on behalf of your company.
Task No. 8. Start your own project or even a business
To volunteer to lead your own project means to move to a completely new level of responsibility. This is most often the beginning of the path to a leadership position. Take the initiative at the next meeting, just make sure that you have the necessary resources for this, namely time and required skills. This is also a great opportunity to practice soft skills mastered during the second task!
Opening your own business is definitely a bigger step, but it also promises more solid prospects. Of course, first of all you need to study the market and develop relevant skills, as well as understand in which niche your business can be successful. The easiest way is to monetize a hobby, and you can do it without leaving your main job. Let's say you sew toys to order on weekends, and on weekdays you work as a lawyer. Why won't the sale of toys on Etsy (the international website of handmade products), be a business?
You can add your own tasks to this list. The main thing is to clearly understand what is your endgame, and keep yourself motivated. Start acting as early as possible, right now! This way at the end of 2022, you will be able to speak proudly of your achievements in your career and personal life.
