For many of us, our careers form a very important part of our lives and who we are. That is not to say that we don’t also seek out some balance – as they say, all work and no play can make for a rather dull person.
A recent UK survey of workers from all ages and professions found that 36% of respondents sought work/life balance, followed by 31% looking for a more competitive salary. In terms of goals for 2010, a whopping 81% were looking to find a job they love. Now how actively they pursue this desire is a different story; as research shows, when it comes to goal setting, only 4% of people actually write down their goals. Evidence of perhaps why so few people are in jobs that they truly love.
It’s not easy finding a great job that pays well, that you enjoy and that offers you work/life balance, particularly if you don’t put the wheels in motion to bring it all together. If you speak to successful people, you will find that many of them both visualize and document their goals; it creates a sense of commitment and also focus.
If you are contemplating a job or career change this year, a good place to start is the complimentary suite of careers resources on the Six Figures site, such as with Questions to Consider Before a Career or Job Change and go from there.
One of our tips is to ensure you document your career goals. Be one of the 4% of people who actually document what they want to achieve and get closer to making it a reality. In this instance, focus on your work life and create a goal or a few goals that you believe you can realistically achieve in 2010. Be sure they are S.M.A.R.T. Goals – Specific, Measurable, Action Orientated, Realistic and Time Bound.
What have you found that helps you to achieve your career goals and attain work/life balance?
One Comment
This is very interesting for me. Lucky for me that I was able to make initial choices leading to attaining life work balance by changing my career. It is important that a person should know what he wants and will stick to it whatever happens because choices have consequences. In this case one must be ready to sacrifice some aspects that bring enjoyment and fulfilment over something that he chose to be important. Just a though worth sharing. ta ta