How to set goals for the year ahead
It’s difficult to believe that this is our last ‘Translation Industry Updates’ article for 2023 - where have the last twelve months gone? In this special seasonal update, we’ll be sharing some tips on setting personal and professional goals and planning for the year ahead.
First of all, we’d like to emphasise that you don’t have to wait for 1 January to set goals for yourself. You can do this at any time of the year you want, either because you know what to want to accomplish already, or because there’s another time in the year that’s more meaningful to you. Our main reason for writing about January here is that a new calendar year tends to be when a lot of people tend to think about things that they’d like to accomplish in different areas of their life, but if inspiration strikes you at any other time, then you should absolutely go for it.
Most of us have things that we’d like to accomplish in our lives, and even if we don’t think of these as ‘goals’ in the corporate sense, it’s always useful to have projects to focus our mind on. For example, if you’re a freelance translator or a linguist, you might be looking to develop new areas of specialisation, to improve your command of your source language(s), or to learn how to use a new CAT tool. You might even aim to get better at some element of your business that is not immediately tied to language, such as getting better at accounting or web design, or improving your social media presence.
Meanwhile, if you have an employed job, you might be looking to increase your level of expertise in your subject area, make more professional contacts, apply for a promotion, or move to a new role in a different company. And if you’re already happy with the way your professional life looks, you might want to learn a new hobby, or develop a side of yourself that you might not necessarily get to use so much in your ordinary activities, such as developing your creative skills, or learning to drive or to cook. .
But once you’ve defined what your goals are, how can you make them a reality?
In very loose terms, the best goals tend to be the ones that are achievable, personal to you, and with definite milestones, since your task will be easier and less daunting if you break your journey into stages. If your goal is to improve yourself professionally, you could look into opportunities for continual learning and development and take some online courses (which are often offered for very reasonable fees on platforms such as Coursera). Meanwhile, if you’re more of a self-taught person and you’re looking to do something practical such as opening a website or learning how to file a tax return, there’s a wealth of information available online in the form of written and video tutorials, or you could seek the advice of somebody you know who is knowledgeable in these areas already.
Reward yourself wherever possible, and congratulate yourself on any wins, while also trying not to be too hard on yourself if it takes longer to accomplish your goals than you intended, or if the path has more twists and turns than you anticipated it would. Be reasonable with yourself, and remember that as most of us have a lot of different commitments in life, we can’t necessarily dedicate as much time as we would like to to all of our projects.
Anything that you can accomplish is still better than not trying at all, and if the path towards your success is filled with challenges, console yourself with the idea that every challenge brings new learning opportunities, and that no matter how difficult the process, you’ll look back one day and be proud of what you’ve accomplished.
And while this might seem counterintuitive for the shyer readers among you, if you’ve achieved something impressive, don’t be afraid to let people know! Your friends and professional contacts will be happy to hear that you’ve done well, and might also be inspired by your enthusiasm. And if you accomplished something that might be of interest to other people - such as completing an online course - make sure you tell people why you found it useful, in the hope that they might be emboldened to try it too.
We hope we’ve helped focus your ideas, but we’d like to hear any other tips that you have, and in particular, we’d like to know how the last twelve years have been for you all in both work-related and life-related terms. What are you most proud of in 2023, and what learnings will you carry forward with you into the next year?
Wishing you all a happy new year, and one that is filled with learning and opportunities!
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