On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Eat your salad first, and other career strategies

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Eat your salad first, and other career strategies Every year I get loads of candy over the holidays, and every year I feel compelled to eat it as fast as possible. This is because I always make a New Year's resolution to lose weight and eat healthier, so I figure the faster I consume the candy, the faster I can get on the road to being skinny and fit.Guess what? It never works. Because before you know it, Valentine's Day is rolling around and that means more candy. Which means I need to get busy scarfing it down so I can get back to losing weight and exercising.New Year's resolutions are tough. But unlike other people who think they're a waste of time, I sort of like them. It gives me hope every year to think that I want to do better, to be better.I also have found that it pays to be more realistic when setting goals for myself. So, while I might not always eat healthy stuff, I've promised myself to eat the salad BEFORE the MMs.Here's the story I did on resolutions for your career for my Gannett column:The problem with making resolu tions regarding your career is that you become so busy with your job, or so stressed by everyday work events that you quickly lose sight of the things you want to improve. For example, maybe you decide that you want to begin the new year by being more organized. But a quick look at the hundreds of e-mails awaiting your attention, the foot-high stack of reports leaning against the wall and the constantly ringing telephone makes you quickly scrap the plan. Whos got time to get organized?The key is not being too ambitious. After all, most people are doing more work than ever, and you dont need to add to the pressure. Dont make such sweeping plans that you would have to clone yourself a dozen times in order to accomplish a goal. At the same time, dont try to tackle too many things at one time. Think about putting a new idea into play for each month of 2010. Who cares if you make a resolution for January or September? The point is that youre trying to make life better for yourself, and t hat timetable belongs to no one but you.Here are some ideas to get your started:1. Get more organized. Thats a resolution that can be pretty ambitious, so instead plan to spend 10 minutes at the end of every day noting your top three most critical tasks for the next day. Take everything else off your desk except for those materials and write the list on piece of paper or your calendar so its the first thing you see when arriving for work.2. Improve skills. Most people have figured out that to survive in todays business climate they must make themselves more valuable by learning new skills. But deciding to go back to school can be a daunting challenge, especially if youre working full time. Find a seminar at a nearby college or through a professional group, and attend. Maybe its an evening session on how to use social media or how to speak publicly. The point is to find one event that is an investment in yourself professionally. 3. Network. Instead of casting a wide net at an event a nd passing out business cards randomly or adding 500 people to your list of Twitter follows, target five people a month to add to your network. You can decide whether to call them, connect with them via LinkedIn or even ask them to lunch. Just adding five people a month means you wont feel overwhelmed and end up doing nothing, and ensures you make a more meaningful connection because you wont be rushed.4. Focus on quality. A lot of companies like to say theyre focused on quality, and deluge employees with memos and reports on the subject. But there are ways to focus on the quality of your daily tasks that can make a real difference in how you are viewed at work. Try proofing every single e-mail before you send it, making sure you use proper grammar and spelling. When you leave your personal message for callers, stand up and smile while speaking. Your message will make you sound energetic and approachable.5. Take the high road. Deciding to be a nicer person is a wonderful goal, and one many people like to put on their resolution list. But the guy in the cubicle next to yours drives you crazy by eating chili cheese dogs with extra onions at his desk. The receptionist puts your mail in the wrong box. Lots of little aggravations can challenge your be nice resolve at work, and before you know it, youre upset with yourself after making a snide comment or getting in to an argument with a co-worker. Instead, make a commitment to pay a sincere compliment to one co-worker a day, especially to someone who is getting on your last nerve. Prompting yourself to see the good in someone can help put petty annoyances to rest.What are some resolutions we should make for our careers this year?Social Bookmarking