Ten Meeting Professional Resolutions For Personal And Professional Development

It’s the start of a new year and most people are thinking about their New Year’s resolutions.

Have you made yours yet?

Personally, I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I make goals during the entire year. And I set personal commitments as I need them.

10 New Year’s Resolutions To Increase Your Professional Development

If one of your goals or New Year’s resolutions is to increase your personal and professional development, here are a few ideas that you might want to consider. Hat Tips to Catherine Lombardozzi who helped further this thinking.

1. Identify what you want to learn.

If you’ll state your intentions in writing, you’ll be surprised at how often you’ll find resources that can help you. Books, blog posts, magazine articles, research documents, presentations and other like-minded individuals will cross your path.

2. As Jennifer Lopez sings, “Follow the leader!”

Many thought leaders use social media to share their ideas. Find some in the areas of specialization that interest you and follow their information flow. Blog posts, white papers, research, tweets, and online and face to face presentations are a few ways to follow those leaders. Let them challenge you to think differently.

3. Read, read, read!

I’m an information junkie! I read a lot from blog posts to books to research. The internet makes it so easy to read in short spurts or extended time. Reading information outside of the meetings and hospitality industry gives me new ideas of what I can apply in my conferences and meetings. I also like Brain Pickings Weekly which is a weekly review and summary of some of the latest and coolest writings on what matters in the world today.

4. Find a mentor.

There’s nothing like having people around you who challenge your thinking, give honest feedback, and serve as a sounding board and source of inspiration! We all need that human interaction to accelerate our learning.

5. Join like-minded communities.

Similar to find a mentor, it’s great to be part of an online community that challenges your thinking and provides support. Join a community in the area that you want to grow personally and professionally. Sit back and observe the conversations and jump in when you are ready to engage.

6. Eliminate barriers.

Think about those things that keep you from reaching your development goals. Whether those barriers are your own habits, other people or circumstances, consider how to minimize their impact.

7. Capture your thoughts, insights and reflections.

Write it down or type it. When you capture your learnings, it allows you to refer back to those notes again and again. Consider journaling or even blogging to share your thoughts. Comment directly on the pages of books that you read, write notes on top of blog posts and consider a bookmarking site of some type.

8. Become a saver and sharer.

Create a good electronic filing system to keep track of those interesting articles, blog posts and web pages that you discover. Share interesting posts with your like-minded community, friends, colleagues and mentors.

9. Schedule daily time to think.

Find time and a space to think on a daily basis. When I was in an office, I would shut my door, open my blinds and just stare at the horizon. I’d let my mind drift and day dream. Sometimes I would think about a specific subject, meditate on it and chew the cud so to speak. It’s amazing what can become clear in the moment of quiet reflection.

10. Take time to smell the roses.

We Americans are taking less and less vacations. It’s important to take time off from work and restore your soul. Don’t get caught up in the fear that if you take a vacation you’ll lose your job. Your body and mind needs the time off from work so take those vacations.

What personal and professional resolutions would you add to this list? What’s tips do you have for ensuring that you grow professionally each year?