Do you need ‘new year’ goals?
New year, new goals?
A guide to setting meaningful goals at any time of year.
The start of a new year is a common time to think about goals. There is a sense of a clean slate, a pause after the chaos of December, and a collective feeling that this is when we are meant to decide what we want next.
For some people, this timing genuinely works. A new calendar year can bring focus, motivation, and a helpful psychological reset.
For others, it does not.
You might be coming off the back of burnout, navigating uncertainty at work, managing caring responsibilities, grieving, or simply feeling unclear about what you want. It is also worth remembering that in many cultures, the new year does not begin in January at all, and even in the Western world, September often feels like a more natural reset point if you’re following an academic year along with returning from summer holidays and seasonal change.
Setting big goals in January can feel forced, overwhelming, or disconnected from reality. If that is you, there is nothing wrong with opting out. You do not owe anyone a set of resolutions.
What matters is not when you set goals, but how you do it.
If it feels right for you to set goals at the start of the year, it is worth making them focused, meaningful, and achievable. Vague intentions or borrowed ambitions tend to create pressure rather than progress. And if you are not setting goals right now, these principles still apply whenever you are ready. Good career goals are useful at any point in the year!
Here are some practical ways to set career goals that actually support you, rather than weigh you down:
Make them SMART
Using the SMART structure can help turn a vague intention into something you can actually work towards.
A SMART goal is:
Specific – clear about what you want to achieve
Measurable – you can tell whether you are making progress
Achievable – realistic given your skills, experience, and circumstances
Relevant – aligned with what matters to you and where you are heading
Time-bound – anchored to a timeframe, even if it is flexible
So a common starting point is:
“I want to get a new job.”
On its own, this is understandable, but it is hard to act on. Here is how it might become SMART:
“By June, I want to secure a mid-level policy role in the public or charity sector, where I can build on my stakeholder engagement experience. Over the next three months, I will identify 10 relevant organisations, have at least five career conversations, and submit three tailored applications.”
This version gives direction, focus, and something concrete to work with.
The same applies to confidence-based goals. Instead of:
“I want to be more confident at work.”
A SMART version might be:
“Over the next three months, I want to feel more confident contributing in meetings by speaking at least once in each team meeting and preparing one clear point in advance. I will ask my manager for feedback at the end of the quarter to review progress.”
Confidence often grows through behaviour. Making goals practical rather than abstract makes them far more achievable.
Get clear on your “why”
Before focusing on how you will achieve a goal, it is worth spending time on why it matters.
Can you explain to yourself why this goal is important? Could you articulate it to someone else if needed?
In the age of social media, sharing so many of our milestones, it’s easy to start comparing ourselves.Our goals become warped with what other people are achieving and what you think you ought to be doing. Goals driven by comparison, pressure, or expectation tend to lose momentum quickly. Goals connected to your values, priorities, or sense of purpose are more likely to sustain you when things get difficult.
If your “why” feels thin or borrowed, that is useful information. It may mean the goal needs reshaping, or that it is not the right one for now.
Share your goals
Sharing goals can feel exposing, but it can also be motivating.
Saying a goal out loud helps clarify it and creates a sense of commitment. It also forces you to articulate not just what you are aiming for, but why.
Think about who it would be helpful to share your goal with, and what level of detail feels right for you.
Expand your network
Very few career goals are achieved alone.
Progress often relies on conversations, insight, and opportunities that come through other people. This might include colleagues, managers, mentors, peers, friends, family, or a career coach.
Networking does not have to mean formal events or transactional conversations. It can be as simple as staying curious, asking questions, and letting people know what you are working towards.
The broader your network, the more options you are likely to uncover. I know that sharing my goal to retrain and become a career coach was invaluable when I then took the leap, where I had an expanded and supportive network that knew exactly what I was doing and why. This made them far more confident working with me as well as recommending me.
Have an accountability partner
Accountability does not need to be intense. It simply means having someone who checks in with you and notices progress.
This could be a colleague, friend, manager, or coach. The key is that it feels supportive rather than pressurising, and that expectations are clear on both sides.
Anchor goals in your current reality
Ambition is useful, but it needs to sit alongside honesty.
When setting goals, it helps to factor in your current capacity, energy levels, and responsibilities. Ignoring these does not make goals more impressive; it just makes them harder to sustain.
Grounding goals in reality increases the likelihood that you will follow through and reduces unnecessary self-criticism.
Be prepared to adapt
Career goals rarely follow a straight line. Priorities change, opportunities appear, and circumstances shift.
Adapting your goals is not a sign of failure. It is a sign of being realistic, responsive, and more likely to achieve something that genuinely works for you.
So, remember that goals are a tool, not a test. They are there to support clarity and direction, not to add pressure or be a stick to beat yourself with.
If you would like support clarifying your goals, shaping them into something workable, or staying accountable over time, you can find more information about working with me here.
