Rules for a satisfying and a successful career

Yes there are career rules that can help you achieve success or failure – these are the rules that are set by you and not by your boss. Having these rules in your professional life can take you a long way when you do it correctly. Knowing your goals Setting realistic and achievable goals can help you get to the top. Everyone has dreams and aspirations but for different reasons, not all of them are able to reach them. Before looking at the big picture, be sure to plan your way on how you get there. Knowing your limitations and having goals can help you measure your performance and find areas of improvement you can work on – having goals can also help you have a purpose, motivation and have targets (goals that are set by the company are of course different from personal goals). Knowing your target and purpose can help you manage your tasks better. Once you achieve your personal goals, you will see that you will gain experience and confidence to move on to larger and bigger targets – slowly taking you closer to your dreams. Be really connected In most careers out there, people will need to connect to other colleagues or department to get things moving. Being in another department or office doesn’t mean you’d have to wait for days before a project or an action item you need gets attended to. You have to be really connected and be persistent with the tasks you need to accomplish – find ways to ensure that your project(s) has continuous progress. Man up but don’t be too proud In a lot of companies and businesses, people would love to look for people to blame even if it was their failure. You might think that doing this can help you look better but you should always be responsible for your mistake and learn from them. This can help you make better judgment and performance in the future. In the same way, a lot of professionals can get too proud of themselves that they take on tasks even if it’s going to be too much for them. If you have team mates working with you, you should learn to ask for help and to say NO to certain tasks and projects you cannot handle. Doing overtime does not always project that you are a hard worker, some employers may even think that 8 hours in the office may not be enough for you to accomplish your tasks hence the OT. You are just a man, not a machine Sure you feel that you can take on the tasks and projects your office. You stay up late night to study your data, you drink 4-6 cups of coffee per day, and you don’t get enough sleep. You may feel sort of invisible some time but at some point, you health is going to get back at you. Be sure to take the time to balance your work life and personal life. Take the time to relax and be sure to also always watch your health – be sure to use your breaks to refresh your brain. There will be nights that you should just sleep it off instead of thinking about the things you need to do the next morning. You should also take advantage of the tools you have in your office for certain tasks. Sample would be a to do or reminders list - having post its or a notepad (if you like it old school) or having notes on your smart phone can help remind you of certain things that might have happened in one working day or the things you need to do for the week. Following these set of simple rules can provide you a functional process you would need on your way to reaching your dreams.