Plan Your Work & Work Your Plan in 2025

Whether you are currently working, in school, or looking for your next opportunity, the end of the year is a great time to assess your career trajectory for the upcoming year. It is an especially important practice for early-career young professionals because the moves they make (and don't make) can be life-altering.

Ask yourself…

• If you don’t make any changes, where will you likely be one year from now professionally?
• Where do you WANT to be in one year professionally? In 3-5 years?
• What actions do you NEED to take to turn your desire into reality?

While we cannot control many things in life, we can control our focus.

Knowing we all have the same 24 hours in a day, isn’t it worth understanding what successful people are doing differently with their time?

Here’s the inside scoop: most successful people MAKE THE TIME to plan their work and work their plan. One without the other is not very useful.

Another insightful expression, often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, is “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” BOOM

If you’re feeling like you have failed to plan thus far, rest assured that 1. You are far from alone and 2. It is not too late to get started. (What the heck, I challenge you to grab your phone right now– you may even be holding it as you’re reading this-- and set your first 15 minute “Plan2Plan” session in your calendar within the next 3 days!)

Before you do much more than that, consider that having an inspiring vision (where you want to go in your life, ideally fueled by your "Why") will greatly help you determine your career goals and next steps. You may have heard the expression, "If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” So true.

That said, please remember that your career is one important part of your life, but it is not your entire life. I wish someone would have imparted this wisdom on me when I was in my 20s!

It can feel like there are so many “things to do” – especially when the new year is creeping up on you and you haven't accomplished what you had hoped– but I encourage you to first give yourself credit for your wins and be grateful for what you have and what you learned.

Planning your work and working your plan can actually be fun! Like most things in life, it is the mindset you bring to the task that makes all the difference in how you experience the work (and life).

What might open up for you if you swapped out “I have to…” with “I get to…”!?

Did I mention our words become our world? You are more powerful than you realize.

To Your Success!

Amy

P.S. Click HERE for more information about how Visions Internships could help you achieve your career goals.