5 personal development goals that can help you be your best at work

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We've made it through January and the darkest winter days are firmly behind us, so now is the perfect time to focus on setting the personal development goals that can really help us improve in 2022. Having clear goals for your personal development can make a huge difference to how you feel about work - and can even help you snag that much-earned promotion or pay rise.

So to make things easy, here are five personal development goals for work that can really help you level up in 2022!

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Learn how to manage time better

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There's just never enough time in the day, right? Maybe that's the case, but with a bit of focus you can teach yourself how to manage your time better, leading to increased productivity and a happier work you. Management guru Tony Robbins often talks about the importance of good time management and the positive effects it can have, pointing out that 'using your hours to work toward the outcomes you value the most will help to not only bring you success, but will also sustain that feeling of fulfillment that comes from accomplishing your goals and bring you plenty of other benefits.'

There are lots of simple tips and tricks you can put into action to make your time go further, for example employing the pomodoro technique of setting a timer for 25 minutes to help you better focus on the task at hand, or 'chunking' tasks together into more manageable groups - or chunks - which enables you to get them done faster.

And remember, you can always say no to things that don't help you reach your goals - it might take some practice at first, but it's your time, so you should decide how to use it.

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Improve your productivity skills

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Productivity goes hand-in-hand with good time management, so if you can conquer both, you'll be well on your way to achieving your personal development goals for 2022. Increasing your productivity can enable you to achieve more faster, and with less effort. But how do you actually become more productive? 

Much like improving your time management skills, being more productive is about making small changes to the ways you work in order to get maximum reward. So it could be simply banning yourself from checking your social media accounts during the working day, or asking more questions about a task so you make sure you understand it fully before getting started.

Or you could take a more strategic approach and embrace the Eisenhower Matrix, which famously helped the 34th US president decide what actually needed to be done, and what was just a distraction. 

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Become work confident

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From combatting imposter syndrome to making sure your talents and skills are appreciated, focusing on building confidence is one personal development goal that you should definitely not overlook in 2022. 

Of course, confidence doesn't always come easily to everyone but the good news is that there are things you can do to build those confidence muscles, after all practice really does make perfect!

By focusing on reminding yourself what you're good at, rather than the things that haven't gone quite as well, you can start reframing your achievements in a more positive way, helping to underline confidence and ensuring your voice is heard.

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Stay on the personal development track

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Staying accountable to your goals is one of the most important - and hardest - things to do when it comes to personal development. It's easy to write lists of things you want to achieve, but actually getting them done can take commitment and tenacity.

Spending some time making out your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats can help you tease out what's really important to you, and can form the basis of an actionable plan for getting what you want from work.

There are tonnes of ways to set goals, so it's vital to find a way that works for you. And once you have an actionable plan in place, it's great to have a someone on your team to help you stay accountable to it - and that's where Voco conversations can help you stay on track!

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Work on getting more time for yourself

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One area personal development that people often neglect is getting more time for themselves. It can be easy to get so caught up in being more productive at work, and in personal obligations and responsibilities, that you forget about your own needs. But finding balance is really important if you want to achieve personal growth. You won't make much progress if you burnout!

This is particularly important right now as the last two years have blurred the lines between work and life, and have left many of us in a state of constant anxiety. While the increase of flexible working has led to an easier juggle for some, it's also made it harder to know where work stops and your personal life begins.

So remember to carve out time that's just for you, spend time away from screens or distractions, and invest your energy in doing something that you love!

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