There are many reasons why you may not have kept your resolutions and you could be feeling some ambivalence about setting goals for the New Year. If you reached the end of last year with the feeling that ‘something’s got to change’, then why not change up the way you view New Year’s Resolutions or goal-setting in general?

Wanting something is not enough – you can’t just dream and hope everything will work out. You need a system and a plan. Here is a method you could consider if your new year’s resolutions have been pushed aside once the everyday routine has got busy.

Below we consider different types of goals you may set as a lymphoedema practitioner. Striving for goals provides an opportunity to reflect on, question and consciously improve your practice

Plan

WHAT – List five things you want this year?

WHY – Ask yourself why do you want these goals?

HOW – What are you willing to do to make this happen? Break each of your goals down with a list of three things to help you achieve your goals?

WHEN – Allocate regular time in your weekly/monthly schedule to do the tasks you have set for yourself.

“You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind.” ~ author unknown

Five types of goals

Day-to-day work goals

Day-to-day work goals are directed at increasing the everyday effectiveness of your work They may involve things like order tracking or office management.

Example

What do I want – Streamline client reports back to doctors.

Why do I want it – to increase the efficiency of writing reports and at the same time improve the level of content.

Problem-solving goals

All practitioners have clinical problems that must be solved in order to improve client outcomes. The word clinical problem is defined as “a puzzle, question, set for a solution”. These can vary in the level of difficulty depending on the practitioner’s clinical experience.

Example

What do I want – Improve my clinical reasoning of head and neck lymphoedema.

Why do I want it – I am receiving more referrals for these types of clients or there is an opportunity to treat in this area.

Development goals

Development goals encourage the acquisition of new skills and expertise. These can focus on skills aimed at job mastery or combine job mastery with professional development skills. Job mastery skills are those that are necessary to successfully perform one’s job. Professional development skills are the skills and knowledge that go beyond the scope of the employee’s job description, although they may indirectly improve job performance.

Example

What do I want – to be more effective at managing complex lymphoedema of the lower limb.

Why do I want it – to improve outcomes for current and potential clients. It’s unique in that it can heighten one’s visibility, broaden reach, and engage current and future clients.

Innovation goals

Build innovation into your planning by setting goals that focus on improving products and processes. Innovation is not easy, as it usually involves developing something that has not been done before with the hope that the target audiences like the end results.

Example

What do I want – Improve communication skills with customers. Communication is the process of transferring signals/messages between a sender and a receiver through various methods (written words, nonverbal cues, spoken words)

Why do I want it – to increase customer satisfaction through clear understanding of treatment goals and expectations

Profitability goals

Profitability goals set your sights on where you want your bottom line to be. To make improvements you must know what’s really going on financially at all times.

Example

What do I want – Increase operational efficiency

Why do I want it – to increase profit. Operational efficiency is the capability of a business to deliver products or services to its customers in the most cost-effective manner possible while still ensuring the high quality of its products, service and support.

“The best way to get something done is to begin” ~ author unknown

Conclusion

Rather than making a wish list of resolutions and just hoping the results will happen because you want them to, you are resolving to take actions that you are committed to. You have clarified why you want to achieve the goals, which in turn will help to motivate you to stick to your plan. You have assigned time to tasks. By setting time aside for specific tasks, you have a greater chance to succeed in getting what you want as you will be doing something about it rather than just thinking about it.

How are you going to make sure you achieve your goals this year?