JW99WQQZB7R8
For those who don’t know, I work in higher education - student affairs to be exact. I am often asked if I get the summer off. That would be a “no.”
Office Sweet Office
Still, summer flies by ridiculously fast in our university world. July isn’t even over yet, and it already feels like the fall semester is upon us 
.
Before the school year kicks into high gear, my co-workers and I have been asked to develop individual learning plans for the upcoming year. This is the first time that we will be making intentionality the basis for our yearly professional development plans. It’s very refreshing and kind of exciting 
.
Right now, I’m thinking through two items that are part of this exercise:
- What skills, knowledge, and competencies do I need to bolster to be the learner and professional I desire to be?
- What are 3-4 learning goals I will establish for myself in the coming year?
Good questions 
. Seriously, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to this. Setting (and actually achieving) personal goals and living intentionally have become strong desires since my big Yosemite trip, and I want to connect the personal with the professional as I move forward into the coming year.
Personal & Professional Wellness
To be the kind of professional and person that I desire to be, I need to bolster my health and wellness. (Is that a skill, knowledge, competency, or something else…?) I’ve already written about my desire to take on the challenge of a backpacking trip, and I know that one of the beginning steps in preparing for this is to get in shape and stay in shape.
So I’ve decided to make health and wellness a priority in both the work and home realms of my life. And for the next week and a half, sleep – good, restful, energy-restoring sleep – is my focus. To get there, I’m using tips from Zen Habits’ guide to becoming an early riser.
After tracking it for a week, I’ve established that 7:10 am has been my current “get out of bed” time – not exactly where I want it to be . Starting tomorrow, I’m pushing this back approximately 15 minutes to 7:00 am. After a few days, I’ll push it back a little more and will continue to do so until I hit my goal “get up” time: 5:30 am.
Now, I know I’ve aimed for this before and failed. This time, I’m going a little more extreme. It’s time to move the ol’ alarm clock out of arm’s reach AND switch it over to the annoying buzz setting – instead of the lovely music that I enjoy laying and listening to .
You can just see my alarm clock on the back corner of the far dresser
I’ll be tracking my progress in my new Goals section. Feel free to give me a scolding if you see me slipping .
Questions of the Day:
Do you have to or get to establish your own professional development goals at work? If so, have you ever connected them to your personal/home life?
What goal(s) are you working on right now?
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I enjoyed that we got to choose goals for this year. I found myself just staring at the paper for about a week, then one night, it all just came to me. However, I didn’t think to link work and personal life. I like that you’re doing that. It’s smart to integrate both because who can really have a separate work life and personal life? They are always going to coincide with each other.