Is your life on auto-pilot? Each day begins with the alarm going off — and maybe it’s met with a groan or two. But, you manage to drag yourself out of bed, splash some water on your face or take a shower and snag a quick bite of breakfast before rushing headlong out the door.
Before you can say “Monday,” you’re back at work handling calls, meeting with clients, researching, and the list goes on. Your to-do list is never ending and if you want to maintain any sense of work-life balance you have to commit to turning your smartphone off during nights and weekends.
Although this cycle is easy to repeat year-after-year until you’ve accumulated a lifetime of “wash, rinse and repeat,” the start of a new year presents an opportunity for us to take a step back and rethink our professional strategy. You’ve been wanting to improve your skill set for years, yet you always tell yourself you’re too busy to attend networking events or business conferences. While activities like these can seem frivolous or unnecessarily expensive, we assure you they aren’t. In fact, they can be quite beneficial to your personal growth.
Investing in yourself and your career is always money well spent. Attending a conference or networking event is beneficial in a variety of ways. It:
- Strengthens your professional relationships
- Exposes you to topics, technologies, and trends that are relevant
- Educates and informs you about your profession
- Alerts you to trends
- Builds confidence
Set aside some time right now, and see what events and activities are occurring in your community and industry. Then, make it a goal to attend one of them. Career success starts and ends with professional and personal development. Make this the year you take action!