New Years Resolutions are so last year! Ha! The cliche is true. There really is no time like the present to reset, restart and refocus! In fact, it’s this time of the year when we need to dig the deepest and not allow the rest of the year to be that slippery slope to Christmas, feeling unproductive or like we have no control.

So here are 5 Career goals we need to set for the next 6 months.

1. Acquire a skill set out of your comfort zone. We often gravitate to things we’re good at. Year after year, we can rack up learning experiences in skills we actually love, leaving the trickier stuff for another day. These last six months of the year, let’s commit to start some learning around the things a little outside of our comfort zone.

2. Join an office networking program. It’s time to expand the circle. Cape Town actually has some pretty amazing meet-ups and networking organization that can expand your connections.

3. Ask for that raise. Sometime in the next six months, we’re all likely to be in the mix for a performance review of some sort. Polish off that brag sheet that itemizes all the impact you’ve created in your role this year (or start keeping those notes now!) Asking for the raise is about documenting your success and regularly communicating your value to management. Yes, you can do it.

4. Plot out your next career chapter. Six months out is the15 perfect amount of time to start charting some actual action items against a new role you’d like to explore. Are you happy with the role you’re in? Are you working towards a promotion? What are the steps you need to take? Plot it out.

5. Fit your career into your life, not the other way around. Promise to not make your work world your whole world. While our jobs should be exciting enough to get us out of bed every day, our lives are made of so much more. Over these next few months, recommit to the mindset that your job is just one of the many pieces of my life that add up to who you are.