It’s ‘that’ time of year again when we dig out our ‘to do’ list for the last twelve months, enjoy a smug 5 seconds of celebrating what we accomplished and then feel guilty at the remaining actions that we never even got close to achieving. So how are you going to make certain that January 2012 is different? What can you do to make sure that you're likely to ACHIEVE the career goals that you set yourself? What will it take to motivate you to keep going...even if the going gets tough?

I'm as guilty as anybody of over promising and under delivering to myself with my New Year plans - or at least I was until I realised that I was over complicating things...and took action to make certain that my goals were relevent and simple.

Research shows that we're more likely to stick to our plans where we have a clear and compelling vision or definition of what we're aiming towards...or if we have a clear and compelling reason for moving away from something.

Ask yourself if you're moving towards something...or away from something? Do you want MORE or do you want LESS?

As an example, I've set myself some career goals which will give me more business travel, require more courage and be as a result of more referrals.

For my balance goals, I want 2011 to be more social, more active and for both to result in more energy.

One of the biggest reasons that people drift away from their career goals is because they lose focus - either they weren't quite clear on what they want (or don't want!), or maybe their priorities changed along the way and they assume that the goal is no longer relevent - so they stop.

Book a meeting with yourself in March, in June and October to check in with your career goals - ask yourself what action you've already taken towards achieving them (for example, is your LinkedIn profile up to date for more networking? Have you met a career coach to explore your career options? Did you revise your CV for that promotion?).

If the answer is that you haven't taken action, don't beat yourself up - check first of all to see whether the goal is still relevant.  Ask yourself if there might be alternative ways to achieve the same goal - perhaps something you hadn't considered yet.  Celebrate any successes along the way (OK so you haven't had the courage to speak to your manager about a promotion yet, but you've researched the skills you'll need in another role which is awesome!).

Give yourself permission to change the goal completely - maybe it's not quite the right time, or the right goal...so consider what an alternative destination might be.

Consider asking somebody to be your cheerleader along the way - a friend who motivates you perhaps? Somebody who will challenge you to continue taking action...you might even consider working with a coach - there are heaps of great coaches profiled on Be Amazing.

And the evidence that it works? Well, my phone has been ringing off the hook with offers of workshops to deliver in Wellington, Auckland and even Sydney as a result of a client I've worked with previously...so something tells me that I'd better hurry up and get some social time with friends booked into my diary along with a phone call to that tennis club I've been meaning to join!

Good luck with achieving your own goals this year - let me know how you get on!

About the author

Kathryn Jackson is an Executive Coach specialising in helping people to define and achieve their career goals. She is the author of redundancy workbook, How to Keep Your Cool if You Lose Your Job and has just published an eBook which is available from her website called Essential Questions to GROW Your Team, which is a resource for leaders who want to coach. Kathryn has just joined LinkedIn as a global ambassador and reckons this will enable her to call up on more courage in a new and exciting area of business!