“For 2019, the name of the game is ‘get ahead, not just stay afloat.’ Working at a startup has taught me to be adaptable and reactive to a constant stream of change. This next year, though, I want to develop more forward thinking and proactive planning around my work instead of merely responding to what’s in front of me. I see myself making this happen by using weekends (not Mondays) to prep for the week ahead and setting more short-term goals with clear focal points.”

“In my career, I am constantly on the phone and traveling for work, and when I am at home — with my two children who seem to be growing really fast — it’s as if I am not in the present (I’m here, but I’m not). So my goal is to be more present, be more aware, learn to say ‘no’ sometimes to opportunities that will take a vast amount of my time; mentally and physically, that means time away from my kids. Instead, I’ll spend more time with my children — growing with them and not watching them grow on their own without me."

“My biggest goal for 2019 is to put myself ‘out there’ more. I often hide in the shadows because I’m afraid of criticism and failure, but hiding doesn’t prevent those things and I can’t grow if I don’t show up more. So, I’m going to commit to more marketing and less fear around it. A lot of this will involve personal work on my own self-esteem, but the more visible results will be showing up in more areas!"

“I’m a therapist and am going to starting doing a video series in 2019 that goes along with the blogs I’ve been writing about women’s issues, grief and loss, motherhood, etc. My second book will also be out on Amazon in January 2019, Major Life Changes: Stories of Motherhood, Hope and Healing. I’m also looking forward to continuing to see my counseling clients and writing my weekly blog, as well!”

“I’m hoping 2019 is the year I can take my side hustle full-time, to take the leap of faith and become an ‘entrepreneur.’ Currently, it’s a blog and hair quiz at ShampooStories.com. It’s taken much longer to get to where I am today (secretly while working full-time), but I’m resolved to launch a new product which I believe will help women, change the hair care industry, and provide some much-needed education, transparency, and community — all while giving back. I’d also like to host and attend more events/panels in NYC where there are opportunities to meet like-minded women and see whether we can help each other.”

“I am a self-published author. My career goal for 2019 is to keep publishing my travel and lifestyle books — along with aggressive marketing — so that I get picked up by a publishing firm. Additionally, I have a career goal to take my yoga teaching from local to viral through apps and workshops around the U.S. and through my social media platforms.”

“I’m a travel and food writer based in Los Angeles. In the upcoming year, instead of being envious of those in my field that are farther along than I am, I will celebrate their success and affirm that it’s achievable for myself also! I will then study their actions and try to reverse-engineer their success, creating a step-by-step plan with bite-sized actions that I can take daily to reach that same level of success.”

“I am a newly registered and licensed dietitian, married to an active duty marine, and due to move in the spring. I just launched my own company two months ago, and took a part-time job as an athletic dietitian at a Division 1 college. I am also almost five weeks pregnant! My career goals for 2019 are to maintain or grow my business as much as I can during pregnancy and giving birth, and find a new job in my field when we move in the spring.”

“I am a freelance writer, and I have a couple of big career goals for 2019. One is to pursue the many personal projects I’ve had on the back burner. For the past 12 years, I’ve focused mainly on writing work-for-hire books and creating a flexible career that allows me to be home with my two kids. The work is steady and reliable, and I do actually love it; I get to write children’s books! But now that both of my boys are in school, I have time to also write books that start with my own ideas, partner with other brands, and grow my own brand, Show Money Who’s Boss, which is my mission to help people get out of debt. I’m really excited about this goal! My other one is about earnings; I want to more than double my income compared to last year, which will definitely be a challenge. I’m working hard now to put the pieces in place so I can reach this goal.”

“I am an entrepreneur, domestic violence advocate, and co-founder of Bogues Consulting Group. My career goals are simple: 1) Remain strong in my faith; 2) Never stop learning; 3) Be mindful and self-aware; 4) Cultivate practices that increase productivity; 5) Take risks; and 6) Not to just get an invitation to the ‘dance,’ but being asked to ‘dance’ — I want my seat at the table.”

“I’ve housesat in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Gibraltar, throughout Africa, Hanoi, Osaka, Kuala Lumpur — last year, I wrote and published How to Become a Housesitter: Insider Tips from the HouseSit Diva. This year, I decided to sell my actual house, so I need to expand my income from writing. My New Year’s resolution for 2019 is to launch a business to co-write and ghost-write books. I’ve started this fall with one client, and it’s been great!”

“I am a career blogger and I have been working in a remote job for more than eight years. My biggest goal for 2019, career-wise, would be to become better at balancing ‘life’ and work. Being a remote worker for more than a decade, it’s always a constant struggle to be productive at work and be ‘present’ for my family. Being more organized, working in time chunks, and taking time off (every remote worker needs this) are some of things on my to-do list next year.”

“My career resolution for 2019 is to finish my MFA program at the University of Missouri with the rest of my thesis complete. It’s a 300-page literary fiction novel covering the intersection between gender oppression in the Middle East and the Kurdish female fighters in hand (just reached the halfway point!) and have queries ready to go by the end of next year."

“I’m a CEO of a company, and my career goal for 2019 is to practice mindfulness; I want to work on focusing on the moment. I feel that when I am mindful, I am better able to make strong, reasoned decisions. Being in the moment, I believe, will enhance my creativity, focus, and productivity!”

“My biggest career goals for 2019 are to step outside my comfort zone, stop playing it safe, and take more risks. I’ve gotten comfortable taking on endeavors and projects that don’t challenge me or require me to expand my skill sets; they’re easy, they keep me busy, and they pay well. However, I would rather take a pay cut in 2019 to focus more on challenging and long-term projects that will ultimately help me take my career to the next level.”

“I’m a marketing consultant with a website that focuses on female entrepreneurship. My 2019 career goal is to do less online and more in real life. In marketing, we get really caught up with inbound and everything digital, but at the end of the day, businesses grow when they make real connections with people and make people feel good. So, next year, I’m committed to go to networking events, conferences, and anything where I can focus on genuine connection instead of optimization analytics.”

“My career goal for 2019 is to focus less on the accolades of business and more on the meaning behind it. Sometimes it can get messy and blurry when it comes to what you’re working toward because we live in a world that sets attention and visibility very high. But attention and success are not co-dependent. You can have success without attention and you can have attention without success. So in 2019, I’m going to focus on the meaning behind my business, Headbands of Hope, that makes me feel successful and less on the chase for attention. Because success is not what it looks like to others; it’s what it feels like to you.”

All in all, although it’s important to make career goals for 2019, it’s also important to continually check in on your progress. “There is no one right approach to setting and managing your goals,” Amy Heidersbach, chief marketing officer at CareerBuilder, tells Bustle. “I think it’s important to define them — the specific outcomes you want to accomplish — but goals quickly become overwhelming or easy to abandon if they’re not integrated in a way that fits naturally into the rhythm of your life.”

To help manage them, Heidersbach suggests revisiting them regularly and editing or rewriting them as needed. She also says a lot of goal-setting has to do with having the right mindset. “The New Year is a great time to give yourself permission to think about what you want to achieve with openness, eagerness, and a lack of preconceptions,” Heidersbach says.

Of course, while writing down your goals is one thing, achieving them is another, and a very rewarding feeling once you start seeing them come to fruition.