This is the weekly Work Life newsletter. If you are interested in more careers-related content, sign up to receive it in your inbox.
 
 

If resolutions came with a return policy, most of us would be standing in line right about now.
 
 

In fact, data shows only about 25 per cent of people stay committed until the end of January and fewer than 10 per cent actually accomplish them.

 
 

Why?
 
 

“I don’t think most people have a discipline problem. I think they have a design problem,” says Jane Janniere, a Toronto-based corporate outplacement and career transition coach. “They don’t set up the system or environment that facilitates follow-through.”
 
 

The calendar flip to January comes with a boost of motivation.

 
 
 

“January starts with a dopamine spike. It’s new, it’s exciting and it feels hopeful,” she says. “But by mid-month, the novelty wears off, the dopamine drops and people realize they built the goal on willpower instead of a habit and a system.”
 
 

Whether you’re looking to get back on track, or set a new goal, Ms. Janniere offers two frameworks.
 
 

Getting back on track
 
 

One framework she uses with her clients is called HABIT.

 
 

“HABIT is about follow-through. It’s how you execute when motivation fades,” she says. Finding answers to the following questions will allow you to build repeatable behaviours and systems that support consistency.

 
 

H: Habit. What’s the smallest action you can do consistently?

 
 

A: Automate. What systems or environment changes will make it easier?
 
 

B: Bounce back. What’s your plan when you miss, so you don’t spiral?

 
 

I: Identity. Who are you becoming through this habit?

 
 

T: Track. How will you measure progress weekly so you can adjust?

 
 

Setting a new goal

 
 

To set more sustainable goals, Ms. Janniere suggests a framework called OTC: Own it. Test it. Commit differently.

 
 

The ‘own it’ part is straightforward. “You’re the CEO of your career and your growth,” she says. “That doesn’t mean you control everything. It means you lead what you can.”
 
 

The ‘test it’ element of the framework is about understanding your current season of life or work – whether you’re surviving, maintaining or building.

 
 

She recommends asking yourself questions such as: What’s my actual capacity right now, not ideal, actual? Is this my goal or someone else’s expectation of me?
 
 

As for ‘commit differently,’ Ms. Janniere says people can’t just commit to outcomes, they need to commit to becoming the person who achieves them.

 
 

“Start with the smallest action that proves you’re already that person. Then build a system around it. Track the behaviour, review weekly and, when you miss, get back up fast,” she says.

 
 

Even if you’ve already stumbled, she says that doesn’t mean it’s over or that you’ve failed. “Let’s reframe it. You didn’t fail, the approach failed,” she says. “Your job isn’t to be perfect, your job is to reset quickly with compassion.”
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

45 per cent
 
 

That’s how many workers say they have missed out on a job or promotion because it went to someone with family connections, according to a survey from resume building website resume.io.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Artificial intelligence can boost your career or put it on hold, yet data from Gallup shows that only 10 per cent of workers use it daily.
 
 

According to this article, there are three steps to building your AI proficiency: learn, use and build. First, develop basic literacy; next, begin to embed AI into your daily work; and lastly, build full workflows or tools that combine AI with your area of expertise to showcase the value.