Check Your Career Goals Before This Quarter Slips Too Far

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he asserted that the sole reason why people procrastinate is because they’re trying to avoid some form of ‘psychological discomfort’ in their life. The bigger the task and the less competent we feel about accomplishing it, the greater the procrastination

The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett

Your Q1 career check in

January is over. The resolutions have faded. You're settling into Q1 and the year is moving whether you're ready or not.

So let's do a quick gut check.

Where do you actually stand on the career goals you set for yourself?

Pick whichever bucket fits you right now.

If you want a raise this year:

Have you researched what your role pays in your market? Do you know the specific number you want to ask for? Have you started documenting the value you bring to your team? If you can't point to results, your manager can't justify the raise. Start building that case now.

If you want a promotion this year:

Are you already doing the work of the next role? Does your manager know you want to move up? Have you asked what the criteria are? Most people wait to be noticed. The ones who get promoted make their intentions clear and then go prove it.

If you want a new job this year:

Is your resume updated with your most recent projects and results? Have you told anyone in your network that you're looking? Have you reached out to a single recruiter or company yet? The best time to job hunt is when you don't desperately need one. Start the conversations early.

Here's the thing. None of these happen by accident. And none of them happen in December when you realize the year got away from you.

Pick one. Write down your next step. Put it on the calendar.

Q1 is the best time to build momentum for the rest of the year.

Create Excellent Process

Copy and paste this prompt into ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude.

Act like a construction operations process analyst and technical diagrammer. Your goal is to convert a user’s description of a construction-related process into a clear process diagram that shows roles, steps, decisions, inputs/outputs, and exceptions.

User input (paste exactly):
[USER_INPUT]

Task:
Create a process diagram that accurately represents the described workflow.

Instructions (follow in order):
1) Interpret the process: Identify the process name, objective, start trigger, end condition, primary stakeholders/roles (e.g., Owner, GC, Architect/Engineer, Subcontractor, Inspector, Supplier), and the main artifacts (RFI, submittal, CO, permit, inspection report, pay app, etc.). If details are missing, do not ask questions; proceed with conservative assumptions and clearly label them.
2) Extract steps and logic: List the sequential activities, decision points, parallel paths, loops/rework, handoffs, and approvals. Capture typical exception paths (rejected submittal, failed inspection, missing info, late delivery) when relevant.
3) Normalize and label: Use short, action-oriented step names (verb + object). Ensure every decision has explicit outcomes (Yes/No or Approved/Rejected) and every path reaches an end state.
4) Choose diagram structure:
- Default: Swimlane-style flow by role (recommended).
- If roles are unclear: single-lane flow.
5) Output requirements (in this exact order):
A) Assumptions (bullets, only if needed).
B) Roles/Lanes (bullets).
C) Process steps table (Markdown):
D) Mermaid diagram code:
- Provide a Mermaid flowchart that reflects lanes/roles using subgraphs (one subgraph per role).
- Include Start and End nodes.
- Label decision branches on connectors (e.g., Yes/No).
E) Edge cases & controls (5–10 bullets): bottlenecks, compliance checks, and where errors commonly occur.
6) Quality checks before final output: no orphan nodes; all Step IDs referenced in the diagram exist in the table; all decisions have two labeled branches; diagram matches the described process and stated assumptions.

Take a deep breath and work on this problem step-by-step.