How to Make the Most of 2025
A guide to learning new skills, advancing your career, and making 2025 count!
Probably sounds more like cliché now but we all used to the phrase; “New year, new me". Although a lot of people say this quote a lot, how many really put in the effort to make sure they change something about their lives in 2025.
First of all, you can't but be grateful for all that happened in 2024, if not for anything but the fact you're still alive till this moment means there is still more time to make the best every moment.
Therefore, this year, it is important to not only want a better outcomes for yourself but to also take intentional steps towards achieving them.
To do that you need to ask yourself these questions:
What did I do well last year and how can I improve that?
What went wrong last year and how can I change that?
What are my targets for this year?
What do I need to meet my goals?
What systems do I need to put in place to achieve my goals for the year?
Let's start with the first question.
What did I do well last year and how can I improve that?
When it comes to new year resolutions, a lot of people love to concentrate on the negatives from the previous year. However, it is actually more beneficial to start with the positives from the previous year. Any win or improvement from last year no matter how small is valid win.
Did you improve your sleep routine
Pick up a new skill
Land an entry level role or got more interview opportunities
Make new friends, etc
All these wins are essential. Not just for a sense of gratitude but it let's you acknowledge the right paths you've taken in the previous year and how they benefited you.
So take a moment (could be right now) and think about all the good things you started or gained last year, jot them down and then ponder on how you could do better. Just like when taking a SWOT analysis where you first start with your strengths, start with the positives from last year, acknowledge them then map out a plan to achieve them. Then you can look a the negatives.
What went wrong last year and how can I change that?
This question may sound difficult but it's a very necessary question you need to ask yourself. Look, 2024 was not a perfect year for anyone. Like every other year, there were still goals we all fail to achieve or areas which we fall short.
The point is not to dwell on failures but instead to learn from them and make better plans to conquer them next time. It's called “failing forward". So what was your failure from last year:
Did you give up on learning a skill because it became hard
Fumble a job or gig or opportunity
Fail to change a bad habit
Fail to take action because you were afraid
2025 is another chance to change that. There are things you can't change but there are things you can change, maybe with a little help from a friend, mentor or accountability system. The best thing you can do is to be accountable and know that improving for the better is your personal responsibility.
And to do that you will need to have agenda:
What are my target for this year?
Goals are essential because they can give you a sense of directions. However, it is important to give great thought when coming up with your goals for the year. A lot of people make unrealistic or myopic goals at the start of the year with no clear line of action on how to achieve them. You need to avoid this.
You may know this, but even if you don't, it is important that your goals are SMART, i.e.:
SPECIFIC: You have clear objective on what you want to achieve, change or improve.
MEASURABLE: You need to be able to quantity the effort needed to get the goals and the results it will give you.
ATTAINABLE: This is more than the fact that your goal can be achieve but also that you believe that you can do what it takes to achieve it.
REALISTIC: Let not just be attainable but let it be real to you. It should positively influence you for the better.
TIME-BOUND: Every moment matters, so you need to give time periods on what you want to achieve whether it be on a quarterly, monthly, weekly or daily basics.
One important thing to note about setting targets for the year is that you can't hit them all at once. You need to specify periods when you will work towards those goals and keep to achieving important goals first before others.
Then you will need support:
What do I need to achieve my goals?
For every endeavour worth pursuing, there is always a price to pay. For example, if you want to lose some pounds of weight, you need to change you diet and cut out junk food. Likewise, if you want to master a programming, you need to spend hours writing code and building valuable projects instead of using that same time to binge Netflix or doom-scroll on social media.
It also not just about sacrifices, you need support too. You can call them props. Just like in movie production, props help them in making some action sequences, you gather props that can help you hit your goals. These props could be:
An online course that teaches you a skill
A mentor who helps you review your CV and portfolio
A friend who collaborates with you on side projects
A community where you can find opportunities
A book that teaches you principles of a skill or endeavour
In any form, props are like steps on a ladder to achieving goals. Without support you may find the process hard, frustrating or even give up.
However, you can have great support around you and still fail to achieve goals. You need a system.
What systems do I need to put in place to achieve my goals for the year?
Alex Hormozi once quoted this; “A consistent fool will achieve more than a distracted genius”. Goals are great, support you need to achieve them better but without a system to achieve them, you may fail.
A consistent fool will achieve more than a distracted genius - Alex Hormozi
It's not a new thing, you start the new year enthusiastic to achieve your resolutions but end up falling short at the end. This is most because you lack a system.
By system, this isn't referring to a complicated mechanism with a lot of charts, spreadsheets and automation. Actually this is referring to simple (boring even) routines you can consistently practice each day that draw you closer to your goal.
An example of a great system could be:
Waking up early each day to exercise then shower each day before doing anything else.
Documenting what you achieved the night before you sleep and making plans for the next day
Having todo list and using your calendar to schedule your time.
Having an accountability partner you report to each week to tell them about how much progress you made in achieving your goals.
In short, the important aspects of making system is time and action. Dreams without actions remain dreams.
"Great lives are created by taking good actions on good ideas.” - John C. Maxwell
Make every time count.
If you're looking for tools to help you create systems, here are some recommendations:
For documenting and planning: Notion, a journal, or a physical planner
For scheduling your time: A calendar app, alarms, or a task manager
For tracking progress: A spreadsheet or habit-tracking app
Step into 2025 with Purpose
The path of progress is not easy—there are twist and turns, but you have to remain consistent and disciplined to get great results.
2025 is another opportunity to make strides toward growth. No matter what happens, stay positive and have faith that challenges can be turned into opportunities.
Welcome to the new year—win, succeed, and flourish!
Join the Dome Academy community on WhatsApp to learn, grow, and stay accountable on your journey: https://bit.ly/join-dome
Happy New Year! 🎉