Make November Into the Best-Ever Month for Your Career (Really!)

November is a tough month, motivation-wise. The days grow shorter, the clocks fall back and the holiday craziness starts up. Getting anything done at work can feel like an uphill battle. But it doesn’t have to be.

After all, 30 days hath November — and you can use every one of them to improve your life and your career. How? By dedicating the month to self improvement. So before the first rolls around, set a goal and get to it!

You can focus on ways to:

1. Be More Productive

You’ve been in a fall slump and before the holiday crazies start up in December, take 30 days in November to get your house in order, so to speak. At work or home, to up your productivity, start with getting organized.

• Try a bullet journal to organize your thoughts every day
• Do your hard stuff first thing in the day
• Break down complex tasks into bite-sized chunks

2. Be Healthier

Before the resolutionairies fill up the gyms in January, get a head start on improving your diet and exercise routine. While the weather isn’t miserable and you haven’t put on holiday pounds:

• Add a fitness tracker to keep up your steps or a meditation app to calm your brain
• Focus on healthy snacks to pep up your afternoons
• Make fitness friends at work to improve relationships and your heart rate

3. Lose Your Bad Habits

If you’ve wanted some time to devote to ditching the bad stuff, and bringing in the good stuff then your month is perfect! Bad habits can weigh you down, even if you’ve had them a long time. Look for a change this November. You can take the month to:

• Quit smoking (there might even be healthcare savings in it for you)
• Cut back on caffeine or sugar to avoid the PM crashes
• Stop oversleeping or being late to meetings

4. Stick to a Budget

Whether you’re budgeting for work or for your personal expenses, avoiding over-spending is your way to success. When money problems aren’t stressing you out, you could find more brain power for other things, like work.

• Try the 50/30/20 Rule
• Set a reward to encourage you to stick to the budget
• Talk to coworkers about how they budget successfully

5. Learn a New Skill

Thirty days isn’t too short a time to learn a new trick or two. Try an online course, a night class, or even a month of lunch-and-learns to improve your skills and expand your brain.

• See if your company offers free courses in-house
• Try a class with a company like MediaBistro, Skillshare, or Codeacademy
• Audit classes at a local college

You can take your new skills and use them to change positions at work or even as terms to negotiate a higher salary or improved job title. Check out the PayScale Salary Negotiation Guide for tips.

Just think: In just one month, you could be a better you!