It’s appraisal time at work. That wonderful time of year when you’re assessed on your last 12 months performance, and set targets to improve on that over the next 12. Actions are decided upon and before you really know what’s happened… *tick* you’ve been appraised.

If I’m honest, this year went alright… as damn well it should have! After the long slog that was 2007, and the distinct lack of let up in 2008, anything less than “alright” would’ve been criminal. What has stuck in my head most though were the (not unexpected) questions like… Where do you see this year taking you? What is the next step? What career aspirations do you have? And, the somewhat trickier… How do you hope to achieve this?

Fact is, while locked away for days and nights on end, working weekends and generally keeping the work life balance firmly tipped the wrong way, it’s really easy to lose touch with the long term. You focus only on the deadlines coming up, the weekend you don’t want to work, the plans for the next week… but what about 6 months time? A year?

While I’ve still not been able to firmly decide what my ambitions are, let alone how to achieve them, just asking the questions has been enough to gain some perspective and brighten my darkened corner of the office. Even if there’s little let up or change, at least hopefully I can feel I’m working towards a longer term goal… whatever that may be.