It is not too early to start planning for the new year.  What do you want to be doing in 2009?  Are you thinking about a new job, or starting back to school?  Have you lost your job and need to learn more skills to obtain better employment? 

One of the best ways to get ahead and be successful is to set goals and work to achieve them.  It is as simple as that.  Here are some goal setting tips to help you get ahead in 2009:

1. Put your goals in writing, and keep the list where you can refer to it frequently
2. Make your goals very specific – such as "I want to earn my MBA degree within the next 3 years"
3. Make your goals measurable – for example lose 25 pounds, or run a marathon
4. Goals should be attainable – don’t make goals that are out of your reach.  Earning a college degree is attainable if you prepare and plan in advance, and then do the work.  Earning a Ph.D. in the next year may not be attainable if you don’t have some background to get you there.
5. Goals should be relevant – losing 1 pound may not be a relevant goal, while losing 20 pounds is definitely a relevant goal but only if you are overweight.
6. Goals should be time – bound – for example "earn my degree in the next 3 years" over "earn a degree sometime in the future".  Make the time specific, but be flexible.

Following these tips for goal setting should get you off to a good start in the New Year, and remember it is never too early to start planning to meet your goals.