The end of each year brings time for celebrations, time spent with family and, if we’re lucky, time for delicious feasts. It also should bring a little time for reflection, to think about what you’ve learned over the past year and how you can improve in the coming year. Call it a New Year’s Resolution if you like, but really it’s the continuation of a self-improvement process. We make them for ourselves all the time – lose weight, read more, eat healthier, etc. We should make them for our business careers as well.

This year, I started making lists of tasks that I needed to accomplish. I dedicated a notepad to the task, and every morning as I logged onto my computer, I wrote down the tasks. Not only did it give me a focus for the day, but accomplishing a task and crossing it off the list was an uncommonly good feeling. I started thinking further and further ahead, deliberately making my lists longer. Rather than intimidating me with all there was to do, it gave me a mission — cross off as much as I can each day. It’s something I hope to continue into 2019.

Consider your year. Maybe there was something you learned at the AAMP Convention and thought to yourself, “I ought to try this in my business.” This is as good a time as any to try it out. Or, consider if you want to add to your professional career. Have you ever thought about taking a leadership role in a state or regional association or seeing how you can help a nearby meat science school? The year 2019 could be your year to give a little back to the industry.

Thank you for another year of subscribing to our newsletters and magazines, for reading our magazines, for answering our questions and for inviting us into your facilities for stories. It is a pleasure to write about this industry, and we look forward to another successful year ahead.