Getting to know yourself

3. What are your weaknesses?

Be honest
Be critical - yes, but not over-critical. Try to be balanced in your assessment. Group your weak points, don't list these (harsh) details individually. Now spend some time figuring out how you can minimise these weaknesses.

Get help
Julie-Ann Amos, author of Self-Management and Personal Effectiveness, recommends considering further training, perhaps within your company or at an evening class. Alternatively, invest in a 'how-to' book; Kogan Page publishes a very useful series, as does the Chartered Institute of Management.

Consider how your colleagues deal with the kinds of roles and responsibilities you find difficult. You may even want to ask for their view on how you can improve.

Find the time
Give yourself plenty of time to make changes. Be gentle but fair about what is really possible.

4. What are your hopes?

Envisage your perfect future

• What does it consist of?
• Who does it involve?
• How do you think, feel and look?
• What is it about this utopia that's so important to you?
• How similar is it your current life?
• What's different?

Reconcile what could be with what is
"Plan, plan, plan", says Allan Macintosh, head of the coaching consultancy, Performance-am. If your goal is a different career, plot what new skills you may need and how to attain them. If you see yourself running your own business, start doing some market research.

All this may seem daunting, but remember the ancient Chinese proverb: 'the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step'.