I love January. In contrast to the hot, humid "dog days" of August, the cool, crisp air gets me really cranked up about the potential and promise of the coming year. I’ll finish my book, trace my family roots, pick up my guitar again, knock two inches off my waistline.  Hey, watch me go. This is the year! 

But, old habits die hard. Before the ides of March, my ambitions will likely give way to last year's familiar rhythms and rituals. I am generally too tired at the end of the day to do anything more than collapse into an easy chair and click the TV remote at the dog. Vegetation trumps accomplishment every time!

I know I'm not alone. I witness firsthand the annual onslaught of good intentions that accompany each new year. Like health clubs and diet centers, we career counselors and coaches are overrun by an unhappily employed workforce hell-bent on making this the year that they once and for all find the career of their dreams.

Sadly for many, their dreams won't see the light of Ground Hog Day. That’s because career planning takes time -- and time is something most of us don't have in surplus. The day-to-day obligations of working and living can rob you of needed energy, so career aspirations easily get pushed to the back burner.

What later time? Is there some reason to expect your load to lighten soon? When will that be?

You're never going to have any more time than you have right now.

If you try to schedule your career change like it's some sort of project -- like painting the kitchen or repairing the leaky faucet in the bathroom -- you'll never find the time. Something will always intervene.

Don't wait for the next long weekend or vacation day to start your career planning. When the time finally comes, you'll want to use it to do other things -- like vegetating!

1. You won't find the career of your dreams simply by putting it on your to-do list.

Career management is not an event; it's a process. It takes a commitment to action with consistent follow-through, day-to-day and week-to-week. If you expect to find the career of your dreams, you need to break the process down into a series of small, but measurable action steps.

Even one hour a week spent on specific career actions -- reading about careers, exploring new fields, talking with others -- will produce results over time. If you're not good at holding yourself accountable, find a mentor or coach who can keep you focused and on track.

2. You won't make a good career decision simply by getting away from your current situation.

Sure, you may experience some temporary relief by finding another job. But you'll only be treating the symptoms of your career unhappiness, not the source. You do not make good decisions by getting away from, but rather by moving toward something.

Unless you trace the source of your unhappiness in the first place, you might just find yourself in an equally unfulfilling situation. Take time to identify what's working and what's not in your current career. Then, make a list of the factors you want to eliminate -- and those you want to preserve.

3. You don't know what you don't know.

If you've been working in one field or industry for most of your career, you probably don't have any idea of what life outside of it is like. Why would you? Take some time to explore other areas. Challenge your assumptions about what is possible. And whatever you do, don't sabotage your efforts with outdated perceptions based on the workplace of the 70s or 80s.Suspend your judgments until you know what you don't know.

4. You can't do it alone.

Somewhere out there, someone needs you. But unless you begin to talk with others about your career aspirations, you won't find that someone out there. The relationships you build are as important to your career as the skills you possess. Chances are pretty good that you know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone who can offer you the dream job.

Take an inventory of everyone you know. If you haven't been in touch within the past six months, then call or write to bring them up to date about changes you're planning in your career. Invite suggestions and ideas. You’ll be surprised how helpful people can be if you let them.

5. You won't be trapped in your current job forever.

Our work world is evolving and changing much too quickly for your career to remain static. The job you now have is only temporary. Whether you initiate it or not, your career will change. And although change can be threatening when it happens to you, it can be quite exhilarating when you generate it yourself.

So, do you want to wait and let your career just happen to you by accident? Or do you want to embark on a process to change it yourself, on your own terms?