The 'lock-in season' trend promotes career growth, but could also lead to burnout, career experts say

This year, ambitious professionals are getting a head start on their New Year's resolutions.

From September through December, people are pledging to focus on their fitness, financial or career goals in a social media trend known as "lock-in season."

For Khadyajah Jenkins, the trend isn't exactly new — it's just the concept of the corporate calendar's Q4 "packaged for social media," says the former tech recruiter and current doctoral student at Penn State.

Still, she says, lock-in season is an opportune time to focus on "intentional ideation" of your future plans, from securing a promotion to growing your platform. She's shared her strategies for making the most of the trend on her TikTok, where she has over 60,000 followers.

According to executive coach Allie Stark, lock-in season is characterized by an increase in "discipline and momentum." As the end of the year approaches, many people shift into high gear to achieve their annual goals, she says.

"There's that energy of, 'I had these goals that I set for myself for the year, and now I have 4 months to accomplish them, so how am I making it happen?'" Stark says.

'Locking in' on career goals

Career growth is a top priority for young professionals participating in the trend, according to Amanda Augustine, a career coach and spokesperson for Resume.AI.

Based on their analysis of lock-in season content on social media, Resume.AI found that workers are focused on updating their LinkedIn profiles, tracking their achievements and sharpening their skills ahead of the new year.

Given the challenging labor market, many workers are taking steps to maximize their job security, Augustine says.

"Everyone's looking at the headlines and the layoffs and saying, 'How do I make myself as valuable as possible?'" she says. "If there are opportunities that they hadn't explored before, they're now trying to move in that direction and capitalize on what's available to them."

Focusing on work is a great idea in theory, but there can be pitfalls to the trend.

According to Stark, lock-in season is rooted in "a desire to have a sense of security and control" amid "collective feelings of uncertainty."

It's tempting to "put your head down" and immerse yourself in work, Stark says, but pushing yourself too hard carries a "huge possibility for burnout."

To avoid exhausting yourself, it's crucial to set manageable goals, Stark says.

"I think it's really important to be realistic about the fact that they're going to be non-linear," she says. "When you actually want to meet a goal or create a behavior change or a habit shift in your life, that doesn't happen overnight."

According to Jenkins, "sustainability has to be at the front of mind" when it comes to navigating lock-in season. Most of the advice she sees on social media tends to be "very gimmicky," she says.

"People are putting their pedal to the metal but not thinking about, what does week one look like? What does week two look like? Is this sustainable long term?" she says.

Instead, Jenkins recommends approaching your goals through two-week sprints of focused work. After each sprint, she says, take the time to analyze your results and incorporate those insights into your plan for the next two weeks.

"Thinking about this through a strategic framework allows people to be more intentional," Jenkins says.

It's equally important to take a break and reflect after each sprint: "You have to give yourself time to think through what you want," she says.

Despite lock-in season's emphasis on year-end goals, don't pressure yourself to finish your entire to-do list during this time frame, Stark says.

"I feel like we live in a culture that has forgotten that really good things take time," she says.

"It's awesome to feel motivated, and I'm really on board with the idea of starting out the fall strong," Stark continues. "But there has to be some level of checking in with yourself."

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