The 3 things you have to do right away after your first promotion

You’ve gotten that well-deserved promotion. Congratulations!

And now the next step: How will you survive this new challenge? Will you survive?

Having just started a new job that's a step up from my first, I’m living the answer to that question every day. I'm facing new hurdles, and the stakes for clearing them are higher. Many of the challenges of moving up depend on the industry, job and workplace, but since going through the thick of it, I've discovered a few things that seem to be constants.

These are some tips you absolutely need to make sure you've got a solid grip on the ladder you just climbed.

Work will be harder, so you'll need to work harder

If it wasn’t harder, it wouldn’t be a promotion.

Even if you are promoted all the way to executive and have someone fetching all of your meals, the actual work you do will be harder, or at the very least, more important.

This will only pan out in your favor with a doubling or perhaps tripling of your efforts. Even if you have been giving at what seems like 100%, it’s time to go 200% or perhaps 300%.

At least until you find yourself in a groove, it’s time to cut back on going out on weeknights and start getting up earlier. You have to be on your A-game and ready when your number is called. With your promotion, your number will be called more often, and perhaps when the game is on the line.

It’s time to audit your systems

With a new position comes new tasks, and thus, a new framework for your systems of organization. How will you handle a greater volume of emails? What about the meetings to set? Calls to schedule? And countless other business and personal tasks?

The only way I keep track of them is by using my inbox as a to-do list, and only filing an email away when the call has been completed.

Take the time to really assess how you do things and get into the habit of any improvements you’ll need to make now, whether it’s writing tasks down on sticky notes or utilizing one of the hundreds of productivity apps out there.

Institutional knowledge can make your job easier

Unless your new position was created for you, someone came before you in the role. This means there is someone who knows exactly how things are supposed to be done. Make friends with that person, listen to him, learn from him.

Sooner or later, you will be responsible for knowing everything he knows—and sooner is better than later in order to avoid making you both look bad.

But wait, you say, with all this work ahead, isn't there a chance to celebrate?

Of course, by all means, grab a drink, write a Facebook status update, and call your mother. Just remember that you’ve taken this step up the ladder for a reason, and that reason is to work at a higher level.

When I got my first raise my boss said to me, “You just got a raise, now earn it.” That’s the idea.