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How To Create A Career You Love
Sometimes it’s good to get a quick boost in motivation, a change in perspective, or a smile on your face. We’ve put together these weekly tips especially for you to do exactly that.
Take the time to devour each tip on it’s own and think about how you can put our ideas into action. Enjoy!
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Be Realistic. It's vital when setting goals that you make sure you believe the outcome is a realistic possibility. Too many people set goals that they don't think are achievable which ultimately wrecks their motivation and mindset. If you don't honestly think you can achieve your goals break them down until you find a goal that you wholeheartedly believe you can reach and then take consistent action towards achieving your goal.
Set Goals. Just like anything in life, you will get more out of your career if you set some well-formed goals that you are motivated and inspired to achieve. Don’t let your career amble along and risk disappointment when you realise you haven’t achieved your aspirations. Think about what your want your job and career path to look like in 1,3 and 5 years time, and put together a set of SMART goals that provide an all-important sense of purpose and direction.
Keep Learning. If you’re in your ideal job don’t assume you’re an expert - there is always more to learn and ways to grow and develop. Be diligent when it comes to your own personal and professional development and constantly look for new ways to develop your skills and knowledge. This will help you maintain a competitive advantage in your field and help you keep your career fresh and exciting.
Stay Positive. If you're struggling to get back into the flow of things now that the festive season is over take a moment to notice the way you're thinking and your perspective. If you're saying things like 'I don't want to be fat' or "I'm sick of feeling so tired" or "I wish I could feel more motivated" you're setting yourself up for a downfall because your mind has to focus on what you don't want first - which means you'll get more of the same! Flip your thinking and focus on the positive to get yourself back on track.
Stay Sane. This can be a testing time for many people but ultimately you are the only one who can choose how you experience the holiday's. What you focus on is what you get, so if you're expecting a tough time that's exactly what you'll find. Accept your family and friends for who they are and the way they behave, and make the choice to have a positive and upbeat perspective during the holidays (and beyond!).
Be Prepared. When you go on a road trip you load the car up with your GPS or map, food, drinks, clothes, spare tyre - basically everything you need to get you from A to B, plus some extra’s to handle any emergencies. You need to take the same approach with your career. First and foremost have your ‘map’ at the ready - know what your goals and objectives are, be clear on what you need to get done and by when, and have a plan of attack on how reach the end result. Build up your network, develop your skills, present yourself professionally and be prepared at all times.
Have A Clear Plan Of Attack. If you feel as though you’re running out of time to reach your goals by the end of the year you need to have a clear plan in place, otherwise you run the risk of getting overwhelmed and doing nothing! Decide on the key tasks or projects you want to achieve, write them down and physically schedule time in your diary to do them. Commit to keeping those appointments, just like you would a client meeting, and make sure you’re clear on exactly what needs to be done to achieve each goal.
Passions + Strengths. If you want to change career and become highly successful there's a recipe that you need to follow. Studies focusing on career changers who have become highly successful have identified two key ingredients that moved those people from average to exceptional: 1) they all found their way into jobs where their strengths were consistently called on and 2) their passions were fully engaged. If you want to find out how to identify your strengths and passions email Faye today now.
Know What You Value! Your values are what you believe are fundamental to your happiness and fulfillment. They are emotional states that you want to experience on a consistent basis, and put simply, they form the compass for your life, guiding you so that you live the life you really want. The problem is that most people don’t know what their true values are and as a result make career decisions based on job titles and salary packages which may not actually be their key drivers in life. Do some research on your values or book a coaching session today to find out what’s fundamental to your personal and professional success.
Turn Your Email Alert Off! To get your best work done, in the least amount of time, you need to maintain a high level of focus and attention which is sabotaged every time your email alert pings or pops onto your screen. On average we deal with around 60-70 interruptions per day, it takes up to 25 minutes to return to an interrupted task, and we waste approximately 2.5 hours a day dealing with distractions - email plays a significant part in all of those statistics! So if you do only one thing today, make sure you turn your email alert off!
Check Your On-Line Profile! There’s no doubt about it, you WILL be checked out on-line before being invited for an interview so google yourself NOW and check what the big world wide web is saying about you! Your on-line profile is incredibly important and should not be overlooked. If your Facebook profile shows you swigging beer, and your Twitter update is all about your latest weekend antics you won’t be setting the right tone for most jobs. Clean up your on-line act because first impressions really do count!
Work To Your Energy Levels. Conspire for your own success and start planning your day around your energy levels. Take a minute now to think about when you work best. Are you a morning, afternoon or evening person? If you work well in the morning block out time in your diary to do your most complex tasks when your energy levels are at their highest. If you’re a late bloomer and are at your best in the afternoon do your low-end, easy tasks like emailing and filing in the morning and schedule time for the things that require major brain power in the afternoon. This will make you more productive as you’ll get the important stuff done more quickly when you’re feeling at your best!
Stop Multitasking! There's considerable research to show that multitasking is in fact a misnomer and does nothing other than slow you down and make you LESS productive. Gone are the days when multitasking was heralded as a great way to maximize your day - the latest research shows that your brain doesn't process multiple tasks simultaneously but in fact flicks back and forth rapidly between them. So stop trying to do lots of things at once and instead focus on one task at a time - you’ll get it done more quickly and be more productive!
Are you setting yourself up for failure with an enormous To-Do list? Choose a maximum of 2-5 tasks per day that are critical to your key goals and focus on those tasks until they are done. Avoid writing a huge to-do list at all costs because each line on the list will distract you from your priorities and reduce the level of focus and attention you are able to give to the task at hand. As they say, less is more!
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. To manage your time in the most effective and efficient way possible make sure you plan your day the night before and schedule specific blocks of time in your diary to get your most important tasks done. If you wait until you get to work to plan your day you will lose immediately lose time which will ultimately increase the hours you work and possible the stress you experience.
If you're unhappy with a certain situation in your life it's either because of the way you're looking at it, or the result of the actions you're taking. To change the outcome either change your focus and perception of the situation, or change what you are physically doing. Both of these will impact how you feel and ultimately the results you are experiencing.
Your ability to ask questions is fundamental to success. Questions have the power to immediately change what you’re focusing on and the outcomes you experience. For example, if you’ve repeatedly tried and failed to change career it could be that you were asking the wrong questions i.e. “How can I get rich quick?’ or ‘What career is easiest to change into?’. What if you asked yourself ‘What am I passionate about?’ or ‘What will give me career satisfaction long-term?’. Changing the questions you ask yourself will change the quality of your personal and professional life.
Written by Faye Hollands - Director at Outshine Consulting
Faye is an accomplished Career Coach and Time Management Specialist who has successfully coached countless clients on how to create a career they love, get more done in less time, and achieve personal and professional success.
You can contact Faye on +61 2 9571 1684 or email fayehollands@outshineconsulting.com
Do you dread Monday’s? It’s no fun spending your weekend dreading going back to work and the rest of your week wishing it was Friday! Join our Career Change Bootcamp to get your career on track now.
Investment: $495.00 (AUD)
Start: 21 April 2010
