If you've been reading this blog for a few months, you know that when my life slows down, my writing slows down, too. Summer break and winter break are the hardest times for me to write... because I'm not busy enough, if that makes any sense. Around the beginning of the new year, I decided to dedicate the first 6 weeks of 2015 focusing on my career (aka finding a new teaching job in a new city). And I planned on writing about cover letters and resumes and what to wear to interviews, etc. I did a ton of research. I pinned a bunch of articles (you can find them all here).
I read them all. I took notes. And then I realized "there's no need for me to say any of this. I'd just be repeating everything that's already been said in these articles". So, I didn't write a post about the perfect interview or resume or whatever. HOWEVER, I did spend quite a lot of time doing something that wasn't in ANY of these posts! So, that's what I'm going to write about today:
TAKE SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT WHERE YOU WANT YOUR CAREER TO GO.
I recently started this new "track" on Happify called Find Your Calling and the very first exercise in it was one where you write about your perfect daily routine. NOT your perfect job. But your perfect routine. Like, what do you see your days looking like in the future? The craziest thing about this activity was that it was SO easy! Even though you may not be completely sure about what you WANT to do... you probably have a pretty good idea of what you want your days to look like. Doing this activity motivated me to keep going on my quest of finding my perfect career!
1. Spend 20 minutes writing your 20-year goals
This past weekend, I set a timer for 20 minutes and wrote down what I want my career to look like 20 years from now. I just typed it into a Word documents. I wrote it quickly and messy. I didn't care about grammar or punctuation or even if I sounded like a normal person. So, if you're feeling stressed out and overwhelmed about the future, just take 20 minutes and write down anything and everything that you can. Once I finished writing what I wanted to be doing 20 years from now, I reset the timer for 10 minutes and wrote about what I want to be doing in 10 years. Go big here, btw!
"Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe." -Oprah Winfrey
2. Cut that time in half and do it again... and again... and again...
Because I am slightly more obsessive than most people, I continued this at every halfway mark (including 15 months and 7 1/2 months). You could just go with something traditional like "1 year" and "6 months". Another thing I did that was helpful was to begin every new time period by writing "In ___ years, it will be the year ___ and I will be ___ years old". Another thing I did that was super helpful was to find someone I admired who was already that age. Sometimes age seems pretty vague and it's difficult to know what to expect, so seeing it in someone else's life makes it easier.
3. Read through and pull out your concrete goals
Once I had all of my things written in a Word document, I went back and pulled out the phrases and keywords that I could actually turn into goals. For example, "involve parents in classroom activities through class website, newsletter, and volunteer opportunities". Those are all pretty concrete things that I can really make happen in my classroom. Or "certified professional organizer", well... that's pretty clear. I pulled out the things that were super specific like that and actually wrote them down on a piece of paper. I continued to do this at every checkpoint until I eventually got down to "today".
4. Do 4 things today that will move you towards your goals
At the "today" space, I just made a square space big enough for a Post-It. Each day, I write down 4 tasks that will help me reach the goals. NOT big tasks at all, either! Sending 1 e-mail to someone or printing off 1 document counts. Literally, 4 small and doable tasks every day. It doesn't feel or sounds like much which is why below it I wrote this quote:
"Great things are done by a series of small things coming together." -Vincent Van Gogh
The future is a scary and magnificent thing! It's easy to let it come and go and dream about the things that we could have done OR we can decide today to attack it head on and spend each day purposefully making it the best we can! Which brings me to another quote I love:
"Put on lipstick and attack!" -Coco Chanel
I read them all. I took notes. And then I realized "there's no need for me to say any of this. I'd just be repeating everything that's already been said in these articles". So, I didn't write a post about the perfect interview or resume or whatever. HOWEVER, I did spend quite a lot of time doing something that wasn't in ANY of these posts! So, that's what I'm going to write about today:
TAKE SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT WHERE YOU WANT YOUR CAREER TO GO.
I recently started this new "track" on Happify called Find Your Calling and the very first exercise in it was one where you write about your perfect daily routine. NOT your perfect job. But your perfect routine. Like, what do you see your days looking like in the future? The craziest thing about this activity was that it was SO easy! Even though you may not be completely sure about what you WANT to do... you probably have a pretty good idea of what you want your days to look like. Doing this activity motivated me to keep going on my quest of finding my perfect career!
1. Spend 20 minutes writing your 20-year goals
This past weekend, I set a timer for 20 minutes and wrote down what I want my career to look like 20 years from now. I just typed it into a Word documents. I wrote it quickly and messy. I didn't care about grammar or punctuation or even if I sounded like a normal person. So, if you're feeling stressed out and overwhelmed about the future, just take 20 minutes and write down anything and everything that you can. Once I finished writing what I wanted to be doing 20 years from now, I reset the timer for 10 minutes and wrote about what I want to be doing in 10 years. Go big here, btw!
"Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe." -Oprah Winfrey
2. Cut that time in half and do it again... and again... and again...
Because I am slightly more obsessive than most people, I continued this at every halfway mark (including 15 months and 7 1/2 months). You could just go with something traditional like "1 year" and "6 months". Another thing I did that was helpful was to begin every new time period by writing "In ___ years, it will be the year ___ and I will be ___ years old". Another thing I did that was super helpful was to find someone I admired who was already that age. Sometimes age seems pretty vague and it's difficult to know what to expect, so seeing it in someone else's life makes it easier.
3. Read through and pull out your concrete goals
Once I had all of my things written in a Word document, I went back and pulled out the phrases and keywords that I could actually turn into goals. For example, "involve parents in classroom activities through class website, newsletter, and volunteer opportunities". Those are all pretty concrete things that I can really make happen in my classroom. Or "certified professional organizer", well... that's pretty clear. I pulled out the things that were super specific like that and actually wrote them down on a piece of paper. I continued to do this at every checkpoint until I eventually got down to "today".
4. Do 4 things today that will move you towards your goals
At the "today" space, I just made a square space big enough for a Post-It. Each day, I write down 4 tasks that will help me reach the goals. NOT big tasks at all, either! Sending 1 e-mail to someone or printing off 1 document counts. Literally, 4 small and doable tasks every day. It doesn't feel or sounds like much which is why below it I wrote this quote:
"Great things are done by a series of small things coming together." -Vincent Van Gogh
The future is a scary and magnificent thing! It's easy to let it come and go and dream about the things that we could have done OR we can decide today to attack it head on and spend each day purposefully making it the best we can! Which brings me to another quote I love:
"Put on lipstick and attack!" -Coco Chanel
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