Make a Move: Career Steps You Can Take to Stay Motivated
Rethinking work, in 15 acts.
If you’ve been with us a while, you know we’re partial to the “things don’t happen, things are made to happen” school of thought (thanks, JFK). Right now, your makeithappen may feel more like makeitstop, with so many things feeling out of control (our least favorite situation e-v-e-r), but we are here to remind you of your agency. So yes, the time is right to reconsider the hows and whys of your labors.
Take inventory. Conduct an audit. No—not the scary kind with numbers and boxes of files. The personal kind. Think about all your workaday activities (keep a list of all you do for a few weeks if your memory needs a jog). Put your list into three buckets: things you spend too much time on, things you spend the right amount of time on and things you should spend more time on. What needs recalibrating?
Let go. Delegate: not a dirty word. What are you doing that you know could be done by others? Fearful of letting go of the reins? Ask the lucky designee whether they fully understand the task, can describe what done looks like and identify the next action they will take to complete the task. These queries should shake loose any potential stumbles. If you’re not delegating because you think it would take too long to explain, think about what you could be doing more of if you invested a little bit of time up front.
Choose your own adventure. Remember our kick-ass day worksheet? Well, we give you permission to refresh it. Some of us are stuck in a you’re on mute Groundhog-Day reality, and an ideal day may feel far from view. But the day of your dreams is so worthy of your consideration—especially if you’re scheming a fresh start.
Plot your return. Thinking about work after a pause? We’re going to stop you right there before you add in a pandemic? Yep. We loved talking to Diane Flynn earlier this year about this very thing—and her website has all the get-back-out-there resources you need.
Become indistractable. This is probably the book with the best dividends of the year. Say bye to daily rings, pings, buzzes, memes—everything that’s distracting you (we saw you just check Twitter). Don’t worry, you won’t have to quit your scrolling and rabbit-hole escapes cold turkey. You just need to plan the time to do so.
Build your cabinet. Challenging times? Trying to reach the next level? Considering a change? All good reasons to have your very own cabinet of experts. Starting with your Secretary of the Interior is pandemic-appropriate.
Try a stay interview. In corporate life, we were fond of giving people stay interviews. The idea is that instead of ultimately landing in an exit interview, you could pick up on potential issues that might cause someone to flee. Why not give yourself one? The answers might surprise you. Ask yourself: When you travel to work each day (even if from your bedroom to kitchen), what things do you look forward to? What are you learning here? Why do you stay here? When was the last time you thought about leaving and what precipitated it? What can YOU do to make work better?
Honor Chadwick Boseman. Jackie Robinson, James Brown, Thurgood Marshall, King T’Challa. He brought total dedication, grace and humanity to these roles and we now know in the case of Marshall and Black Panther, he did so while quietly battling colon cancer. What are you doing to create a legacy? No, you probably won’t get a movie role, but mentoring or opening a door for a deserving person can change lives. This quote from Chadwick is now in our motivation rotation: “Sometimes you need to get knocked down before you can really figure out what your fight is and how you’re going to fight it.” Rest in power, King.
Find a feedback loop. Give yourself a 360° review. With so many of us distributed for work right now, feedback can fill a critical void. Schedule time with those higher-ups and colleagues, business partners and anyone you manage. Nothing fancy here—just three questions: What should I start doing? What should I keep doing? What should I stop doing? And break out your high fidelity listening ears.
Mind your bits and bytes. When historians write about our times, they will certainly note a particular form of torture called email. You know: the thing that gives you the illusion of doing work and keeps you engaged with its variable rewards (could be something important! could be nothing at all!). Initiate the two-minute rule. If you can dispose of them in two minutes, do so. Note that it should equally be your goal to allow the recipient to dispose of your emails in two minutes—if your telegraph demands more than that, pick up the phone (it still works).
Start a funding tour. We all have year-end in mind when we think about compensation, but newsflash: Your bosses have to think about it a lot sooner than that with prompting from their finance teams. So set up a (virtual) meeting now and prepare to make your case by showing the meaningful contributions you have made, how you have positively impacted the enterprise—and note additional tasks or projects you have taken on this year. In a pandemic? Yes and yes. Recent reporting shows many of us are working more in our COVID reality—not less. Ask that they consider your efforts and let them know you expect them to be fair. The worst that can happen is you’ll land just where you are now.
Mind your time. “I would love to, but that’s not going to happen right now.” This simple phrase we picked up years ago from an executive coach is freeing AF. If you are trying to focus on up-leveling yourself or maybe working on a next verse, you will need more of your time for you. So employ this phrase ad nauseum when someone asks you if their friend’s nephew can “pick your brain” or if you will volunteer for one more fruitless thing. It doesn’t make you selfish—you can extend your generous spirit again when the time’s right.
Link in. Yes, we’ve all received the annoying invites and salesy in-mails, but this is a powerful place to conduct business. Are you looking to hone your skills in a particular area? For people in similar roles? Something new? You might be a link away from the answer. Remember to start by getting your own house in order with some advice on sprucing up your profile—and don’t forget to check your settings so your whole network isn’t notified as you make each and every edit.
Read. Read. Read. We can’t emphasize this enough. Reading opens your mind to new ideas, places and people. It also sharpens your ability to sustain focused attention. It’s hard to have new thoughts if you don’t switch up your inputs. And yes: If you have time to rewatch that episode of Breaking Bad, you have time to turn a few pages a day.
Find your happy place. If you’re contemplating a new verse, pick a place where you can really see yourself being happy. This is always the wisest and most strategic choice. One, you’ll be happy, so there’s that, and also two, if you love what you’re doing you will naturally do it well. It’s that simple.
