We are working beings - dare I say, we were made to work. Whatever you do for a living, the odds are pretty high that the time you spend working accounts for a good amount of your 168 hours each week. They probably don’t account for the majority of your hours, but they do make up a large amount of our waking moments.
As my dad likes to remind me, it is the millennial generation that believes job satisfaction is important — really important. We’re also the generation that tends to switch jobs often. And while, I can admit that can have its issues, there is also something great about the desire to find and pursue a job that leaves us feeling inspired, satisfied and fulfilled. Honestly, there are a dozen different jobs on my post-college resume - three jobs in New York City writing for different publications, several years working retail, a two-year stint as a glorified RA, another retail stint at a high-end boutique in Milwaukee, some time running social media for a tech start-up, several years teaching, time as the director of marketing, and a handful of freelance jobs for a variety of publications. While it might seem like that’s a lot of hopping around, these jobs have also given me the chance to know myself better and to know what I find fulfilling and exciting and what I don’t. I’ve learned what energizes me and what wears me out.
If you’re not happy with your career as it currently stands, there are a variety of things you can do to shake things up. A solution could be as simple as you having a word with your boss about being transferred to a different branch of the company. Or maybe you need to update your resume and start pursuing a job in another field. Or maybe it means finally starting that business you’ve been dreaming about for years. Or maybe it means starting a side hustle - another millennial trait - that can one day be your full-time gig. (That was my solution.)
From my experience, here are some strategies that can help you to turn your professional life around:
Further your education through evening and online classes
Education often plays a large role in how your professional life unfolds. Often having a certain level of higher education is necessary, on paper, for you to get your foot in the door and be hired, or even seriously considered, in certain industries.
Of course, your level of education will also have a lot to do with the kinds of skills you bring to the table. If you’ve completed a degree in biochemistry, that says certain things about your current, base skill set. Likewise, if you’ve got a degree in engineering, a degree in psychology, or a qualification in web design. No matter your degree, it can always be good to get a little continuing education and update your skill set.
Of course, most of use need to work continuing education around all the other work and family obligations. Consider looking into evening, weekend, and online courses, whether that means doing an online BBA degree, or attending evening training on web coding. Local community colleges offer a variety of course, that could give you a little more knowledge on some aspect of your job. There are a number of one-off options that you can do to grow in your profession without committing to another degree.
Wake up early and start grinding on a side-hustle
Successful entrepreneurs from all kinds of different professional backgrounds keep routinely touting the benefits of waking up early - very early - and getting a start on the day while everyone else is, for the most part, still asleep. Heck, I just finished reading the book 168 Hours and in it the author talks about a variety of people doing amazing things with their hours, and almost all of them are early risers. No one is changing the world and changing their lives by sleeping in or lounging in bed.
Early mornings are great for a variety of reasons…
For one thing, if you have a family, an active social life, or even a pet you you know there are demands on your time. Your family will need your time to talk or watch a movie. Your friends will want to grab a coffee or after-work drink. Your dog will need to be walked - multiple times a day depending on the breed.
Mornings are different. When you wake up an hour or two, earlier than you normally would you are carving out a niche of time when few people or things are making demands on your time. It’s just you and your goals. Now, you can get some real work done, without feeling guilty or distracted. This is the time I tend to read a good book or brainstorm future blog posts.
Simplify your life and cut out as many distractions as possible
What does this have to do with transforming your career? Well, to transform the course of your career, or just to feel better about the way you spend your 24 hours every day, you need to spend the time doing the things you ought and the things you enjoy. Wasting time isn’t going to help better you. It isn’t going to advance your career. And, most evidence, even shows it doesn’t even help us relax or de-stress.
To succeed, you need to be as focused as you can be, and you must direct your time and energy towards those particular activities which will result in the greatest overall benefit. My phone lock screen right now reads ‘Success Demands Singleness of Purpose.’ It is meant to remind me that everything I do in the day should be advancing me toward some goal I have. Endlessly scrolling through Facebook or binge watching several episodes of Stranger Things isn’t going to make my blog better. It isn’t going to help me read all the books I want to get to this year. It isn’t going to make me a better girl boss.
In practice, this means that you have to simplify your life and cut out as many distractions and irrelevant features as you possibly can. Consider putting website blockers on your devices. Stop trying to execute a dozen professional projects at once, and focus on one or two. Reduce your hobbies. Simplify and focus. Don’t keep a dozen tabs open on your browser. Focus on the thing you are doing right now. Put your phone in airplane mode when you need to focus on the task at hand. Set times to check emails. (More on this in a later post.)
Impose structure and discipline on your life — especially if it doesn’t come naturally
It’s simply not possible to acquire or maintain a successful career, or a successful side-hustle, if you aren’t willing and able to impose structure on yourself, and to exert a good level of self-discipline over your habits and behavioral patterns.
Structure and self-discipline must absolutely be mastered if you want to transform your professional life and get the most out of your time. This does mean you need to know yourself well. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the use of time.
In practice, this means scheduling your days out, adopting certain routines, and sticking to those things meticulously. For example, waking up and going to sleep at the same time every day. Scheduling in your workouts daily. Planning each day the evening before. And so on.
Having things planned out will also mean that not only will you be able to give adequate amount of time daily to your profession and family/friends, but you will also have time for that side hustle, or to read that good book, or to take that online class. You’ll be amazed at the amount of time you have when you really sit down to plot out your days.
Beat procrastination and get structured and disciplined. It’s essential.
