When I’m working with a career coaching client, one of the very first things I ask them is how committed they are, on a scale of 1-10, to finding their dream job. When they tell me they’re anything less than a 10, we discuss why, and how we can move it up to a 10. The reason is, and I know this from experience, that if you don’t carve out the time to make this transition a priority in your life-it will never happen.
I had a group coaching client once who really started out with a bang. He was making great progress towards clarifying his career direction. He even had a list of possible career ideas he needed to research. And then he slowed down. I checked in with him and he said, “Work’s just been so busy.” I told him that I understood and asked him, in 6 months if he was still in the same job, and hadn’t made progress towards another career, how would he feel? He said he not feel very good about it. We sat down, talked about his list of career ideas and started to cut them down. We created a schedule for his research. This action step is exactly what I’m suggesting for you. Carve out the time in your schedule.
We are all busy, that’s not an excuse. You must find the time in your busy schedule to devote to this work, even if it’s just an hour or two per week. Whatever it is, make the decision and stick to it. Ask yourself what the price or cost is for not doing something about this? In 6 months if nothing has changed, how will you feel? Then look at your typical weekly schedule and figure out when you can find the time for this. Is it one evening a week after work for a few hours? Is it early Saturday morning before the kids get up? Or do you want to use some of your lunch hour for time away from the office to go to a coffee shop with your computer and do some work? Find a way that works for you with no excuses. Remember, there’s a difference between an excuse and a reason. You should know the real difference in your heart.
Hallie Crawford
Career Transition Coach
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