We all know that self-care routines are important - Instagram and Tik Tok tell us so, with the constant depictions of brunches, clothing hauls, skin-care routines and travelogs. It’s nearly impossible to escape this topic in social media. I really do believe that we should be scheduling self care as part of our routines. When we say self care, most of us mean that we are taking care of our physical, emotional, and mental health. But what about career planning? How should we be thinking about it? Is that self-care too?
The answer is definitely a big, fat YES. It's about taking care of our future selves. It's about making sure that we're on the right track to achieve our goals and live the life we want.
Think about when you were 5 years younger than you are now - I’m sure that you couldn’t have imagined where you are right now. Looking forward, you can’t see where you’re going, but you can prepare for that future. When we take the time to plan our careers, we're taking care of our future selves in a few different ways.
First, we're reducing stress. When we know (even vaguely) what we want to do with our lives, we're less likely to feel lost or anxious about the future. We don’t have to know 100% or even 50% where we are going, but if we develop good habits, create infrastructure and do small incremental steps to improve our future, we will definitely be less stressed out no matter where we end up.
Second, we're increasing our chances of success. When we have a plan, we're more likely to take the steps necessary to achieve our goals. James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, lays this out really well. Check out my book review here.
Third, we're creating a more fulfilling life. When we're doing work that we're passionate about, we're more likely to be happy and satisfied with our lives. This is really hard for some people to understand because you may lack the clarity you need to figure out what you’re passionate about. That’s just a temporary situation though, as with some self-reflection, you can figure out what you are passionate about. It may take you a while to get there - give yourself some grace.
So, how exactly do you get started with career planning if you’re starting from scratch or attempting a career change? I’ve posed some questions below for self-reflection and goal setting.
I always advise my clients to write things down. The act of writing and changing your thoughts from the mental effort to physical effort forces you to formalize your thoughts - you’re doing the thinking as you write it out - you are changing your mind as you do the work. I love journaling for this purpose - it can be clarifying. Grab your bullet journal and let’s go -
Take some time to reflect on yourself - make lists!
What are you passionate about? What lights you up? What do you talk about that makes your friends roll their eyes because you’re on that topic again?
What are your strengths? Are you good at communicating with people? Are you good at sales, picking out colors or reading a person so that you know what they want? Are you good at math? Singing? Is there a particular hobby that you are good at? Write all of them down.
What are your weaknesses? Be honest with yourself. Are you impatient with coworkers or customers? An introvert in a sales job? A procrastinator? Do you have a burning desire to be right? Are you a sore loser?
What kind of work environment do you thrive in? Working in small groups? Remotely? In a high-paced environment? In entertainment or an event setting?
What is it about work that you enjoy? Meeting people? Creating something with your hands? Serving other people who are in need?
Research different career options. This is where you can use keywords from your reflections above to search Indeed, LinkedIn, JobsUSA and other job sites for interesting jobs that may fit your strengths and ignore your weaknesses. There are so many different careers out there, including some crazy ones that you wouldn’t expect, so it's important to do some research and know what’s possible. Check out our Job Assessment Toolkit for Job Seekers once you’ve found a job and you want to figure out if you’re qualified for that job. It’ll also help you sort out the qualifications that you need to work on.
Set some goals. These are NOT set in stone. Or better yet, create some systems to get where you think you want to go (thanks, James Clear!). What do you want to achieve in your career? Is it money? Prestige? Making a difference in the world? Do you know what that looks like? Once you know what you want, you can start making a plan to get there.
Take small, repetitive actions to get where you want to go. Write down what habits you want to instill in yourself, check off every time you do your habit. Don’t skip two days in your habit. Waiting for someone to recognize that you are great is not practical, so you need to plan to show them. People think that their boss is aware of all of their accomplishments and should just give them a promotion and more money. Again, take small, repetitive steps to make your career dreams a reality. Check out our Annual Evaluation Toolkit which talks you through focusing on your accomplishments and challenges as well as encouraging you to document your wins throughout the year, not just at the time of your evaluation.
Think about contingencies as well. What would you do if you have a family emergency and have to take a month off? Six months? Would you be able to survive during that time and would you have a job to come back to?
Career planning is a lifelong process, but I have two more bits of advice - it doesn’t have to be an active, onerous task and it may look different at different stages in your life. You may need to take a break due to family situations or schooling or children. If you’ve planned your career and mapped it all out - it may be something that you revisit regularly as your interests and goals change. But even if you don't have everything figured out, just taking the time to think about your career on a regular basis is a form of self-care. It's about taking care of your future self and making sure that you're on the right track to live the life you want. You need a well-rounded set of self-care routines that you can turn to, so you can feel better - not only in the moment, but also in the future.
If you're not sure where to start with career planning, there are resources all over the internet. You can talk to a career counselor, read books or articles about career planning, or take online career assessments. You can also schedule some time with me if you're interested in a career in Cellular Therapy. I’m happy to review your resume and offer suggestions as to where you might gain the skills and knowledge that you need to progress in your career. Email me for rates and to schedule a call.
So, yes, career planning is self care; it is so important to invest in your future self. Please take some time to reflect on your career goals, and start planning for the life you want.
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