By Clare Evans
We spend approximately 50% of our waking hours at work. Doesn’t it make sense to make the most of that time, otherwise what’s the point? OK, it pays the bills but shouldn’t it be about more than that. The happier you are at work, the happier you can be with other areas of your life. If work’s getting you down or you’d like to try something different, here are a few things to consider.
1. Are you happy at work? If not, why not? Is it the type of work you do, the people you work with or your boss? What can you do to change it? How could you make it more interesting, how could you improve relationships with the people you work with? Could you do the same thing but for a different company. Could you delegate tasks to someone else in your team?
2. Do you love what you do? What is your passion and what motivates you? What values in your life are important to you – health, money, security, family, relationships etc..
3. What are you good at? What are your skills and abilities? Where could you make improvements? Training for the job that you do could improve your job satisfaction and enable you to take on a new role.
4. Where do you want to go? Are you looking for promotion, salary increase or a job change? Sometimes we have to start at the bottom in order to get where we want to be. Have your goal in mind so you don’t lose sight of what you’re doing and more importantly why!
5. Get yourself a mentor. Find someone you respect, who’s where you want to be or done what you want to do. If you don’t know anyone at work, is there someone outside work you could discuss your plans with and who would be prepared to give you advice and support?
6. Keep your CV up-to-date. Be ready to take advantage of any opportunity that might present itself if you’re looking to change jobs. Alternatively, go out and find those opportunities – if you want to change, you need to make it happen.
7. Take control of your own career. There are always things we can do to change and grow. If you’re looking for a new career then spend some time thinking about what you want from your work. What do you value, need, want? What does work mean to you? How important is it in your life. What are the things you’re good at, what sort of work do you like to do? What would be your perfect job?
Sometimes living from day to day is fine but it helps if you have a plan in mind. Where do you want to be a year from now, three years from now? Set a goal “Next year, I want to be doing …..”. Then set some specific steps to get you there.
If you’d like support, motivation and ideas to help you make a career change then call me to see if coaching could help you make that change and get you a job your really enjoy.
Copyright 2004: Clare Evans
About the Author:
Clare works with individuals and small business owners to enable them to plan and organise their time more effectively. Learn how to prioritise, plan and delegate, organise your perfect life, organise it effectively and enjoy the process. Spend your time doing what matters and stop worrying about the things that don't.
Sign-up for her free monthly newsletter at www.clareevans.co.uk or send an email to claresnews@aweber.com and receive free tips on managing your time.
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Clare can be reached at: info@clareevans.co.uk
