Make Your Next Career Choice Easier

25 November 2020

We all eventually move onto the next thing in our career.

It may be in a couple of months, in a year, or you may have a longer time frame, but eventually you will have the decision to make about what next in your career.

Here are two exercises that can give you valuable information to make it a more informed choice.

1 - Achievement List

Reflect on your career to date and list the things you are proud of and deem to be achievements.  Look for small moments as well as bigger projects.  Keep listing until you have a base list of at least 20 achievements.  Then once every couple of weeks (say on pay day) add further achievements to the list.

Every 6 months review your achievement list to see what it is telling you.  What trends or themes do you see?  What sorts of contrasts are there?  What is surprising to you on the list?  

2 - Joy Journal

Once a week (say for the last 5 minutes of your work week) reflect and list the activities you did that week that you really enjoyed doing.  Try to identify the moments in the activities that were most joyful for you (e.g. not 'the planning meeting', but 'the brainstorming exercise during the planning meeting').  List at least one thing each week - more if you can.

Every 6 months review your journal to see what it is telling you.  Again look for the trends and themes and contrasts.  Also look for the energy you had for the things listed and the sustainability of the activities.

Do these exercises for as long as you can before you need to make a choice on what next in your career.  The signposts they will give you as to what will really work for you next will be invaluable as they will give you an insight into when you show up at your best and get into Flow with your work.

As always, wishing you a flourishing career.

Katherine