One of the frustrations I’m hearing a lot the past couple of weeks has been that it feels overwhelming to move forward with a job-search or a career growth path when all the news coming at us is so grim and concerning.
For me, the best way to push through anyway is to focus on small steps. It’s ideal if these are things you can measure and achieve consistently, though any steps you can take in 10-15 minutes can he helpful. If you have a daunting project like updating your resume, for example, start by pulling it up and taking a look at it. Then take a break—go for a walk or get another cup of coffee or do a different task.
Then set a timer and start working on a part of the resume. It really doesn’t matter which part. Just start somewhere. When the timer goes off, you have the choice to keep going if you’re feeling it, but you also have the choice to step away from it. You can apply this approach to any larger or more overwhelming task you need to tackle. Need to build a new network? Spent a few minutes listing the people, job titles, or company names you want to build those connections with, and then take a lunch break. Want to take action in your local community? List some causes or orgs you believe in and then go play with your pets.
Play around with the timing that works for you. The classic Pomodoro Technique time is 20 minutes, but that may be too long or too short for you. Find your sweet spot. It might be totally random, like 17.5 minutes. Then figure out the pattern that’s best for you: do you do better if you take short breaks in between sections of your tasks, or do you need to change pace entirely? What your best way of tracking your progress? A notebook? A phone app? A white board?
The most important thing is to keep chipping away at it. We will all be better off in the next few years if we have income and the mental wellness from a satisfying job so that we can take actions that are meaningful to us.
Or, as Winston Churchill put it, when you’re going through hell, keep going.
