There are two types of people in the world, people who take action, and people who do not.
I know many women who are not happy in their current work situation, but struggle to take action to change their life. I will be the first to admit that it can be surprisingly hard to go home after a long boring day at the office, and start working to find a new job. It’s amazing how exhausting an entire day of boredom can be!
If you find yourself stuck in a job rut, unable to muster up the energy to start revising your resume and applying for jobs, here are 4 things you can do shake things up:
1. Exercise – for 20 minutes when you get out of work each day. It sounds counterintuitive to exercise when you are tired, but it will actually increase your energy level. Get those endorphins flowing for 20 minutes, and you will feel rejuvenated in a way that no cup of coffee can provide.
2. Take Action – stop talking, whining, and moping around, and simply do something, anything. No matter how small, choose one action that you know you can commit to each day, and stick to it. It could be that you will update one section of your resume each night, or that you will apply for one job each evening. If a whole job application doesn’t seem feasible, break it into smaller parts. On Monday research the company, on Tuesday target your resume to the job description, on Wednesday draft the cover letter, and so on. As one of my favorite ladies Marie Forleo says, “losers wait for motivation, winners just get shit done.”
3. Get Advice – call someone you know who is successful, and ask him or her for some advice about how to changes your habits, and get out of your rut. This could be a mentor, a parent, or a friend. Even the most wildly successful people have had times when they were bogged down into inertia, and sometimes it just takes a little encouragement to get started.
4. Get an Accountability Partner – enlist a friend, family member, or coach to be your accountability partner. Schedule a call with them once a week, and tell them what you are committed to accomplishing in the upcoming week. Each time you talk, report to them on your progress in accomplishing the past weeks goals, and tell them what your plan is for the next week. By simply writing down and sharing your goals, you subconsciously motivate yourself to do them.
When you are first starting to dig yourself out of the trenches, the size of the action doesn’t matter as much as the act itself. Decide on what level of action you can commit to, and prove to yourself that you are capable of following through by doing that one thing, no matter what.
