7 Ways to avoid sabotaging your career when your personal life is in upheaval

WOD Impact Member contribution

1. Make an appointment to worry: Set aside an allotted amount of time (10-15 minutes) at the same time each day to worry. If you catch yourself worrying during other times, make a note so you can worry during your worry time.

2. Make a list about your lists: Make a list of all your worries, then separate that into a list of things you can’t do anything about, a list of things you can do something about today, and a list of things you can do something about this week or month. It’s worth the few minutes it takes so that we can feel grounded in priorities, after all your brain can feel spacy in the middle of stressful times.

3. Give it all of 20%: Look at your to-do list and decide what 20% you are going to make sure you do exceptionally well, what 20% you are going to do well and what 60% you are going to do as well as you can with the energy that is left. You’re not in school, you’re in a career. You don’t have to be perfect and often trying to be can leave us doing 100% of our tasks at 20%.

4. Get an F and put yourself out there: Go to events and extend yourself to people in your professional network. You may feel drained and emotionally exhausted, but making yourself visible can increase your growth in your career even with all your stressors. We spend so much time with our nose in the books, we forget the stuff we did not learn in school that can make us successful.

5. Take some time to think about what YOU want in life: Spend 5 minutes, thinking about your perfect day. Do these goals feel like you or are they symbolic of other people’s wants for you? Don’t leave your true self out of your goals.

6. Let work be your distraction: For 5-10 minutes’ concentrate, as fully as possible on one task that has to do with your work. If you catch your mind wondering, just notice it wondering and go back to your task. Do this as many times in a day as you need.

7. Tame the pesky guilt monster: There is no set time limit for change to feel comfortable, be patient with your surroundings and yourself. Give up on rules given to you by your mind or others. They tend to bring up that pesky guilt monster.

Additional Resource: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/26/the-single-biggest-mistake-ive-seen-women-make-at-work-sallie-krawcheck-commentary.html

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Allison Johanson

VISIT ALLISON'S WEBSITE

Allison Johanson is a licensed clinical social worker with a passion for giving women the skills to manage difficult transitions in their lives which may leave their careers stagnant.

Allison works in both a psychotherapy private practice and through speaking engagements in order to fit the needs of a wide variety of people.

​Allison's mission is to help as many women as possible become as successful as they possibly can be.