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Subject: News from Career Crossroads
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| Career Crossroads Newsletter
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November, 2008
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Hello Readers,
Can you believe
it's almost Thanksgiving and the year's almost over. Have
you accomplished those career goals you set earlier
in the year? What about those just a few months
ago?
Last month's newsletter
dealt with overcoming procrastination. Did
you follow the steps? Before you start feeling
guilty, here are some further strategies you
can try. the key here is to just begin.
Taking incremental, small steps is the most optimal way
to get out of a procrastination rut. Follow
these steps and see if you don't feel much more accomplished
by the Holidays!
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Stop Procrastinating
- Part II
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In the last issue I addressed why
we procrastinate and gave you some steps to begin addressing
this common problem. Making a list of what
you're avoiding, keeping an inventory and keeping a log
are critical first steps. After a few days of recording
your procrastination patterns, did you spot the types
of situations where you are most likely to procrastinate?
Did you also note how you felt when you were faced with
a task you steered away from? Fundamental to overcoming
procrastination is learning how to change the way we speak
to ourselves. Inner statements such as "I should
do it, but I don't want to" or "I have to because
they're making me" communicates feelings
of burden, victim mentality and resistance to authority.
Repeated throughout the day these "shoulds" become a negative
chant.
Try these ideas to break your patterns ....
1. Replace negative self-statements.
When you hear yourself say "I have to..." replace
it immediately with "I choose to..." For instance, if
you notice you have networking calls to make, immediately
choose to make the calls or accept
responsibility for choosing to delay.
This will shift your thoughts to an attitude of power.
When you hear yourself say "This project
is so overwhelming and big", replace it with "I
can take one small step". What you are really
doing is overwhelming yourself with all the steps involved
and placing a great deal of importance on this one project.
With each step you can appreciate your accomplishments
and recommit to your long-range objectives. This
will also change your mental attitude!
2. Conquer the fear of being overwhelmed
According to Dr. Fiore, author of "The Now
Habit", when we feel overwhelmed with a project or
task, it is often accompanied with
our own pressure to start the project without
anxiety! We then become self-critical toward
our initial efforts. First, acknowledge there
will be anxiety when we begin a large project. Most
everyone has it.
To avoid being overwhelmed, watch for these traps.....
a) Insist on knowing one right place to start. Accept
there are several adequate starting points.
b) Allowing no time along the way to learn
and build confidence with each step. Accept
you won't always feel confident at the start.
c) Starting with the thought "I should be
finished". This diminishes your achievement
by comparing to an imagined ideal. This lack
of tolerance for any imperfection keeps you trapped
in a negative self-image cycle.
3. Reverse your deadlines.
Instead of looking forward at a looming project,
set smaller, doable deadlines with breathing space
in between. Start with the ultimate deadline
and move backwards, step by step, to the present.
Use the reverse deadline approach immediately to diminish
anxiety about being overwhelmed. For instance,
if you have an ultimate deadline of being employed
by January 2009, calculate how many interviews you'll
need to schedule by December, how many leads to uncover
or how many contacts you'll need to make this
month in order to get the ball rolling. This
approach also allows you to see more of the steps
necessary to reach your goal. Also, employing
the reverse approach will let you see how much time
you'll need to allow to match each step.
Use these steps and you'll see how much work
it takes to procrastinate. Anticipate
your negative self-statements and stalling techniques
will help free up your creative energy for reaching
your goals!
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Success Story
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Susan,
Until I decided to
seek your assistance, my job search was going nowhere.
I was working hard but didn't really know why I wasn't
getting results. Very shortly after we began working
together, I learned where I'd been off base and
where I'd been wasting time. Some of your
suggestions about my presentation of myself really raised
my confidence level. In addition, learning
how to reach key decision makers was pivotal for
me.
I never would have
suspected just a few short months ago I'd be interviewing
for a job I wanted. Again, Susan,
thank you so much for all your capable assistance to
my transition.
Sincerely,
Daniel H., Program Mgr.
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Career Action Plan
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If your career search isn't
yielding results, your focus is unclear, or you don't
know your value in the job market, don't put off scheduling
a Career Action Planning (CAP) session.
This initial session gets to the heart of
any career problem, identifies what's working for you, what
needs attention, and establishes your next
steps.
In addition you'll receive:
* "The 12 Biggest Mistakes
Job and Career Changers Make and How to Avoid Them"
* An audiotaped summary
of session results
* Written summary of
session
* 45-minute RECAP session
For more
information, call ...
707 542-2420
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| Save 20% |
If you are interested in a Career Action Plan (CAP) session, either
for yourself or a friend, please mention you saw this offer on my newsletter
to receive a 20% discount.
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| Offer Expires: November 30, 2008 |
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