It's been 6 years since I entered the battle.
The battle I'm talking about (that you're probably in too):
Navigating career growth WHILE striving to maintain a strong sense of work/life balance.
In the past 6 years, there are 6 harsh truths I had to accept to propel my professional growth without sacrificing my personal life
1) People notice consistency. Be consistent at the right things.
DO
What you say you're going to do
Stick to the boundaries you've set so people don't expect your attention during non-working hours
DON'T
Be the person who doesn't communicate
Continually rush in late
Start to Ask Yourself: What do I do consistently?
People notice, and relationships are going to be the wind in your sails for your career.
2) Relationships are EVERYTHING.
Chat with people before or after the meeting
Have coffee or lunch with someone you want to connect more with
Make an effort to go to the office if you're hybrid
Building relationships and trust can push your career forward almost more than the day to day tasks you're doing.
However - no one is coming to save you.
3) No one is coming to save you.
Even if you've built strong relationships, you still have to directly ask for:
The raise
Someone to advocate for you
Extra support or training
Don't assume someone is going to make it happen for you.
Taking initiative and going above & beyond is essential to growth.
4) Just doing your job is not going to be enough (if you want to grow).
In order to excel, you have to find time for:
Digging into root causes, instead of slapping band aids on a problem
Leading projects that aren't in the original job description
The time may not seem there, but what are the little things you can do that make a BIG difference?
And despite what you've been told, it's possible to do this without burning out.
5) Your ideal job situation exists.
We've been told that working 60 hour weeks, going to the office every day, and feeling burnt out is normal.
If you don't want to do this to be YOUR normal, your ideal work situation DOES exist!
Starts with getting really specific about what that looks like:
when do you work
where do you work
how much flexibility do you have
Then integrate parts of it into your current situation.
If this doesn't seem possible, don't stop dreaming about it.
You're in control of this more than you think.
6) Wakeup for you, not for work.
Whether you're in your ideal job situation or not, consider WHO you're waking up for.
Who is choosing what time you wake up?
Who is choosing what you do when you wake up?
Even if you have to be at work early, you can:
Set your alarm for the time YOU want to get up so you can…
Do something for YOU before the work day starts.
This is the difference between work controlling your life vs. you controlling your life.
This mindset shift helps you:
prioritize you
takes pressure off of work
makes you a more effective employee because you've fueled you
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To recap,
People notice consistency. Be consistent at the right things.
Relationships are EVERYTHING
No one is coming to save you.
Just doing your job is not going to be enough (if you want to grow).
Your ideal job situation exists.
Wakeup for you, not for work.
If I had a billboard to sum up the first 6 years of my career, it would say:
You're more than your work.
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What would your billboard say?