Six ways to get unstuck in your career
“Getting stuck is reactive; getting unstuck is proactive.” Sherene McHenry, author, speaker, and former professor.
There are numerous ways to get unstuck in your academic career, or for that matter in any career. As many of us begin 2022 still feeling tired and burnout despite time out of the regular routine, here are six ways to move you forward if you are feeling stuck. Rather than trying to come up with a list of New Year’s resolutions, why not just change up a few of the ways you do things?
First things first, stop blaming yourself for feeling slow, depressed, irritated, tired, or any other adjective you care to insert here. It’s been nearly two awful years for everyone. Relax. We are getting through it. Not as fast as we might like (certainly not as fast as I would like!) but we are muddling our way forward. To get unstuck, doing anything is better than doing nothing. Staying focused and being kind to yourself is important.
Get Unstuck
1. Change up your environment
Rearrange your furniture If you can’t do it at home, do it in your office. A therapist friend of mine changed the orientation of the couch so that the two guest chairs were catty-corner to the couch which sat opposite to her chair. It changed the dynamic of some conversations once there was an option other than sitting directly across from the therapist. Maybe you can change your desk or bookcase arrangement to get a new perspective. Or take a different route to your office. If you walk from your car to your office, allow yourself to be surprised by what you notice. I did this once on a campus I thought I knew thoroughly and discovered a turtle pond along the way.
2. Get some plants
If rearranging either your room or your route is impossible, get yourself some plants. Greenery is useful for resting eyes and brain, and plenty of options require low maintenance and very little light. Or buy yourself a bouquet of bright-cut flowers to brighten up your spirit. If you’ve never bought a bouquet for yourself, consider that a way to get unstuck.
3. Get a new do
Cut or dye your hair or find a different way to wear it. If it’s usually loose, try a bun or a ponytail. If it’s usually up, try letting it loose. While you’re at it, if you feel safe, take advantage of those free makeover counters at the fancy department stores. Sure, they will be trying to sell you their product, but you might just see yourself in a whole new way. That’s a quick and easy change to make. I once had very long hair and cut it off completely after a traumatic life event. The short new hairstyle helped me tell the world nonverbally, “Something has changed.”
4. Declutter
No, don’t set yourself up for failure by insisting you are going to clean every closet or kitchen cabinet by the end of the week. Pick one small area that bugs you, draining your energy each time you look at it and give yourself a reasonable amount of time to tackle it. For academics, it’s often picking up the piles of accumulated papers from the previous semester and deciding what you can get rid of. Do it before classes start again, and you will be amazed at how much less stuck you feel.
The word “clutter” comes from the old English word for “clot” as in “clotted cream” or “blood clot.” Clots and clutter stop the flow and leave you stuck.
5. Change what you do with your free time
Do you exercise regularly? Try a new routine. Do you meditate? Try a different app. Do you like to cook? Find some new recipes and challenge yourself to eat something you haven’t eaten before. You could even volunteer somewhere if you can reorganize your schedule to work this in and meet some new people.
6. Get a career coach
Career coaches expand beyond the writing, acting as a trusted advisor for all areas of your life. If you are thinking about leaving academia, or trying a new path inside academia, and need some help figuring out how to do this, a career coach can help you get some perspective or help you clarify what you want to do. Coaches have tools to help you:
- Assess your interests and possible directions to go
- Help you with your professional profile (personal web page, social media, etc.)
- Prepare interview materials from academic portfolio to basic resumes
- Rehearse your short, coherent, elevator speech about your work
- Navigate any job offer inside or outside academia
Career coaches will take all areas of your life, from family, finances, environment, health, and spirituality to help you see holistically what the best changes are for you to make.
If you even take up one or two of the suggestions above as we begin the year 2022, you may find you get unstuck with unanticipated breakthroughs in your life.
If you still need help to get unstuck schedule a free 20 meeting with Hillary.
Tags: academia, academic, attitude, be prepared, coaching, Getting Organized
