Are you hiding?

For the last 6 months, you’ve been thinking about getting a new job, asking for a raise, or starting that dream business side hustle. You have a full-time job so you carve out whatever time you can to work on your goals. While you feel productive at the time, nothing has really materialized which has been frustrating. 

If this is happening often, I would encourage you to examine the types of tasks you’re actually doing when you set aside time.

Productive procrastination

It’s super easy to convince ourselves that we’re being productive when we keep ourselves busy, especially with beneficial tasks. But what we’re actually doing is delaying having to work on our most important priorities. 

One can argue that productive procrastination is not as bad as traditional procrastination (e.g., doom scrolling social media for hours) but it can be a slippery slope towards stress and feeling overwhelmed. It’s important to recognize signs of it to be more aware that you’re doing it. Some examples:

• Checking and responding to emails during the time you carved out to write a cover letter

• Planning out the week rather than reaching out to people in your network

• Organizing meeting notes instead of working on a presentation

• Updating text on your portfolio website instead of writing a freelance proposal

Hiding with inward tasks

I’m a big believer in going inward to reflect and get answers to why we want to achieve the things we set out to do. 

But, if you’re finding that a majority of your time trying to land a new job, get a promotion or start a business is spent on other inward activities, you might be hiding from something. Could it be possible that you’re hiding behind the thought of experiencing success? Examples-

• Spending 30+ hours on your resume, rereading every bullet point and obsessing over the formatting but not sharing it with a single person.

• Spending endless hours updating your website but your LinkedIn profile which gets 100 views a month has been neglected since your job from 2 years ago.

• Listening to 80+ hours of podcasts on how to start a side hustle but avoid talking to a colleague or friend who recently started their own business.

• Sharing your ideas only with close friends and family as a sounding board but not actively connecting with hiring managers or people in your network who work at companies you’re interested in.

Come out of your hiding place

The best way to see results is to first come out from hiding. Share your goals with other people. Put it into the universe. Doing this will not only create accountability, you will begin to make more intentional decisions that will lead you closer to your next level.

Some things you can do:

• Share your goals with a trusted group of people to get feedback

• Optimize your LinkedIn profile (95% of recruiters use it to find and vet candidates!)

• Find and talk to people who are currently doing what you aspire to do

• Ask your network for connections and referrals

• Practice your elevator pitch on a random friendly person (eg, Trader Joe’s bagger)

[NEW] Light Up | 12-week group program

And if you want more, I’m launching a new 12-week group program next month, designed to guide you through your next big career leap. It’s filled with videos, workbooks, templates, scripts and more on topics around mindset training, strengths, personal branding, crafting your pitch, negotiations, etc. 

I have always wanted to create a strong container of BIPOC / women professionals to support one another and am really excited for this one!

Email or DM me with “LIGHT UP” for more information.