Are you struggling to find the best time for that career change you’ve been pondering?
I’m willing to bet you've tried setting up a time to suss out the answer to “Is it time to change careers?”, but it’s hard to squeeze in time for even thinking about it with everything else you have to do.
And when you can finally wedge out an hour here or there, it only makes you feel more defeated because, let’s face it, an hour isn’t enough to achieve the deep thinking needed to make such a big decision.
Don't worry! You’re very much not alone.
One of the biggest challenges people face is finding the balance between their everyday “life” activities e.g. errands, hobbies, relaxing, cleaning, walking the dog and family time and ‘job stuff’.
It’s hard to stay motivated to make major career decisions when you’re literally squeezing in a half hour here and there to write a journal entry but never really have the time to be “all-in”.
Speaking from experience, deciding to change careers takes space to think. And TIME.
So how – and when – can you find enough time for deciding to make a career change? Should you do it first thing in the morning? Lunchtime? Later in the day?
Keep reading for the pros and cons of each... (keep in mind this is a bit silly, but more on that later).
Best Time for Making Major Career Decisions:
Do Mornings Have an Edge?
Sometimes you have to be the early bird.
If early mornings are when you feel like you have the most brain power, block out time for asking yourself the big questions first thing in the AM.
Scheduling time to really outline what you want your life to be like before everything (and everyone) else has 3 big benefits:
You’ll start your day off with big thinking already in the bag, so you’ll feel accomplished and motivated to tackle the outcomes of that thinking during the day.
You won’t spend the day stressing about when you’re going to fit it in because it’s already done!
Doing your career path thinking early in the morning helps you structure your day and establish needed boundaries.
If you’re not naturally an early riser, setting an alarm to get up and make major life decisions is probably not the way to go, but if you’re an early in morning type of go-getter, setting aside this time to deal with the career decisions you need to make can be helpful.
Another reason to evaluate your career in the morning?
You’ll be more likely to take the outcomes of that thinking with you throughout the workday.
Need help making the decision to switch careers?
You may be interested in my FREE workbook. It has everything you need to set yourself up for a seamless career change.
Afternoons can work, too
If mornings are an absolute hard pass, tackling tackling the career change question in the middle of your workday can make a lot of sense.
As you make your way through your work day to day, assessing what makes you happy, what doesn’t, what you like, wish hope for or feel you’re lacking is much more immediate and present. You can use the feelings and emotions of the moment to give yourself a gut-check and answer the question “Is now the time to switch careers?”
Don’t let those day to day tasks distract you or let your decision linger on! It’s too easy to get pulled into the “just one more thing before I switch” rut.
It may help to book a conference room (or your kitchen table) and use lunchtime to shift your focus and mentally prepare for thinking about the switch. Setting aside time/space can actually shift your mind and help you be ready to do the work needed to make this big decision.
Nighttime has its perks
If this is your “go” time, more power to you!
Personally, I’m a major night owl but it’s not my best time for thinking and planning, but for many people, this is when they have more energy to dig deep and do the important stuff.
Scheduling time to sit and map out your future after everything quiets down means you’ll have fewer distractions and an easier time focusing.
This is especially true if you have a family to care for and it’s only possible to dig in after your kids are asleep.
It’s also easier to maintain concentration when your Slack notifications have finally shut up for the day.
So if you “wake up” at night bursting with energy and focus, go for it.
Who needs to binge-watch Netflix? Be productive and get that decision making done!
And if you’re not naturally a night owl but nighttime is the only time you have to actually sit down and think, here are some tips to stay productive:
Ask yourself what you want your career to provide you
Assess wether your current career is ticking all your boxes
Outline what your ‘ideal’ career would look like if it was different than your current one
There’s no one-size-fits-all!
Is this ‘time of day decision making’ post a little silly, yes. Because ultimately, the best time for making this type of decision is whenever you’re most likely to answer it rationally and objectively. And by that, I mean: when you’re ready and available to give yourself the same advice you’d give a good friend.
For example:
Sure, an hour here or there is great. But when it comes time to really focus and get the decision making done, you need more than an hour.
When you’re juggling career planning with other “life” tasks and responsibilities, you will most likely be distracted and overwhelmed. Set aside time to ask yourself the questions you need to ask yourself and outline the future you want to create.
Remember, the hardest part is just asking. Even if you think you might want to make a major career change, you most likely haven’t asked the deep questions that need to be considered.
If you’re unsure how to start the process of actually changing careers, I created a FREE workbook to help you out.
It has everything you need to set yourself up for career change success and make work work for you.
Click here to download your FREE workbook now.
If you want more help with your Career Change, reach out to me by booking a free consult call.
Yours in ‘yeah that is a big decision’ goodness,
EBS
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EB Sanders | Career Coach for Creative Types
ebs@ebsanders.com
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