With the recent pandemic, millions of people have now found themselves home much more than they have in the recent past. Many of us don’t mind the additional comfort and decreased anxiety of pursuing our career from home, particularly when you get to see your spouse, child, or even your dog much more than before.
But to many people, the extended lockdowns and remote work have also felt like they were delaying or stagnating their career. Others were in constant fear or anxiety of the possibility of being laid off entirely. The numbers of those in fear grow each day that the economy becomes more volatile.
Even if you aren’t worried about job security, you probably still have pressures from remote working challenges, lack of networking opportunities, and the cancellation of many industry events like conferences and expos.
It can be frustrating in different ways for all of us. But we’ve also redefined how we work and collaborate using technology, so this also brings us opportunities. Here are some great ideas on preventing stagnation and malaise in your career while you’re stuck at home.
1. Update And Stay Current
Have you even logged into your LinkedIn account this year? Take a day to update your resume and LinkedIn profile, making sure you pull old info and update with new. Don’t forget to highlight new career accomplishments!
2. Continue Your Education
Learn something new. Another language, programming, an art skill, or any number of random things. There are a number of websites that offer micro-degrees or other structured courses that you can use to break up the time. Some may even add value to your skillset that you can leverage for more pay at work.
3. Maintain Networking Connections And Bonds For Your Career
Just because you can’t hit happy hour and shake some hands, or attend the yearly industry events doesn’t mean you can’t keep networking. Communicate with your work contacts, especially ones you may have neglected recently, and see how they’re doing. Maybe set up a zoom coffee so you can chat.
4. Start A New Project Outside of Work
Kick-off a new side-hustle outside of work, tweak your personal brand or even start a new blog, book, or website. Original content is valuable, particularly with the rise of NFTs.
5. Get A Jump On Busywork
We spend an average of one day out of every five to six, simply researching our information and setting up documents. Take some time to cook up a few templates, references, or cheat sheet resources to help you save time down the road when you are at work.
6. Volunteer For A Project That Scares You At Work
It doesn’t literally have to scare you but step out of your comfort zone, that’s not where growth happens. You’ll not only help your team and organization, but you may even inspire some enthusiasm.
7. Crack A Book
We’ve got a lot of free time lately, which many of us are using to get some great information from experts. Many experts have written books about subjects that are incredibly important to your field or industry. Find one or two, and make it a point to read them over a month or so.
