I vividly remember being miserable at my corporate job. Each day as I walked through the entrance I would think, “I’m going to jail for the next eight hours.” The days dragged by. I would watch the clock all day until I could leave at 5pm. Then I’d get home and… not job hunt. The last thing I wanted to do was more WORK. I would plop down on the couch and watch TV until bedtime. I didn’t have enough of an essential ingredient for a successful job search: energy.

The most inspiring vision for the career you want to create will do you no good at all if you have no energy with which to create it. The problem with hating your job is that it drains you. It takes a huge amount of energy to resent what you have to do, to dislike the people you work with, and to clock-watch and not be present in the moment. Negative emotions use up energy, which is why I always recommend finding ways to enjoy your current job first before starting to look for a new one. For 101 ways to do just that, grab your copy of my free report by clicking here.

Here are a few great ways to begin taking back control of your energy. Think of the aspect of your work that you dislike the most. It could be a person you have to interact with, a time of day you particularly dislike (like a meeting or your commute), or a task that must be done. Next, choose one of the techniques below to lessen the energy drain this aspect has on you.

Technique #1: Eliminate it.
Can you eliminate it altogether? Before you jump to the conclusion that you can’t, try to think out of the box. If it’s a task you hate, is there someone you can delegate or outsource it to? If you hate your commute, you might ask to work from home a couple days per week. If it’s a meeting, ask if you can be excused from attending. Be sure to support your request with evidence of how the meeting reduces your productivity.

Technique #2: Minimize it.
If you cannot eliminate it from your day completely, how can you minimize it? For example, if you dislike your boss dropping by your office at random times throughout the day, you could ask to have a set time for him or her to stop by and take care of all business then, freeing you to work uninterrupted the rest of the day. If it is your morning commute, you could leave earlier to avoid the rush. If a particular task drives you crazy, you could do it first thing in the morning and have the rest of the day to do the parts of your job you like.

Technique #3: Change your perspective.
One of the most effective ways to deal with an energy drain is to simply think about it differently. Let’s take the meeting you hate to attend. How could you shift your perspective to make it better? Instead of looking at it as hours of your life wasted, you might use it as a time to voice some ideas you had that would improve your product or service. If someone cuts you off in morning traffic, instead of labeling them a maniac, you might imagine what would cause them to drive recklessly. They could be late to a job they are in danger of losing, and be worried about keeping food on the table for their family. Seeing things from a different perspective can create an immediate internal shift. Instead of wasting valuable energy being angry at someone, you have that energy left over to create the life you really want.

Be careful with your energy. You will need to have some left over from work in order to conduct a productive and positive search for your new career.

To your success!
Allison

 

Filed under: Making the Switch