I’ve become increasingly focused on having the right mindset when working. I worry that sometimes we work without focus and deliberation. Aside from leading us to feel unfulfilled, we also lose confidence in our skills. We can’t pinpoint our strengths and weaknesses, as our work just seems to be a series of endless tasks. We don’t reflect on our accomplishments and where/how we thrive and instead focus on just getting things done. In doing so, we don’t sharpen our skills and instead allow them to become dull.
Fortunately, there are some simple ways to work more deliberately:
Solve a problem outside of work: Seek opportunities to leverage your skills in new contexts that present new challenges. This can be as simple as helping a friend or colleague solve a problem that is related to your work, volunteering at an organization, or starting a blog where you provide advice regularly on your area of expertise. In each situation, the focus is on solving problems which requires you to think beyond your day to day while harnessing your talents and experiences.
Reflect regularly: Whether it’s daily, weekly, or monthly, in a journal or online, asking yourself meaningful questions about your work can go a long way in helping you become better at what you do. The right questions can help you zero in on what you’re good at, what challenges you face while helping you develop strategies for building up your expertise. Michelle Martin over at Bamboo Project Blog often asks great questions and shares tips for reflection.
Join an association: Associations provide a variety of opportunities to their members including workshops, jobs, social events, and chances to get involved in the planning and leading of the organization. All of these activities allow you to meet people, learn, and work. A great place to start is the local Young Nonprofit Professionals Network chapter near you. You can also seek associations related to your field.
In and out of the office we can adopt strategies that allow us to put our professional growth at the center of our work. What other strategies would you add?
Funny–I saw this post on Facebook and knew immediately I needed to read, but then saw that you gave me a shoutout, so thank you! I actually just posted on a presentation I did about using reflective practice that also has some links to resources that you can find here !
At any rate, love the suggestion to apply your skills in a different context. I think that can be such a powerful way to be more deliberate in your work. That’s also where I think crafting experiments for yourself can really help, too. You can play with changing different factors or trying some new practice to see how it works.
Great post, Allison!
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