To achieve your change objective, you must consider your project as a whole to carry it through successfully.
To do this, Job&Sense's advice is to:
- Define objectives
- Clarify the resources you will allocate in terms of time, money, skills…
- Specify the method you will use: will you resign, take a career break, get training?…
- Set a deadline: how much time are you giving yourself to reach your objective?
- Define your success criteria
1. Defining objectives
We all tend to put off our projects until tomorrow for 1001 valid reasons.
We all have the feeling of not knowing where to start or of considering that the task is far too big.
To counter these limiting beliefs, one option may be to break your project down into small, clear, and precise objectives.
To do this, you can use the SMART method.
The SMART method was invented in 1954 by Peter F. Drucker. It's a method that will help you set appropriate, precise, and clear objectives to make your project successful. It will also serve as a means to measure the results of your progress.
Here's how to define a SMART objective.
An example of a SMART objective could be: talk to 3 people who do the job I dream of within 1 month.
Having broken your project down into small precise objectives allows you to tell yourself that YES, your change project is possible. Step by step, you're going to get there.
2. Clarifying the resources you will allocate to your project
The second step consists of clarifying the resources you will put into your project in terms of time, budget…
Time
How much time per week can you devote to successfully carrying out your change project (job search, training, developing your freelance activity, starting a business…)?
Setting a specific time during the week when you dedicate yourself to your project, knowing you won't be disturbed, is ideal.
We are steeped in habits. The more this appointment becomes a habit, the easier it will be for you to take this time.
A good trick is to add a paperclip (it can be a paperclip or it can be something else, something that symbolizes your commitment) each time you keep your commitments. Gradually, you'll have an increasingly long chain. If one day you don't keep your commitments, you destroy the chain and start again from zero. You'll see that it will become increasingly difficult for you not to keep this appointment with yourself.
Budget
Changing your professional life can cost you money, for example, if you need to take training courses or resume studies. In this case, set yourself a maximum budget, per year, for courses or training.
Granting yourself a budget is good for several reasons:
- It facilitates your decision when you choose a training course. When you don't do this, you could always tell yourself that it costs too much or that it's not the right time.
- It prevents you from spending more than necessary.
3. Specifying the method you will follow
This is the time to list all the steps, all the stages you must carry out to realize your change project.
It's important here to prioritize them.
4. Setting a deadline
It's important to set yourself a deadline to succeed in your change project.
For example: I will need 9 weeks to complete Le Wagon training to learn to be a web developer. I will then need 3 to 6 months to find a job. I must therefore be able to sustain an 8-month horizon in total.
5. Celebrate your small successes
Make it a habit to celebrate your small successes. Changing your professional life won't be a smooth path. Congratulate yourself for each small step you take in the right direction.
You can do this by finding a visual way to celebrate them. This will allow you to remember your small successes during moments when you doubt.
For example: you can write your objective in large letters on a paper and indicate each of your successes on it, for example by sticking a sticker each time.
