Three steps to a lockdown career change

Coronavirus lockdown has literally cut out the noise of our everyday routine and left us with a simpler, quieter existence.  It offers a perfect time for focusing on what’s important, what gives you energy and most importantly what makes you happy.

Psychologists are agreed – we all need meaning and purpose to make us happy.  Use this time to work out what that means for you.

Step One – start to notice and record your moods.  For the next two weeks write down the best and worst part of every day; think about the people you were with and why it felt so good or bad.  Don’t just limit yourself to work, think about your whole day.

Step Two – talk to you friends about the strengths and skills they see in you.   For the extroverts this can be posts to all your friends for the introverts just choose your trusted confidents, push aside your modesty and ask for their opinions.

Step Three – compare the money you have spent whilst in lockdown to your normal monthly expenditure.   Are you working to live or living to work?   Clothes, coffees, convenience eating are all part of a busy lifestyle – great if you love your job, but potentially expendable if you are serious about career changing. 

Collect your information without pre-judgement or editing. Take your time, don’t look for quick fixes.  This is about getting back to basics, what gives you energy, what are you good at and how much money do you really need to generate from your work to live the life you want. 

There isn’t just one career option within this sweet spot, my experience as a coach is that once you get back to considering the basics a wide range of possibilities start to emerge and you can then work to testing and refining your ideas. 

 Use this period of lockdown as an opportunity to break down the career change barriers you have created such as ‘I can’t afford it’, ‘What will my family think’, ‘What if I find I’m no good at it’.   The treadmill has been paused and this really is a great opportunity to decide if you want to step back into your old job or if you want to use it as a springboard for career change. 

It’s important to collect your thoughts and information, write it down in whatever format works for you and then talk it through with a friend, family member or specialist career coach.  They can ensure you take action and support you when you feel anxious or disheartened. 

 We are living in extra ordinary times, in a world that we could not have imagined a few months ago, it has shown that anything really is possible.