Summer is ending and we’re already two-thirds of the way through 2015. It’s the perfect time to dig in and start thinking about the roadmap you’re following – where you’ve been, where you want to go and whether you’re on track or need to tweak things a little.
Those of you who’ve heard me speak, know that I’m a big proponent of making sure your career, your goals and your values are in alignment. As I’m fond of saying, if you’re gonna be self-employed you’d better love your job ’cause there are easier ways to not make a lot of money…and if you’re gonna hate your job? Well, you’d may as well get paid vacation, sick leave and a steady paycheck.
With that in mind, here are some tools I use to evaluate where I am, where I want to be and how to get there:
The Values Analysis: This simple exercise involves rating a list of values into 3 categories – always valued, sometimes valued and never valued. If you’ve never done one, the answers may surprise you. If you haven’t done on recently, your answers may have changed. The exercise links to a pretty comprehensive list of values I’ve cobbled together from a variety of sources but you can also do a search for Values List or Personal Values to find other versions of this exercise.
The Dream Job Analysis: Once you’ve completed a recent Values Analysis, doing my dream job exercise can help you gain insights into what you’re really trying to build and why. As Yogi Berra used to say, “If you don’t know where you’re going…you might not get there.” Understanding what’s really important to you and why is an important part of figuring out which road to follow.
The Brain Dump: If you’re feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what to do, getting everything out of your head and into black & white so you can organize it, prioritize it and start working through it, can really help you gain clarity and move forward productively. Inspired by an exercise in David Allen’s Getting Things Done book, my version has a somewhat different emphasis and does not require you to adopt the entire GTD system to use it effectively.
Right now is a great time to do these exercises, but keep them in your back pocket – they can help you any time you’re feeling unsure of your direction or dissatisfied with what you’re doing.
Judy Herrmann loves helping photographers earn a living doing what they love. Join her at PhotoPlus Expo, where she’ll give you real-world strategies for building a working business plan that will help you build the business of your dreams during her ASMP Sponsored seminar, Your Roadmap to Success, on Thursday October 22 from 10:15 – 12:15.
ASMP Members: save up to $150 on PhotoPlus registration and save 7.5% on the Official Portfolio Reviews at PhotoPlus Expo.