Today, there are more young workers with Masters and higher level degrees then there has ever been, and yet, many of these individuals struggle to find and keep a job. Showing how competitive the workforce has become. So more then ever it's important to set goals and do self evaluations. How do you feel about your work life?
Below is a self evalutation, there are no right or wrong answers, but it will allow you to see if you are where you want to be.
I wake up in the morning:
A. Excited to see what the day will hold
B. Eyes closed crawling to the coffee pot
C. Hung over and panicked
D. Content and self assured that I can handle whatever happens
E. Slighly irritated, but I'll be fine after my coffee and morning workout
When I get to work the first thing I do is:
A. Check my email to see what's going on
B. Check my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
C. Straight to the coffee pot (I need 5 or 6 cups to be a person)
D. Check in with my workers (boss or subordinates) to see how they are doing today
E. Surf the Internet looking for job openings
Time for a Break at Work, I'm...
A. Headed to the vending machine or refrigerator. (I need something to get me through this day)
B. Head to the company gym and jump on the bike real fast or step outside to get some sunshine. (Gotta get the blood pumping to get inspired and come up with great ideas/I think best in the fresh air)
C. Texting my friend, partner or family about non-working related things (I can't wait to go home)
D. What break? I'm working through so I can leave early (That's when my life actually starts)
E. Surfing the Internet looking for new jobs or trainings (I'm not going to do this job forever)
There's a training offered today, but its optional and you can leave early if you want. You:
A. Audios! I'm headed to the beach/movies/bar!
B. Depends, can they training help me move up? If so I'm there! If not, I'm going home an taking an online class.
C. Yes! Even if it doesn't pertain to me right now, it might in the future, plus I can network!
D. I guess, if I go home early I'll get yelled at by my spouse/parents/kids.
E. Do I get paid to be there? If so sure, as long as there's wifi I'm good.
When I'm finally home for the day I:
A. Turn off all work related devices, shut down my email, put my phone on do not disturb.
B. I check my email a few more times to make sure what I had been working on is still going good. Putting out any fires that come up and just keeping informed.
C. Pour myself a big old glass of wine/beer/whiskey and not think about anything work related till tomorrow morning
D. Log into my online class/training. I'm working towards a better job!
E. Work never ends! Just because I'm home doesn't mean I'm done. There's emails to answer and phone calls to be made.
When I lay down for the night and reflect over my day I think:
A. Damn gotta do it all over again tomorrow, can't wait till I retire or win the lottery!
B. Today was a good day. I accomplished almost everything I needed/wanted to.
C. I'm so nervous about tomorrow, that last email said everything was fine, but what if something happens while I'm asleep?!?
D. Ha, I don't think about anything I just pass out.
E. I'm so excited about tomorrow, can't wait to see how all my hard work has paid off.
As you read through this assessment I'm sure that almost everyone can have multiple answers depending on the day of the week, time of year or what is going on in your life. The real trick to this assessment, try to do it for a month and see how many times you change your answer and make a note of why. Make notes on how many times you wake up excited and how many times you wake up dreading your daily routine. Understanding how you feel about your daily life can help you to make those hard decisions like whether or not to quit and take a new job, to move somewhere new or to apply for a challenging promotion. It also helps to see what gets you excited and how you can use that in your work life.
