Guest Post How to Be Your Own Career Coach

Guest Post How to Be Your Own Career Coach A guest post from our friends at Pounding the Pavement. Life and career coaching are multi-million dollar industries in the United States. For those who aren’t interested in paying someone else to get their lives in gear, this is a useful (free!) guide with tips about how you can serve as your own career coach. With this advice, you can motivate yourself, stay organized, and start on a path to success today â€" all without shelling out a dollar. Also included are some online resources for those who are ready to take initiative and begin implementing effective changes immediately. Make a schedule. Writing down a routine to follow on a daily basis makes it easier to stick to one â€" imagine that! A schedule helps you stay organized, de-clutter your mind, and instill a level of discipline in your everyday life. With a schedule, you can also get more done in a shorter amount of time, keep better track of your obligations, and manage your work to-do’s more effectively. It might sound obvious, but Google is an easy, straightforward place to organize a calendar, prioritize your tasks, and sync schedules with people like your family members or coworkers. Set achievable, well-defined goals. A goal such as “finish all monthly reports on time” is vague. Instead, break down tasks into smaller parts with clear deadlines. It’s more productive to set a multi-step goal like: “A) Print all monthly reports by the 10th. B) Fill out monthly reports and obtain signatures by the 20th. C) Mail reports by the 30th.” GoalsSuccess.com is a blog with some great articles and easy-to-follow goal-setting advice. Use stress-reducing tactics. Listening to calming tapes, practicing slow breathing, participating in yoga, and meditating are all ways to clear your mind and allow you to focus. You’re a more effective worker after reducing your stress levels. Carnegie Mellon’s  Student Affairs Health Services  offers a great list of ways to reduce stress levels. Be accountable to someone. It’s much easier to let yourself down than someone else. That’s why it’s helpful to select a person who will help hold you accountable to your goals and objectives. Choose this person wisely and ask for their support and wisdom. Tell them your goals, and set a time to check in with them, whether that’s once a day, a week, or a month. Get organized, stay organized. If your home and work spaces are a mess, it’s almost impossible to stay organized and be productive. File papers, label boxes, organize drawers, etc. â€" a cluttered space often leads to a cluttered mind, and having a clean space in which to function makes it easier to operate. GetOrganizedNow.com is a great resource with advice, newsletters, articles, inspiration, and specific tips to, well, get organized now! Remind yourself of your own value. Too often, we slip into self-deprecating talk and forget to focus on what we are good at â€" what makes us unique and talented and capable. Make a list of all your positive traits and keep it somewhere you can see often to remind yourself that you are valuable, helpful, and needed! Things To Remind Yourself Daily is a helpful list of simple things to keep in the forefront of your minds as you strive for productivity and success. Reward yourself for a job well done. The old adage “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” is still used for a reason! Rewards are a great motivational tool â€"  don’t forget to give yourself a reward when you have accomplished a task, reached a benchmark, or met a goal. Caity Collins is guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on career training for Guide to Career Education.