You know that thing when you really want to get a new job, or take a course, or update your LinkedIn—but you can’t because you’re too busy to even think about it?
Same! So I get it. And as I looked at my own to-do list for 2017 and realized how little I checked off, I couldn’t help but wonder where the time went.
That question led me to do a little reflecting, and now I can safely say I chose to use my time to do really important things.
And I predict that you did, too.
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You planned to sign up for a leadership course so you could be eligible for that promotion, but then your stomach growled and you spent your time researching “hearty fall soup recipes.” Of course, by the time you picked one, you realized you owned none of the ingredients, and that soup takes a really long time to make. So, you ordered pizza instead.
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You were about to create a personal site and turned the TV on for a bit of background noise. Unfortunately, Father of the Bride was on and you needed to watch it because you were only 99.7% sure you remembered the ending.
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You told everyone you’d stay home all weekend and wouldn’t come out until you applied for at least three jobs. However, you just had to really quickly plan a dream vacation for you and your partner first—which is really time-consuming because it’s really challenging to find restaurants that accommodate her diet.
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You set aside time to research career coaches who could help you switch industries. But being at home reminded you that your lease was up in eight months and it therefore felt imperative to browse listings to see what you could afford to upgrade to. And when you realized the answer was approximately nothing, you started researching real estate in your hometown. Naturally you started to wonder if your high school boyfriend was still single. You looked him up to just like see what his deal is now. His deal is two kids, a wife, and questionable facial hair.
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You blocked out a few hours one Friday afternoon to finally get through everything in your inbox. And you were just about to get started when you overheard a teammate mention Justin Timberlake. And naturally you had to watch old *NSYNC videos to see if you could still remember the “Bye, Bye, Bye” dance.
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You were going to grab coffee with your old co-worker because she’s at an awesome company now that you’d love to work at, but then it was raining out and you had to cancel.
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And then on the day you rescheduled, it ended up being really nice out and a colleague suggested you grab drinks outside—so ugh, you had to cancel again!
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You totally wanted to spend an hour updating your social media bios so you looked more hireable. Step one was to get dressed, step two was to start. But as soon as you started picking out an outfit, it hit you that it was time to Marie Kondo your closet. Then your bedroom. Finally, your entire home.
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You opened up your email with the intention of getting back in touch with your former boss, since you’ll need her to be a reference, but then needed to read every newsletter in your inbox just to make sure you didn’t miss anything (good news—you hadn’t missed a thing!).
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You put “revise resume” on your schedule for Sunday. It would just be you, coffee, and that resume. But then your friend asked if you wanted to see the new superhero movie instead. And you didn’t at first because you hate action movies, but then you thought to yourself, “Jenni, just give it a chance, you’re so critical” and you had to go.
Here’s to perhaps, maybe, possibly, re-prioritizing a few things in 2017 and making it a year both of us can look back on with professional pride. Because the excuses will always be there, but the opportunities won’t.
Did this hit home for you? Tell me on Twitter @MayorJenni.