I remember how work affected my weekends. Saturdays were mostly fine. Sunday afternoons would bring a few flashes of anxiety. As the night approached, thoughts of what I had to do on Monday would arise. The brief flashes of anxiety would turn into prolonged feelings of dread.
One thing always bolstered me: “exploratory career work”. This is my term for doing the work necessary to find different work or a different career. Exploratory career work includes reading a career book or talking to a friend in an industry of interest or researching graduate programs. If I did something – anything – in furtherance of escaping from my job, I would feel better.
Regardless of whether an initial career counseling meeting with a client leads to a breakthrough, my clients seem to always feel good that they have taken control of the process. Our career counseling meetings are high level career exploratory work.
Many unhappy workers bury their head in the sand and live lives of quiet desperation. Miserable Monday through Friday at work, longing for the weekend, and, then, having half the weekend ruined because of the Sunday night blues is no way to live.
So, if you are reading this on a Sunday night, commit to exploratory career work this week. It will make you feel better in the present and will be your salvation for the future.
Are you reading this on Sunday night? If so, commit to exploratory career work.
Career Counseling Connecticut sprung up as a mission to help those unhappy at work. But, this mission was borne not only from a calling to help others find a career they love but also from my own career searching a couple of decades ago.