"The Job Seeker's Guide"TIME MANAGEMENT
On task or off task: you are one or the other. You cannot be both any more than you can be in two places at once.No fudging and no argument.
You are either doing what you should be doing, working your plan, or doing something else by design, accident or as a result of some form of self delusion.It's the self delusion that's the villain of the piece, the villain you should always be aware of. I know, you've heard it before, and be assured you will hear it again, for I will keep on about it so you don't stand a chance of forgetting.
A list of activities, like the one you set out with each morning is a blueprint. Very few buildings are completed without alterations or modifications to the original blueprint so you can expect to make modifications to your daily plan. It's a guideline, a sort of direction finder if you like, a tool that sets you on the right course each morning, that's all. It's put together with the intention of being altered or adjusted in some way before the sun is clear of the rooftops.
Anyone spotted the danger sign yet? Anyone hear the warning bells ringing?
The danger is our old chestnut, self delusion. It's easy to be led off the intended path by allowing ourselves to believe that the new prospect we have just uncovered is so hot we must drop everything and attend to it right away.We make such decisions at our peril, for it is the most ineffective and destructive course of action we can inflict on the careful plans we have pledged ourselves to follow.
It's also lousy time management. Time is a valuable asset, your most valuable asset. Not a space you have to fill with inconsequential tasks. Think twice, and then think again before you deviate from your work plan.
Let's look at a scenario, slightly exaggerated to make the point.
It's raining. Sod's law dictates that when you are having a bad day it's always raining. You are getting soaked, waiting for the early edition of the local paper which is late. When it finally arrives and you've managed to find a leaking bus shelter to take a peek at the job adverts, your eager eyes alight upon the following:New company to move into new Industrial Estate.
Loads 'a Jobs, every size shape and colour. What a break, and only about an hour's drive away - worth dropping everything you planned in favour of a visit:NOW.
You're bursting to take off like the proverbial rat up a drain pipe with its tail on fire.
You have the afternoon earmarked for gathering information on Plumbing and Heating Engineers from the Association's latest year book, which includes members who have joined since the last issue. Those are of particular interest to you. They are the companies who are expanding, the rising stars that are as keen as mustard to secure contracts, who just might prove to be excellent prospective employers.
They are the Plumbing and Heating Engineers whose imagination might just be caught by someone sufficiently resourceful to look them up in the Plumbing and Heating yearbook. Imagine the introductory paragraph for the approach letter:
Dear Mr Plumbing and Heating Engineer
May I extend my sincere congratulations to you on becoming a member of the Plumbing and Heating Engineers Association. Clearly you have worked hard to develop your company and gain the respect of your customers for the quality of work and after sales service for which you have become well known.
Continue with: who you are, what you are after and mention of your C.V. Such a letter, followed by a telephone call a few days later, would almost certainly secure an interview.
To return to the advert: what do you do? Leap into the car or jump on a bus in a state of near orgasmic excitement? Hit the 'phone and blurt out what a wonderful catch you would be to the unsuspecting soul who has been saddled with the task of taking calls from the moment the advertisement hit the street.
Don't be a bozo - your call would be lost under an deluge of calls from Job Hunters who don't know any better.
Look at what you are doing for a moment. You are looking for excitement, something to make the adrenaline flow. Looking up and writing down names and addresses is admittedly boring. If you want excitement go stamp on a traffic warden's foot. If you want a job, stay with the names and addresses.Deal with the hot lead as you would any lead, according to the system.
You will not lose anything and you might just gain advantage by allowing your subconscious mind to think it through. While you address other tasks you could just conceivably come up with a new and original way to deal with the situation.I am not suggesting you suppress your instincts altogether but you must at all costs preserve the discipline you have built into your operating plan that is so essential to success.
The root of effective time management lies in the planning and execution of your activities. Distractions are inevitable. Effective time management is achieved by foreseeing as many potential distractions as possible.
Often one's spouse or partner, who may be in full or part time employment, looks for a little help or assistance with the daily routine when unemployment strikes.
It is not possible to give this for the reason stated earlier.
Looking for a job is a full time job. A living, breathing, sleeping job. There is time for no other. No time to ferry the kids to school, no time to do the shopping, no time to collect the laundry or pick the first eleven for the pub cricket team.Get it sorted out with your partner NOW. Before you go any further.
This is a time to shed chores and responsibilities, not to acquire more. Your partner needs to get the message loud and clear. Make sure the requirement for space in which to operate is fully understood.Tell your partner, show your partner, you are following a plan to improve the quality of your lives together. Peace and harmony may be but a dream in the everyday tumble of life: the knack is to get as near as possible to that ideal so that your mind is not distracted.
Having got your head on straight spare a little time for the state of your body.
If you were in a job that was physically demanding then think of the shock to your system brought about by the change of routine. Keep fit and be aware of your body's needs. That's not meant to be an excuse for indulging in the game that spoils a good walk: golf.Your new activities will mean a change of diet. Keep off the lunchtime steak and kidney pie followed by several pints of the local hotelier’s pride and joy. I have seen a lot of people fighting against enormous odds to keep awake after such indulgences.