Plan Your Steps: Task List
THE JANUARY JUMP: TASK 3
You have your BHAG, and it’s written down somewhere, and you have told someone about it (or will do shortly). The next step is to create your Task List.
(Psst! If you haven’t done yesterday’s task, don’t panic but please go back and do it now – before you attempt to write your Task List. There are very few ‘must do’ tasks in this bootcamp, but yesterday’s goal setting task is one of them.)
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Today’s Task
Now is the time to write your list of tasks. These are the practical, bite-sized, steps that you need to take to achieve your goal.
I know it sounds simple but most people don’t do this step. People often set broad goals, like “get a new job”, and then skip straight into spending their time focused on doing a relatively narrow list of things (e.g. “update CV”, “search online job sites”).
Many people don’t set out the next, more detailed, level of tasks that need to be ticked off to achieve that goal. And they often don’t think broadly enough about what those tasks might be.
This is what we are going to focus on today.
Brainstorm Your Task List
Brainstorm and write down all the possible tasks that you think might lead you to achieving your goal.
These might be things such as:
– meeting with your manager to understand your development needs
– letting your family and friends know what type of role/job you are looking for next
– reviewing your performance appraisal notes to work out what you might need to achieve to get your next promotion
– researching potential future employers
– working out what your ideal work structure or pattern is (full-time, part-time, condensed weeks, etc.)
– learning something specific about your industry or your specialist topic/function
– meeting with past colleagues
– arranging suitable childcare arrangements
– researching returnships
– meeting with current colleagues or industry friends
– gaining specific experience or completing specific projects
– researching competitors or customers
– finding a relevant course or workshop
– identifying and contacting relevant head hunters or recruiters
– broaden your experience through a voluntary or charity sector role
– studying industry-specific or specialism-specific information
– meeting with people in your target industry/job
– setting up Google alerts for specific names/brands/industries
– researching salaries/packages in your industry
– working with a career coach to determine your next role or career
…and more.
Some of these examples might be relevant for you, or you may have completely different ones. The only test is whether, if you tick off your tasks, will you achieve (or be significantly closer to achieving) your goal.
Extra Tip: Whenever your task list involves research, consider whether you can learn what you need, or get your questions answered, by meeting with someone. Don’t restrict yourself to people you already know or those in your wider network. We’ll talk about meetings later in the Jump and share some expert tips on how to connect with new people.
Prioritise Your Task List
Next, sort your tasks into an approximate priority and time order. Important and impactful tasks go at the top of the list, keeping in mind any that need to be done before others.
During the Jump, we will help you to update your CV, improve your LinkedIn profile, and meet with relevant people. You will tackle a few of your other tasks on your Own Task days – i.e. the days during the coming couple of weeks when I hand over to you to focus on your personal tasks.
So keep your task list handy as we will be coming back to it next week!
Stay tuned… Tomorrow we’re moving into the bedroom (… no, not in that way folks! ) and onto something more tangible after this couple of days of “thinking” tasks. LinkedIn is coming up too!
Find out more about the January Jump, and see previous tasks, on the January Jump homepage.
Join in the January Jump Conversation
Ask a question or let us know how you are getting on with your January Jump.
If you would rather ask your question privately, email us with the word “private” in your email title. We aim to answer all questions publicly (because someone else will probably be wondering the same thing) but we can do so without using your name.
Sorry we cannot provide legal advice or bespoke career advice as part of the Jump.
Please contact us separately if you would like to enquire about these services.
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