Do this every week to understand what makes you happy!

Time flies! Haven't you heard this a lot from your friends and family? So many times, we think to ourselves, didn't we just celebrate New Year and then days pass by and we realize that it's already March, 3 months into the new year! The fact is that we get consumed in our work/ daily routine and days just pass by. What we sometimes miss is focusing on doing the thing we like or love. It can be a hobby or your job or something that you are passionate about.

Unfortunately, due to the way many companies/ organizations structure their appraisal cycle (mostly yearly, some have started mid-year appraisals as well) most of us don't set time aside to evaluate where we are heading in our careers.

Self-awareness is key for your progress. You want to make sure you are aware of what you are doing every day and how that is contributing to your future and personal growth.

I have found this one method super helpful to understand what aspects of my work I enjoy the most. My mentor had recommended this to me, and it is highly effective.

At the end of every week (I do this on a Sunday), just reflect on your week and think of what you enjoyed the most - it can be a particular type of work/ project/ hobby that you spent time on. Also, reflect on the tasks/ work that you didn't quite enjoy.

What this will do is that it will start giving you signals regarding what makes you happy and where you need to focus on your time for personal and professional growth. I'm not saying you should completely stop doing things that you don't like; we all have to do some tasks that we may not enjoy as we are part of a system or process. The goal of this exercise is to help you focus on the positive side of your workday to ensure you do more of it to be HAPPY!

Let me take my example - I enjoy connecting with people to learn about their journey/ experience and hence, I have made it a point to have at least one coffee/ virtual chat every week with a colleague or someone from my Industry. What this does is that it helps me expand my network and I learn by talking to others about how they work towards their career goals.

Try this out and let me know if this helps or not. Also, share it with someone who may need it!

#selfawareness #personalgrowth #careerprogression #reflection