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Welcome to Spring Cleaning Your Career

“You never know which seeds you plant now are the ones that will sprout later.” is something Michael Kosta said that has stuck with me for years.

But how do you know if you’re planting seeds on fertile ground or just spreading yourself thin and being a headless chicken????

This four part series is a way to organize your priorities, roadblocks and motivations. At the very least, it will give you a couple of things to refer back to when you’re pulling your hair out or feeling stuck. Hopefully it’ll also help you feel a bit more sane and maybe even see some possibilities you hadn’t thought of!

You don’t have to go through all this in four weeks and come out the other side with exactly these changes in exactly this format.

I suspect just thinking about and visualizing these concepts in this way will seep into your brain and help inform some small changes and decisions. And if that’s “all” this does for you, that’s fantastic!

Sometimes we just need to write things down to get a hold of all our nebulous feelings and hopes and frustrations.

Part 1: Organize Your Obligations and Priorities

Full Part One Video

First off you just need to take inventory of everything you have to do, everything you’re doing now and everything you want to do. Because sadly, time and space might be infinite but the amount any one of us has to use is not.

Now make a 3x3 square, down the side, label the boxes

  • I enjoy it!

  • I don’t love it but I’m obligated

  • I avoid/hate doing it

And across the top label:

  • Necessary

  • Important

  • Uncategorized (or low priority)

Start by taking everything from the list of what you already do and placing them in a square.

Then use a different color pen or font and put all those things you aren’t doing yet or know you should be doing more or more often in.

Part 2: Who Do You Love? Identifying Collaborators and Mentors

Full Part Two Video

Okay, this is gonna be a very happy, warm fuzzy part - it’s all about people you love!

Make a list of people you have worked with and people you want to work with.

Part I: Past and Existing Collaborators

  • What have you worked on already?

  • What problems did you run into together before?

  • What strengths and weaknesses do you offset in each other?

  • What’s a dream project you could do together?

Part II: Friends You Haven’t Worked With

  • Would you want to work with them? Or are there conflicts/reasons that wouldn’t go well?

  • What strengths and weaknesses would you help offset in each other?

  • Are there any projects you can’t do on your own that these friends would make possible?

Part III: People You Admire

  • What specifically do you admire about them?

  • What’s a dream project you would want to work on with them?

  • If you could do a 30 minute “interview” and ask them anything, what would you want to know?

Part 3: Identify Your Obstacles

Full Part Three Video

Take a look at those projects you want to do or should do more of. Pick your top 3. Do not choose anything from the I Hate This row!! But do consider a mix of things you’d really enjoy and the important “eat your vegetables” stuff that you don’t love but are obligated/know is pretty important.

Rank Your Obstacles

Time - This one is self explanatory

Permission/Gatekeepers - There's things in this business that absolutely need permission - getting on Fallon, getting a spot on a specific show, etc. But the upside of the dystopian algorithm fueled world we live in is that you can do a lot without permission. Start a podcast, publish a web series, market yourself. And nobody is going to give you permission or tell you you're ready to do those things besides you.

Equipment and facilities - Some things don’t need permission, but they do need investment - web hosting, cameras, a theater to practice your one person show.

People/Crew - This get’s back into what we discussed last week. No man is an island, what kind of human help do you need?

Knowledge - Or maybe you just don't know where to start? How does a podcast get from your laptop to iTunes? How do you rent practice space? How do you build an audience for a produced show? Who do you email to get booked more?

Fear - How much is about fear of failure, self-sabotage, fear of asking for help, or letting the perfect be the enemy of the good?

For each one, get detailed and specific about what that obstacle is (There are some questions/prompts on the worksheet if you aren’t sure where to start)

Part 4: Motivation, Rewards and Accountability

Full Part Four Video

Find your motivation and build it into your plan!

What motivates you or stops you from procrastinating?

A few common possibilities to consider:

  • External deadlines

  • Not wanting to let someone down

  • Money

  • Praise from others

  • Self satisfaction/pride in your accomplishment

  • Someone holding you accountable

Okay, so this step is easily said and potentially quite difficult to actually do.

Start working on one of those projects you did a deep dive on last week and cull some dead weight from your current To Do List!