By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady

At the end of the day, remember your role as the CEO of You and make a decision that aligns with your overall career and life goals. That might mean adjusting your requirements as your search goes on or holding out for what you really want. You get to decide what matters most to you and change your mind as needed. 

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady

Even when you have a general idea of what needs to happen, sometimes it’s hard to translate higher-level information into specific activities. Sometimes, even when you have a clear sense of your goals and a well-written to-do list, another obstacle remains. Even when you know what your top priorities should be and how urgent those tasks are, you still can't manage to get those crucial things done. How is that even possible?

In short, it all comes down to our energy. When life is puttering along as planned, we don’t have to spend undue effort living our everyday lives. Post-layoff, a lot changes. Losing your job upends your life and gives you a whole new set of challenges you simply have to figure out.

These problems also come with uncertainty about the future, new complexities in your financial life, and anxiety about how long it might take to get back to something that could be called normal. You are now entering an unplanned phase in your life where you will experience more rejection in a shorter period of time than ever before. All of this change and rejection can take its toll.

When pursuing a big goal, it's important to focus on taking the small steps that will help you achieve your larger goal.

Many times, we think of the end goal--for example, an accepted job offer is one of the ultimate measures of job search success. Having a new job is a lagging indicator. That means that it is a big goal that won’t happen for a while and has many contributing factors. Too often, people overfocus on achieving a big goal (lose 50 pounds, write a book, run a marathon) but skip over the smaller steps that build toward that huge goal. 

This is where leading indicators come in. Leading indicators are all of the tasks you need to complete to position yourself to achieve that bigger goal. Leading indicators are those smaller, checkoffable things you can control. For job searching, those might be applying for three jobs a week, sending LinkedIn connection requests for two people per week, and sending thank you notes after an interview. Consistently doing those leading indicators will help you achieve those lagging indicators.

When I’m in career transition, I spend a lot of time writing, applying for jobs, and interacting on LinkedIn. I also tend to rewatch TV shows and movies. Conventional time management would say that I’m wasting a good chunk of my life.

In reality, it is not feasible to produce noteworthy results all the time. Achieving at a high level requires preparation and adequate recovery time. That means if I have two video interviews in one day, I will appear to be doing nothing for those couple of hours right afterward. The only way I can knock those interviews out of the park is by managing my energy well.

As you think about how to spend your time, learn about yourself and when you will be the most productive and happiest with each activity. I interact with LinkedIn posts during my first cup of coffee, enjoy afternoon walks, and do yoga at night before bed. There are no absolute right or wrong times for most things, just ones that are a better fit for you. 

​Take time to reflect on your most and least productive times of day. Do you excel in the morning, or do your best work late at night? How much structured time do you need? How much social time do you need? These answers will help you gain a sense of how to get the most out of each day.

Plain and simple, there is not enough time to do everything you could possibly do. Therefore, it’s crucial to prioritize your time. This helps ensure you are doing the highest value activities that get you closer to your goal. Know that saying yes to higher-value activities--like having a job interview or meeting with colleagues--means you’ll have to say no to other activities. If socializing drains you, you may skip a social gathering and rest to recover and prepare for other job-searching tasks.

Also remember that energy builders, like resting, walking outdoors, or medication, can help you sustain the energy levels needed to work toward your goal for as long as it takes.