CI.06 - 3 Things you can still do to boost your career before the year is over!

2022 is almost over. For some people, it might be a year of changes, growth, and hope for a better future. Others might feel stuck and unclear about which direction to take. Oftentimes, people are feeling a mix of good, hopeful feelings and a bit of anxiety at this time of the year. There is a popular Christmas song that says "So this is Christmas; And what have you done?" - in Brazil, best known by the interpretation of Simone. Many people joke about how anxious they get when this song plays.

What about you? Have you achieved what you wanted for this year? Regardless of your answer to this question, we can still use this last week of December to reflect on the past months and plan for the brand-new year ahead. Here are 3 steps to help you with that:

1) Slow down and take some rest

The last few months of the year are usually very stressful due to reporting, holiday planning, and all demands that must be sorted out before the year is over.

For climate and environmental professionals, we also have big gatherings such as the climate and biodiversity COPs. You have likely reached the end of December overwhelmed and in need of some well-deserved rest. So do not push back to 2023 and take these last days to rest, do things you like, and spend time with friends and family! Take advantage of that many people will be doing the same, and we usually have fewer external demands until the second year of January.

2) Reflect about the year that has passed

Go back through your calendar and list important events, family gatherings, trips and achievements. It may be helpful to make a timeline of your past 5 to 10 years highlights, both positive and negative, to reflect on the road you walked before getting where you are now. A free tool to do that is the Year Compass, where you can reflect about your past year and start planning ahead for 2023. It is available in several languages, so you can download it and share with friends, perhaps even taking some time to reflect on your notes in group. A few sample reflection topics are: "The wisest decision I made was...", "The biggest risk I took..." and "What were you not able to accomplish?".

3) Plan for 2023 and the year to come!

Take advantage of days off and the reflective mindset that the holiday season gives you to also reflect about where do you want to be in 12 months (or more) from now. An interesting tool (also free to download) is the Passion Planner's Roadmap, which invites you to reflect "If you could be anything, do anything or have anything, what would it be?", and then to map this wishlist considering 4 timeframes: 3 months; 1 year; 3 years and lifetime. After mapping this out, you choose a gamechanger - the goal that would have the most positive impact on your life right now - and write the steps needed to achieve this goal in the next few months. Why is this tool so simple, and yet so powerful? By allowing you to dream big and wide, it helps you to recognize what are the things you want the most, and see these goals in different timeframes. You can also reflect on how these goals are connected and, sometimes, might enable or prevent each other. Finally, you are invited to pick a starting point, instead of just being overwhelmed for the things you want and do not have yet.

I'm moving now to my 3rd Passion Planner (2022 and 2023 planners above), and the first time I did this exercise was in January of 2021 (the beginning of year 2 of the COVID19 pandemic). I was surprised for a few things that came up, and this clarity helped me to better prioritze my activities and projects. One of the surprising goals that emerged was "to get closer to university environment again", part of the "3 years" wishlist cohort. A few months after, I had a work call to try to sell the services of Youth Climate Leaders (YCL) to the Burgundy School of Business - BSB , and was surprised by the sudden change in the agenda of the call: they wanted to invite me to teach a 30h course about sustainable development policies to their MSc Green Technology & Sustainable Societies! This year I finished my 2nd year as a Professor, but to get there the first step was to list this as a goal.

If you liked the Passion Roadmap and want to give Passion Planner a try, hurry up: they have 35% discount sitewide for 2 more days. Click here to use my cupom: additional $5 off in purchases of $15 or more! You can choose digital and paper options, or just download the PDFs for free!?

OPPORTUNITIES:

?? Calling all innovators 24 and under with a passion for solving problems. Solve - MIT’s Solv[ED] Youth Innovation Challenge is live and searching for the solutions that will shape the future. The selected innovators will receive prize funding, mentorship, coaching, and a trip to Cambridge (USA) for the Solve Conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Excited to be among the judges for this edition :)

?? Submit your solution by January 24: https://bit.ly/3B1plRV

NetZeroCities Project Officer for Pilot Cities Programme (Foundation level - 2 positions): Direct link to the job description & application form

• Start date; March 2023
• Locations: Belgium, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, The Netherlands or Austria
• >> Check more openings at Climate-KIC jobs on LinkedIn

[06 January 2023] ICLEI is hiring a Communications Officer! You will be (co)responsible for comms strategy and planning, project management and coordination, digital marketing, and content development/editing. Apply here!

[15 January 2023] Malala Fund ?is hiring a Regional Advocacy Manager (Africa). Apply here!

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!