What Would You Rather Be Doing?

If you often sit around and think, "I would rather be doing _______" I wonder why you aren't doing _______. In the case of work, I wonder why you are still doing the work you are doing instead of the work you would rather be doing. Often the answer to that is that you don't actually know what you would rather be doing, you just know that you no longer (or maybe never) enjoy your current work.

If that is your situation, I encourage you to think about what you would rather be doing. Would that alternative involve working more with people, or possibly less people involvement? Would it involve working more with your hands - doing something with some particular tools - or less with your hands? Or maybe you would like to work more with numbers or if you are fed up with counting things, you might want less work with numbers or data. Those provide some good starting points. Most jobs include some of working with people, some working with things (using your hands), and some working with data or numbers. In most cases, those activities are not divided equally in a job, but more of one than the other two kinds of involvement.

Once you have figured out which kind of activity (people, things, or data) you would like more of in your job, you can then begin to look at jobs for which you are already qualified that would involve that. Or if you are prepared to continue your education or obtain more training, what could you qualify for that would be a better fit? You should also consider the kinds of skills you would like to use, what would be a good fit for your personality, and which kinds of work would not conflict with your major work values. But those pieces can be sorted through as you identify potential jobs. Those might be jobs with your current employer or with another employer, if you are ready to leave.

I encourage you to start this process by thinking of what you would rather be doing. From there you can develop a description of the kind of work that you would like to pursue - if not now, in the not-too-distant future.

Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, preparing for non-retirement, planning to continue your education or return to work. She works with individuals in person and via telephone to assist them in finding solutions to life planning issues. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association, a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association, and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). For more information on her services, please visit her web site at http://www.yourcareerplan.com/. To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential voice message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.