We hear it a lot: Busy people don’t have time to think about themselves! But for this stage of GROW, it’s more essential than ever to take a long look at yourself, or you’ll never reach the next two stages.

(Psst! We’ve written all about the GROW method and how it can help your career in this article!)

This second step in the GROW method is extremely helpful for you to see the bigger picture of your life, allowing you to step outside yourself for a few moments a week to take stock of what you are currently doing – and how you might change it. 

Record your day-to-day

We recommend you keep a journal for a week or however you prefer to track things in your life. You want to see what your typical day looks like, so the key is to figure out what fits into your routine. We’re checking your ‘current reality’, so you want as little around you to change as possible.

Check everything that you can – keep track of your reading habits, emailing times, and time you get on your own as well as your sleeping habits, food intake, exercise, and emotions.Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. What motivates you? What drives you up the wall? What do you tend to put off to tomorrow – and why?

Spend time on the process, and take note of all the little decisions you make throughout your day. Small things really can have the power to change a great deal in our lives.

Give yourself some productive ‘me time’ 

Give yourself your own private review of your recordings at the end of each week. In this review, include mistakes that you learned from, what you could have done better, and your achievements. This is a great way to help keep yourself on track, and as the weeks pass you will see how you have changed and where you’re finding problems. Do this for a month, so that you can see what changed and what stayed the same.

Review your goals  

Now that you have grasped your current reality, your listed goals are the best place to start analysing it! If you haven’t already started on them, do it now by reading these tips on how to write down your goals for the GROW Method.

Your goals will help you to see the gaps between where you are now (your current reality) and where you want to be. Say that you are currently working in fashion but you want to change direction and work in a different industry. It’s no good focusing on your knowledge if the industry you’re moving into is machinery! But your transferrable skills may instead be a great place to start. You might see many that cross over.  

Talk to people you trust 

It’s inevitable for us to look at what others in similar positions to ours are doing – here’s how you can do that productively: Talk to them. Tell them that you are looking at your current reality and ask them for their honest opinion; ask them for their impression of you. Do they find you very stressed or distracted? Ask them why they think that is. If you’re comfortable, tell them about your goals, and ask them what they think. How far away do they think you are from achieving them?

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