We talk a lot about professional development around these parts—both here on the blog and internally.
Spin Sucks is, after all, a professional development site for communicators.
Our vision is to change the perception people have of the PR industry.
One way to do that is to learn, evolve, and advance…together continually.
(Another way is to have a precise definition of PR, which seems harder than it should be.)
At the same time, it’s incredibly difficult for us to invest in ourselves.
We’re accustomed to being behind the scenes. We work tirelessly for others and put ourselves on the backburner.
Of course, this is the fastest way to both burn out and irrelevance.
And yet…
But with a little thinking, two weeks time, and a notebook, you can be well on your way to professional development that helps you reach your goals.
Your Professional Development Framework
Jon Westerberg has a brilliant professional development framework for you.
- Write a list of 100 things
- Create a skill chart
- Take immediate action
- Make time for yourself
Now, I know the third and fourth things are going to be tricky for most of you.
Trust me.
The only way you can invest in yourself is to take immediate action and make time to do it.
You know how I ride 300 miles on my bicycle every week? I make the time.
(And, trust me, when that alarm goes off, there are many mornings I think, “Eh. One day off won’t hurt.” But I never actually take the day off.)
Your 100 Things
Your 100 Things list is where a notebook or a spreadsheet comes in handy.
I keep mine in my bullet journal.
It doesn’t matter where you keep your list. What is important is that you have one.
It should include the things you fully intend to do in your lifetime.
Not your bucket list. Not the things you hope you can do.
The things you really will do.
Mine includes things such as:
- Write a novel
- Participate in Ride the Rockies
- Launch a Spin Sucks podcast
- Build the most enviable and unbeatable community in the PR industry
- Create a foundation
- Write for The New Yorker or Vanity Fair
- Take a sabbatical
- Move to Colorado (alright, this might be more bucket list if Mr. D. has anything to say about it)
- Ski multiple times every winter
- Play with the Small Child every day
- Put my phone/tablet away from 6-8 p.m. every day
- Advance artificial intelligence in my businesses
- Hire a virtual assistant for everyone on my team
- Write a book based on the Modern Blogging Masterclass
- Take online courses to keep my skills fresh and stay ahead of the trends
Take 30 minutes and write down 100 things you will do in your lifetime.
Now he suggests creating three lists:
- Things I need skills to accomplish
- Things I can do immediately
- What I need to make time to do
Add a corresponding number behind each item on your list.
Then he suggests living with your list for two weeks.
Add to it, delete things, adjust.
Ask a friend or colleague to review it. Make sure there isn’t something missing. Then finalize your list.
Create Your Skill Chart
For everything on your list that has a number one next to it, you need to create a skills chart.
He says:
Be realistic, don’t kid yourself. You have to honestly put down exactly what skills you are lacking or currently possess but are weak.
In a spreadsheet, add four columns:
- List the skills you have to learn
- Research
- Action
- Progress
In column one, list the skills you need to achieve the things on your 100 List that has a number one next to it.
In the Research column, write down exactly that—the research you need to do to create your action plan.
The Action column, then, becomes the things you need to do to accomplish everything in column one.
For instance, take an online course, read a book (or six), subscribe to a few blogs, do some pro-bono work to get you the experience you need, or find a mentor who has the expertise to share.
You could even (cough, cough) join the PR Dream Team to accomplish many of those things at once.
And then the Progress column is where you are against completing that skill.
Did you commit to joining the PR Dream Team and you did, but haven’t participated?
Or did you say you would take an online course and you haven’t signed up yet?
Be honest with yourself.
Take Immediate Action
Now you can move to the second list—the things you can do immediately.
If it were me, I’d prioritize those and I’d get to work on the first item.
Work first on what some people would call the “low-hanging fruit.”
It’s the straightforward things—maybe it’s to read A Little Life (a superbly written novel that is a mere 720 pages).
That’s easy to start right now.
Find the things on your 100 List that you can start right now and give yourself some instant gratification.
Make Time to Do
Now you’re onto your third list.
These are the things you want to do, but they take significant time to do.
You can do them without new skills—or professional development—but you do need some time.
On my list, that inclues write a novel, produce a Spin Sucks podcast, or write a book based on our popular online course.
What’s on your list that you can do if you have the time?
Start with one thing and build from there.
Remember this list can easily take 25 or more years.
Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Choose four things you want to accomplish in the next year and get to work.
Write Down Your Goals and Invest in Professional Development
They say you don’t accomplish goals you don’t write down.
Jon says he reviews his professional development list every, single morning, so he can see where he is.
Write down what you want to accomplish and review it daily.
For me, that has to be in my bullet journal because if it’s in Evernote, it’s out of sight and out of mind for me.
Figure out what works best for you and give it a go.
I understand Jon has a coaching program for this exact thing. I don’t know him, nor have I taken the program, but I’d be remiss not to mention it because it’s his framework and all.
P.S. I’d love to know which four things you chose for the next year.
Drop them in the comments, and we can go back to them every 30 days to see how you’re doing!
