Five Tips to Stay Focused on Your Job Search

Take Command of your Career
Monster's Six Fundamentals to Building a Lifelong Career eBook teaches the daily habits that all workers need to take command of their careers.
These 5 tips can help you stay productive when you're looking for a job.
#MonsterJobTip

1. Get Off the Grid for at Least an Hour a Day
That means:
Closing your Web browser (or temporarily disabling it on the computer)
Not answering the phone
Turning off distractions like TV or radio
Why?
While all the instant communication tools today are incredibly helpful in a job search, they can interrupt the thoughtful work you need to do. Give yourself some time to focus .
#MonsterJobTip

2. Check Email No More Than Three Times a Day
Email has a built-in urgency because it arrives minute by minute.
Remember:
Most job and career emails require thoughtful consideration
No employer will say, “I’ll only look at replies that arrive in the next three hours”
#MonsterJobTip

3. Start a Small Activity-Switching Ritual
Try an awareness-raising exercise to make switching the routine a conscious choice, not an unconscious reaction.
Examples:
Stretching
Taking five slow breaths
Snapping a rubber band on your wrist
Saying aloud what activity you are finishing and what activity you are starting
#MonsterJobTip

4. Track Your Activities
Keep a notepad handy and note the time and activity every time you switch.
Share the list with your partner -- another consciousness-raising exercise.
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5. Divide the Day into Uninterrupted Time and Free-for-All Time
If you think of a must-do activity during uninterrupted time, write it down and return to the note during free-for-all time.
These disciplines take effort but the result is gaining those hours of focused time. As with many jobs, the few hours of truly focused effort is where most of the work gets done.
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Six Fundamentals to Building a Lifelong Career
Buy the Six Fundamentals to Building a Lifelong Career eBook now!
It is available exclusively in the Amazon Kindle Store and can be read on Kindle and Kindle DX, as well as through the Kindle apps for iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry and Android-based devices.
#MonsterJobTip

Need More Career Advice?
Read more about this topic here:
http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/getting-started/job-search-time-management-tips/article.aspx
Original content from Doug Hardy, former editor-in-chief of Monster.com. An expert on human capital topics and author of eight books, he was recently named No. 10 on HR Examiner's Top 25 Online Influencers in Talent Management.
For all things career advice, go to:
http://career-advice.monster.com/
#MonsterJobTip

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Five Tips to Stay Focused on Your Job Search

by Monster.com on Aug 12, 2010

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