Job searches can be a real grind, which…if you’re here…does not come as news.

As someone who has been involved in the resilience field for years… both professionally and personally… I know how important it is to have tools in our toolbox for shifting our mood and emotional state when we’ve got important tasks to do and you’re “just not feeling it.”

In a recent LinkedIn post by Colleen Paulson, she does a great job listing small do-able steps to getting your job search going.

Her practical recommendations of micro-steps you can take to make a new job a reality are great examples of what Mark Manson describes as Minimal Viable Actions and BJ Fogg, PhD describes as Tiny Habits. (BTW…I highly recommend watching some of BJ’s videos on this topic).

When you read her recommendations, you can’t rationally say “Oh…I don’t have time for that” so they’re completely do-able, and…as they accumulate, they compound to make a difference.

Besides moving you closer to your goal, doing these micro-actions releases dopamine, which doesn’t just make you feel better (which helps you during your journey) but…according to research I learned from an Andrew Huberman podcast… it also boosts your persistence.

Research shows that an increase in dopamine provides the neurochemical substrate of persistence.

More dopamine equals less quit and more grit.

lady in victory pose

In the short term…getting those small wins boosts your emotional state and can jolt you out of a morose mood, so you can then get moving on those important actions that will move your job search forward.

Dr. Tracy Marks, who has a fantastic YouTube channel on mental health has a great analogy for the rationale behind getting those “small wins” in as a way to jumpstart your motivation to do the more daunting tasks.

She likens it to charging a dead car battery. The charger has enough “juice” to get the battery started, and once the car the car is running, it takes over and keeps the battery charged.

Thus, you want to do those small wins to get enough “juice”–dopamine–in your system so you can then get the bigger things done and feel the added good feelings that accomplishing those tasks bring.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • If you’re feeling low energy or stuck, make a short list of simple, do-able tasks that can give you quick wins, so you boost your dopamine and now have the energy to do the more important task.
  • If you’re feeling morose or kind of “down,” do the same thing.