Fall Back: 4 Things to Do With Your Extra Hour of Time

I kind of like the “fall-back” part of daylight savings time. Who doesn’t want an extra hour of time to sleep?

There is that pesky problem of it getting dark earlier. As I type, I’ve had to turn on the lights in my office to remind myself that the work day is not over.  It’s hard to stay motivated when the sun starts to dip below the horizon around four o’clock.

Plus we have to reset all of the clocks in the house and cars. Or I guess now they are actually correct, since we forgot to change them when we sprang forward.

The time change reminds me of all sorts of stuff that I should do, such as change the batteries in the smoke detectors, remove the cushions from the outdoor furniture and get the furnace checked before it gets too cold.

As long as we have an extra hour of time on our hands, it might also be a good idea to re-focus on our careers. You know, make sure we have things covered and if not, reset our career clocks so we can move forward in a productive manner.

Here are four things to do with your extra hour of time to help your career:

• Review Career Goals – Are you achieving your goals and/or is your current job moving you in the right direction? Do you even have career goals? If the answer to any of this is “No”, it’s time to step back and re-evaluate.
• Resume Review – Make sure your resume is up to date, with current information as well as achievements. Do you like how your resume looks? Could be time for a new format, if it’s been the same for the past ten years. Why not work on that now? You’ve got an extra hour.
• Wardrobe Check – When was the last time you shopped for career clothing? This is especially important since many of us work in casual offices where jeans are the norm. Do you have current-fashion clothing that is appropriate for networking and/or interviewing? You never know when you might need it and it’s easier to shop without “must-have-it-now” pressure.
• Reach Out – Make it a priority to stay in touch with those in your network, if you aren’t already doing so. If you are actively connected, take it a step further and actually make those lunch or coffee dates instead of saying “let’s catch up soon”. Attend a local trade or alumni association event to meet new people. And guess what? Your new networking outfit will be perfect for this meeting.

You may want to create your own personalized list; at least this should get you started. Just make the most of that extra hour.