The first day of summer, my children were bored. They are all five and under and cannot comprehend why school is not in session in the summer. By the third day of summer, behavior in our house was intolerable and bedtime was non-existent.

With sincere concern for how we were going to survive the next three months, I turned to Pinterest (seriously) and started our Summer Bucket List. We literally have a bucket with clothespins clipped to the upper rim. On each clothespin, an activity is listed. Some of the activities are simple, such as chalk drawing, and others are more adventurous, such as going to the zoo and the local museums. Each day that we do not have other plans, we will do one of the items on the Summer Bucket List and then place the clothespin inside the bucket. Our goal with the project is to keep engaged in the summer, ensure that we tackle activities that we have been wanting to do, and to keep focused on schedules and the rest of our routine.

The Summer Bucket List is my “mom-way” of focusing on the summer; however, the bucket list concept is one that could be applied to multiple areas of your life. How many people do you know who have stayed in a job that they did not enjoy? How many people do you know that have turned on “auto-pilot” at work after they mastered the basic tasks of their position? How many people do you know that are so overwhelmed at work that they cannot get anything accomplished?

It seems simple, but maybe you should create a bucket list for your position. Many times in your work life, you are focused on the routines of the position and many times you are focused on the urgent and very important tasks of the position. However, when your schedule allows, what do you do? Do you pick up the long-forgotten “to-do” list? Do you do something that you enjoy or that you feel will progress your organization?

A number of years ago, Ron Holifield and I were discussing the next step in my career. He asked me two questions: What did I enjoy doing? What was I good at doing?

I was startled at first – why did that matter to my career? Why did he care about what I enjoyed doing?

When you enjoy what you are doing or you are using your talents wisely, you stay engaged in your position; you get things done and you stay focused on the tasks at hand. Find ways to enjoy your position and continually move your organization and yourself forward.

What is on your work bucket list?

Written by:
Katie Corder
Executive Search Manager
governmentresource.com