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.

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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.

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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”

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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

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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.

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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/

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