New Year. New Beginnings. New Joy.
Welcome back everyone! I hope you all were able to spend time with family, friends and/or finally got that alone time you have been waiting for. I’m excited to be back and ready to provide you new content each week. Also, if you have time, check out my updated website :) Over the break, I had time to reflect on what what I would like to accomplish this new year and I also thought about what brings me joy, both professionally & personally. The weeks & years pass by and although moving up the corporate ladder is a goal, I want to incorporate what makes me happy along the way.
As a program manager (PgM), I frequently work with cross-functional stakeholders with each having high focus on competing goals & priorities and it can be challenging to stay motivated. This is why it is critical to have an anchor of joy, rather it be spiritual, knowing that you are making the lives of your customers easier and/or because you love your compensation. Joy is different for every individual. I took time to think about what brings me joy & came up with the following:
Professionally
Volunteering for work events that are geared towards amplifying minorities voices and experiences.
Connecting w/ Googlers who don’t work in my department, and having coffee chats to learn about their backgrounds & experiences.
Leading diversity & inclusion efforts within my team.
Learning about new products
Personally
Working out
Spending 1x1 time with girlfriends
Binging a show a Netflix (I over index on this one lol)
Dance parties with our puppy Kygo & husband Donta.
Going into this new year take some time to think about what brings you joy. If you are struggling, below is an exercise I completed to understand what brings me joy at work. Take the time understand what makes you happy and know this list will change based on role, life events, manager, etc.
Daily Task Audit
Write out a list of all the tasks you complete in your day-to-day. Rank them on a scale 1-5 (with 5 bringing the most joy)
Once complete, stack rank them and ask your manager for opportunities to incorporate more of those items your work scope.
This year I DECLARE new beginnings and restored joy in your life.
Until next week - Alexandria
