Q&A: I Plateau After Six Months
I ain't play the hand I was dealt, I changed my cards
I prayed to the skies and I changed my stars
-kanye west, last call
It's the same story at each job. It's exciting and full of possibilities and then I reach the 6 month mark and I plateau. I just go and get the job done to get a paycheck but I'm just not happy. How can I turn this around? -T. New York
Great question. Common problem. If I could map out the emotions of starting a new job, it would look something like this:
Month 1. Excitement. Loving the newness.
Month 2. Doubt. What have I gotten myself into?
Month 3. Surprise. Oh, this is how things work around here?
Month 4. Confidence. Ok, I think I can handle this.
Month 5. Acceptance. This isn’t so bad. I made a good decision.
Month 6. Boredom. So this is it, huh? Hmm.
Some months may be different, but often the commonality is the transition from Excitement > Boredom. If this is true for you, read on.
Key #1: Focus on why you said ‘yes’
Focus on why you said ‘yes’ to the role in the beginning. Were you excited by the wonderful team you’d have the opportunity to learn from or work with? Did you say yes because the salary would help you to reach a savings or life goal sooner? Would the experience round out your skillset and really help you in the next phase of your career? Your personal ‘why’ has the ability to pull you out of your plateau. If your role has changed since you’ve been hired, or the project you thought you were going to work on has been cancelled, or your manager has been reassigned to another team, you can still make the most of the opportunity. Here’s how:
Key #2: Tie your job to a personal goal
Each day you wake up and go to work can feel like an eternity but the reality is a year really isn’t that long, neither is two years. If you tie a personal goal to this time period, the time can go by even faster. Each week can then represent your progress of being a week closer to your goal. You may decide that you won’t leave this job until you have a certain amount of money saved, until you’re an expert at a particular software or process, or until your project launches etc. Develop a custom goal that motivates you, and monitor your progress weekly or monthly. Deepening the relationship between your job and your personal goals may help you to stay motivated and engaged.
Key #3: Find a passion project
If you find you’re in a rut in your job, the key may be to lean in more, and not less. Ask your manager for more responsibility. Find out what he or she cares about and give some thought to how you can contribute to solving that problem. If you’re in an organization or role where you have the latitude and independence to implement your own solutions, you may not even have to ask your manager for permission first. If you see something isn’t getting done, just do it. Become the expert. Start to run that shit like you were the CEO. Who knows, this may just lead you into a promotion. Depending on your values, the additional salary may be just the motivation you need to show up and deliver, everyday.
We have far too many options to work for a company that aligns with our interests and values than to stay in a job that makes us unhappy or even worse, miserable. Lucky for you, you can change this around simply by shifting your perspective. Take a moment to reflect on what’s good about your company and role, and lean into that. Make up your mind to try to have fun within your role while you’re there. You won’t be in this job forever. Make the time work for you [and your future self].
The world is yours.
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