5 tips to Finish a Bootcamp Without Quitting Your Career First
If you are like a lot of working professionals, especially moms, people may ask you ‘how do you do it all’? The hours in your day already feel so full, it can be daunting to consider adding more. However, when you dread going to work each day, it’s important to get out of the rut and onto a better path. Bootcamps that are structured around mid-career professionals can help you do that without foregoing your salary and benefits while you make the transition.
One of my favorite metaphors is of the wood-cutter who was going out everyday and chopping 10 trees. Over time he cut fewer and fewer trees each day. When he was down to 5 trees a day, his wife asked why he didn’t take a day off to sharpen his axe. He replied ‘how can I take the time to sharpen my axe when I’m already down by 5 trees per day?!’ Don’t be afraid to make some short term concessions to get the big long-term gain. As a life-long learner myself, and an instructor at RecastSuccess bootcamp, I’ve found these tips make a huge difference.
When we are working in a job that we don’t love, we are less productive and it gets progressively worse the more disengaged we get over time. By doing something that gives you hope for a brighter future, learners often find they are somewhat more invigorated at their old job and can be more productive with the hours they are currently putting in. Therefore, you may not need as many additional hours as you think you will. Pushing yourself in new ways can help you feel sharper in all areas of your life. Pun intended.
Reputable programs have a live component, which allows you to ask questions and participate in group work. Scheduling for synchronous participation may take some negotiation. That could be with your childcare or creative scheduling around bed-times or nap-times. On-line programs help to cut out extra commuting time, and may allow for more flexible windows that fit your schedule on evenings or weekends. However, if you don’t see a time offered that works for you, ask the program to consider offering it at another time. You may not be the only one who is looking for an alternative, and they may be happy to make an accommodation or recommend another program that better fits your needs.
Do your best to have a quiet place you can focus, even if it is in the corner of the laundry room. Resist the urge to multi-task, so that you retain the information that is being covered the first time through as this will save you time in the long-run. Missing a baby’s bath-time or reading a bedtime story may feel hard at the time, but remind yourself that your new career will bring a better quality of life for you and your family for years to come. Having distractions out of sight will help you to stay focused and may minimize your FOMO.
Beyond the cost of the program, you may need to ruthlessly prioritize your family commitments for a short period of time, while you do the program. This may mean limiting kids to a single extracurricular activity. Or this could mean increasing household expenses to pay for grocery delivery or house cleaning to free up your time to study. It could mean putting your dating life on hold. Or deferring household projects. Take a hard look at the need-to-haves vs nice-to-haves and consider where you can free up non-working hours. Look at the syllabus and make sure you can free up enough time to participate in asynchronous study and homework. Then block out the time you created for this, and don’t allow yourself to get re-booked with other things.
Being busy is a great excuse for procrastination. Find a buddy going through the program and help to hold each other accountable by setting short term goals and checking in with each other. Help your buddy to troubleshoot options if unforeseen circumstances pop-up like an ill family member or a big project at work they can’t avoid. For example; some bootcamps may allow learners to join a later cohort or may be able to make special accommodations to help participants stay on track. Some employers encourage personal development, and may be willing to make accommodations to work alternate hours, postpone travel, or avoid taking on a big new project. Especially if skills you are learning in your program can also be applied to your current job. However, sometimes just having an understanding peer to talk with can be the thing that helps you get to the finish line!
2022 is the year! Take the steps towards the life you want to be living by investing in yourself. A few months’ commitment will go by in a flash, and by 2023 you’ll look back and wonder why you waited so long to put yourself on a path towards prosperity and happiness.
