Do you want to achieve your professional goals? Don't underestimate the power of personal development for your long-distance career. Learn what it is, why it works, and how to get started:
How can investing time in your personal development improve your career as a remote worker?
Personal development is a lifelong process in which one improves one's skills in order to grow and achieve one's goals.
These practices range from self-help tips to techniques that can tap into your potential and catapult your professional and personal life to great heights.
Unfortunately, many remote workers put off personal development because they believe it costs too much or takes too much time.
But author Suzanne Glover that this time spent working on yourself is time well spent. According to a study she presented, people who took their personal development seriously:
Became healthier and fitter (33%)
Gained more confidence (52%)
They have significantly reduced their stress levels (57%)
Better relationships with their family (33%)
improved their overall quality of life (47%)
Thanks to such discounts, 25% of participants earned more money. And that's not the only impact that personal development can have on your career.
5 Ways Personal Development Improves Your Long Distance Career
Even if your employer doesn't offer personal development opportunities, it's in your best interest to pursue them outside of work hours - this is especially true for remote workers. Because personal development helps you:
1. Find out who you are and what you want
Many people feel dissatisfied in their jobs because they have never taken the time to figure out what they actually want to do or what they enjoy.
Instead, they take jobs only to earn income or other benefits. But after a few weeks, months, or years, they find themselves bored, unfulfilled, and stuck.
An important focus in personal development is therefore learning how to recognize your goals, strengths and weaknesses, as well as likes and dislikes. As you become more aware of yourself and your needs, you can steer yourself in the right direction.
You may find that you don't really enjoy what you went to school for. Or you realize that your skills don't really match the tasks you want to do or are currently doing.
Personal development will help you discover what excites you and what makes you feel alive. When you reach this point, you will finally understand what people say: "If you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life." And the more you know about yourself, the better you can create your ideal lifestyle and succeed as a remote worker.
2. Set achievable career goals
As you begin to learn more about your life goals, you can set milestones that you want to achieve in your professional life. These go beyond simply climbing the career ladder until you reach the top.
The vision you have for your career should represent everything you hope to accomplish before you retire.
Yes, they can include a fancy C-level title and a comfy corner office. But they should also include aspirations like studying abroad, volunteering for a nonprofit, starting a startup, mentoring underserved communities, etc.
Setting these expectations and meeting them will help you grow both personally and professionally. And every success motivates you to reach the next professional milestone.
3. Sharpen your skills to find a job faster or advance in your career
Qualified, multi-talented individuals are always chosen first for new hires, especially when it comes to remote work. And employees who contribute in areas outside of their regular duties tend to get promoted quickly and make more money.
So, do you rely on the skills you learned ten years ago, or do you actively seek to update your knowledge and expand your knowledge?
The answer is obvious: having new, up-to-date knowledge can ensure you keep up with the changing times, and that's something every remote worker should pay attention to. This is something every remote worker should pay attention to. This will help you advance in your career and land more competitive remote jobs.
You will also find out which new skills you need to learn and which existing ones need to be sharpened as part of your personal development. The more in-demand skills you can add to your tool belt, the more attractive you will be to employers hiring remote workers, which will help you advance in your career and earn a higher salary.
Pro Tip: If you don't have any remote work experience, adding distance learning to your resume can give you an edge.
4. Improve your time management for a better work-life balance
With your already busy schedule, finding time for personal development may seem impossible. But in the study mentioned above, 60% of people achieved a better work-life balance through personal development[ * ].
If you take time to improve yourself, you might stop wasting time constantly checking emails and social media, for example. Eliminating these distractions will help you manage your time and focus better, allowing you to accomplish much more.
This discipline becomes a skill that you can use throughout your career and that every remote worker must master because distractions are everywhere when you don't work in a traditional office. You will find that you are more productive and engaged at work, which means you have more time for personal activities.
5. Boost self-confidence and mental health
Have you ever suffered from imposter syndrome? If so, it can be difficult to shake the feeling of not being "good enough" without the help of personal development.
During this process, you can discover why you feel inadequate. Then you can address and address these issues to become an unstoppable force not to be messed with.
As mentioned above, learning new skills or improving existing ones increases self-esteem, confidence and motivation, which in turn has a positive impact on mental health.
No matter where you need help, there are many great resources you can learn from. And the even better news? Many personal development tools are completely free.
How you can start your personal development journey today
You don't have to spend a fortune on career coaching or expensive courses to get your personal development right. There are a ton of affordable options that can help you instantly improve your life, such as:
Get a book or e-book from the library
Did you know that you can borrow e-books from your library without leaving home? Complete your COVID-19 isolation period and learn from experts in self-help, career advancement, or your specific field.
Challenge yourself to read at least one book a week and you will be pleasantly surprised at the skills you quickly acquire.
Webinars or affordable online courses are typically cheaper and less time-consuming than meeting with a career coach in person. A quick online search for free personal development courses should provide a steady stream of courses that you can take risk-free.
If you want to focus specifically on your career, try searching for personal development webinars using keywords in your industry. For example, “Human Resources Webinar” or “Personal Development Courses for Programmers.”
Listen to TED talks, podcasts and professional YouTube videos.
Did you know that there are almost 250 TED Talks about personal growth ? Here you'll find everything from when it's time to change careers to how you personally define success, and much more.
Podcasts and YouTube are also full of useful personal development advice. Here too, a short search is enough to find the expert that appeals to you.
Take Online Quizzes
Online quizzes from reputable sources (i.e. not Buzzfeed Which "Game of Thrones" character are you? ) can help you identify strengths/weaknesses, career paths, and other parts of your personality that you may not have previously been associated with.
Find out about the qualifications required for your dream job
Reading job descriptions that don't apply to you is one of the best ways to assess your skills. When you know what skills employers are looking for, you'll also know which areas to target first.
Make it a habit to learn about jobs on We work remotely with a notebook. Write down what skills or expertise you need and put those first.
As you can see, personal development can improve your long-distance career in many ways. And now that you know how to get started, it's up to you to get started. Get involved today and you'll be amazed at where you are in the next few weeks, months or years.
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