My friend and fellow writer Beth Skwarecki attended the 2014 National Association of Science Writers Conference and returned with these notes as a souvenir. I’m sharing them unedited for your investigative pleasure.
TASTY BUCKETS
Define your “tasty buckets.” Not every project has to fill all the buckets, but on balance they should all get filled.
MONEY is one tasty bucket, but there can be many more.
We stopped to write down some tasty buckets. Some people shared theirs and they included:
working with people I like
learning/investigating new ideas
writing for big name publications
feeling appreciated, getting feedback
What about yucky buckets, for things like PITA factor? Turn those into a positive – “easy to work with,” “pays on time,” etc.
Simple 3-bucket approach: Money, Satisfaction, Career advancement. Any assignment has to fill at least 2 out of 3 (or if it’s enough money, that counts for all 3)
GOALS
“Goal-free careers plateau more often.”
“What will success look like for me?”
Good goals are Specific, Attainable, have a Timeframe, and are Measurable.
Decide on goals that fill your tasty buckets. Create a timeline for each goal, with action points or milestones to break it into smaller pieces with near-term deadlines and tasks.
Small pieces need to be very small and specific.
Example: I want to get better at writing narratives -> I should take a workshop -> I will spend 30 mins on Tuesday at 11am reading about available workshops