Core Idea: Slow Productivity

Hi Cal, this is Drake here. First I'd like to say I'm a big fan of your work and your books have helped me greatly. I wanted to ask a question regarding career capital. I've just finished my undergraduate studies and I'm looking to start my career. I've graduated with two degrees with a strong GPA and have done several research opportunities. In other words, I believe I have accrued a lot of career capital. How can I leverage what I've done in my studies as a student as career capital in order to start a satisfying career? Well, at your current age the the career capital that you have is basically relevant to unlocking particular jobs. So you have where you went to school, what you study, and what your grades are. For a lot of jobs that's a that's an important piece of career capital required to unlock that job. That you need good enough grades and a good enough program at a good enough school to even be interviewed for the job. This is basically the main investment you can do with capital you have acquired as a student. Which is to say there's not a ton you can do with it yet. So it opens up more opportunities. That's great. So pick one and it should be an opportunity as we talk about a lot on the show. That is of interest to you and more importantly you see that as you if and when you get better at this particular position it will open up options in the future that really appeal to you. That you will have good opportunities in the future if and when you acquire career capital ongoing to make interesting investments. So if you're looking at becoming a lawyer at a big city firm you actually maybe are going to have a limited number of options for actually investing career capital as you build it up because that's a particular job in which the only thing you can really get in exchange for your career capital is more money. But you're actually very constrained about what your working life looks like. As compared to let's say an entrepreneurial pursuit where if you build up a lot of career capital there you have a huge number of options of what you want to do with your life what you want your life to be like etc. So right now you're at the very beginning you have good grades good you have good degrees good that opens up options choose an option. Now you're kind of starting over. The collections of capital have been cleared and you need to start building the career capital specifically in that position with an eye towards investing it metaphorically speaking down the line to make your working life gear towards what resonates in a way from what doesn't. So how do you do that well when you have a new job I usually come back and say there's a couple things that are important right off the bat. Number one perhaps most of all be dependable. When you say you're going to do something you do it. When someone gives you something it gets done. If you're not going to get it done when you say you're going to get it done you let people know hey I know I said I'd have this done by Wednesday it's taking longer than I thought it's going to be Friday morning and then you get it to them in that new time you said you're going to do it. You be the person that people trust. They're organized they have their act together they finish stuff they say they're going to finish. That sounds basic but it's one of the most important distinguishing things you can do in the first year or two of a new job. That is the foundation on which you're going to build the fastest possible path to a lot more career capital acquisition. Number two do the work you do at a high level of quality. All right so I say I'm going to get this done I'm going to get it done. I'm not just going to do it I'm going to do it really well. The people who give me something to do are not going to worry. Is this fine do I have to go over it maybe it's not really going to be what I want. They trust that when you do something that's going to be done really well. Now this may take more time but because of thing number one you know how to get more time because you were very organized and things don't drop through the cracks so you know now to say instead of I'll get this done later today you say I'll have it done in two days because you know it's going to take more time or you know you have three other things on your plate and this is going to have to slot in. So you can give them realistic assessments of when it's going to get done and give yourself enough time to do it really well. You do those two things you're dependable and you deliver with quality you do those two things for one to two year one to two years in almost any knowledge work style job and the career capital is going to start being shoveled into your metaphorical bank vault here. Options are going to open up you're going to get moved up the chain really quickly people are going to want you on their teams you're going to get put in charge of more interesting projects bigger stake projects you're going to take bigger swings for the company all sorts of great things are going to happen they're going to allow you in about six or seven years to have a lot of autonomy of your career make some investments and make your career something that's really cool but in the first one or two years that's how you get that whole path started. So what's going to support all of that make that possible you got to care about productivity you got to care about it you got to be organized where does information go how do I keep track of it what am I doing this week how does that fit into my plan for this quarter what am I doing today in my time block planning is their full capture going on in a shutdown routine all the different types of things I talk about here for organizing what's on your plate and making the most use of the time you have if you can master that that will enable you to then be dependable that will enable you to then deliver with quality and that will enable almost everything else good to come. So I know it's not exciting what you have facing you for the next year but it's really important it is a time for geeking out about how the you handle the mechanics of actually adding value to information the basic function of knowledge work geek out on productivity have your act together be dependable do quality that's going to lead to cool places and then all you have to do is remember that as that capital accrues as it eventually will that it does you no good unless you actually invest it and so you have to have a good vision of what you want in your life what resonates what doesn't what lifestyle appeals what lifestyle doesn't so that when you actually have some leverage you can apply that leverage in a very intentional direction