Career Survival Tip: Use Mantra Cards

By Daneal Charney

A mantra card is a business-card-sized piece of paper that contains a thought, idea or action. Rather than a direct goal, it is something you’d like to generally be thinking or specifically doing. For example, you might have one called “Keep the Budget” or “Do 100 Pushups.” There is no maximum or minimum, but you want to be able to quickly flip through these cards 10-15 times daily, so aim to have fewer than 10. As you find yourself daydreaming, walking to get a coffee or commuting, you can shuffle through these cards. They will constantly queue your mind to refocus on the things that are most important.

We recommend using moo.com to create personalized cards. You can have different colours, fonts, and layouts for as low as $20.

Ask yourself:
• Share your Mantra cards ideas with friends. What are you committing to?
• Who can support you or check in with you?
• What other cool ways do you have to keep yourself focused?

Excerpted from Hitting Stryde: A Gen Y Survival Guide with 110 Actionable Shortcuts by co-author Daneal Charney. Reproduced with permission.

Daneal is a career coach and co-author of “Hitting Stryde: A Gen Y Career Survival Guide”. She has been featured in The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Learning Journal, The Metro and has contributed on-air career advice on Professionally Speaking TV, Life by Design, and The Small Business Big Ideas Show.

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