When we look at how the world is changing daily, we can come to an undeniable conclusion — this pandemic will be a catalyst for significant systemic change that will alter the trajectory of the 21st century. We no longer talk about the future of work. The future has arrived, it just came a bit earlier than most would like to believe.

I recently arrived in Israel and had to stay in quarantine in a 30 square foot room for the first 14 days. I’m currently on day 10 and I have to say that these days are filled with some of the hardest work I’ve ever done. From reaffirming my responsibility as a communicator and advisor of executive teams, to contemplating challenging problems brought to me by my community of clients and friends.

We need to take immediate advantage of this reset and work towards our future. The next few months ahead are critical. Even if your big goals haven’t changed, perhaps your strategic roadmap to achieve them will. You must define or update your goals to secure your success in this new unfolding reality.

What Can I Do to Take Action?

It’s through action and by understanding that you are investing in yourself, every single day, that you can do more than just cope with the forces of a crisis; you enable yourself to harness its power and unpredictability to slingshot you forward and grow even faster.

Innovative, high performance, and high growth individuals know this very well.

I’d liked to share with you a line of action — a path forward. It’s a simple way to organize your thoughts and focus your attention and energy on the most important things that will propel you through this.

First, step back and look at your life by breaking it down into three big categories: Yourself, your work, and your family.

They all feed into each other to create the best version of you.

Next, define a primary goal in each of these categories to work towards over the next three to five months. If within that time you manage to master that one goal, then you can go on to define another.

Goal Setting

1. Yourself

These goals should be about self-growth. Go take a digital yoga class, learn meditation or a new language. Challenge yourself to do something you’ve been putting off and follow through on it. The focus here is on feeding your soul. Once you take care of yourself, then you can take care of everything else in your life.

2. Your Work

What can you do to secure the future of your work? Whether you decide to develop a completely new revenue stream or add another one, come up with a strategic plan here.

My team and I have spent years trying to understand customer behaviour — why someone would choose to buy one product or service over other options? We were too fixated on what data could tell us. All this data focused on was customers and the product itself — not what the customer is trying to accomplish in making the purchase.

We found out there’s a better way to understand that choice. It’s called the Theory of Jobs to Be Done by Clayton Christensen. At the core of his theory is that customers don’t buy products or services; they buy them to make progress. We call this progress the “job” they are trying to get done. So, customers “hire” products or services to do these jobs. Each “job” has not only functional dimensions but emotional and social ones, too.

Ask yourself , what “jobs” are you trying to help customers with in their lives?

3. Your Family

Some of you:

• Are living closely in a small apartment with your children, partner, or family.
• Have lost your job, business, or your daily routine.
• Are experiencing new levels of loneliness, living in a house on their own.
• Are experiencing new tastes of anxiety, fear, depression, and uncertainty.

The only thing that is certain is the support of those in your life: Your family, your partner, and/or your close community of friends.

One way to define your goal here is to share with the people closest to you your personal values. For example, maybe you value honesty and believe in being honest wherever possible, or you value kindness and jump at the chance to help other people.

Sharing your values with your loved ones will keep you together during the difficult times, and it will bring you joy during the high points of your relationship. You can break barriers together and cultivate a deeper layer of empathy and appreciation.

Taking the Next Step to Resilience Starts Here

To help you with getting your thoughts organized, you can use this worksheet as a daily journal to monitor your progress. With every small accomplishment, that wall of fear will become more manageable.

Reflect on how you came to this point and think of the actions you can take to elevate not just yourself, but others as well. And be kind and loving to yourself as you navigate this new journey.

As the wonderful Maya Angelou once said:

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

A thought leader on agile business processes, digital transformation, and the future of work, Lital Marom is an expert at helping organizations unlock the potential of their business by leveraging emerging technologies and new economic models. She inspires business leaders to “disrupt themselves” and push beyond their limitations to future proof their businesses.