With all the layoffs happening, I wanted this week to focus on what those currently employed could do to provide a little peace of mind preparing for the unexpected. I find it ironic that we insure our cars, our homes, and even our “life”, yet we don’t take actions to protect our income streams. The thing that enables us to pay for all the other insurance.
This week’s highlighted blog post is titled 10 Career Insurance Actions to Protect Your Future. I hope this helps provide some ideas of what you can do in case you are caught in the unexpected. A good pairing to this post is one I wrote during last year’s wave of layoffs – Survivor Syndrome After Layoffs.
My Other Blog Posts This Week
Wrapping the Year at Work. As the year winds down, this post provides ideas in five areas for cleaning up and organizing the year as we head into 2026 with a fresh start.
Be the Author of Your Life. There are stories we tell ourselves about who we want to be. Stories about what others want for us. This post suggests that we are in control of our stories.
Year End Action – Back Up Your Connections. Your Network = Your Net Worth. Yet, our connections contact information is often held in our company files or social networks. Use this time at the end of the year to back up your most valuable asset. This post provides the details on how.
December Energy. With a bit more time than usual at home this holiday season, I’ve got a burst of year end energy. What about you?
Podcasts That Caught My Attention
This week has just four options. I really enjoyed the fresh perspective of the first one on the list. This episode got me thinking about how work may be shifting to more fractional and freelance teams that bring expertise together at just the right moment.
Leading the Future of AI-Enhanced, On Demand Work. 28 minutes. The Next Big Idea Daily. This episode highlights two books that will have you thinking differently about the structures of work in the future. First, Flash Teams: Leading the Future of AI-Enhanced, On-Demand Work by Melissa Valentine and Michael Bernstein and then Open Talent: Leveraging the Global Workforce to Solve Your Biggest Challenges by John Winsor and Jin Paik.
The Secret to Sticking with Things. 7 minutes. Before Breakfast. This episode talks about how projects become doable when we break it down and each step is easy and (relatively) pleasant.
Book Club: Embrace Your Limitations. 36 minutes. TED Talks Daily. This episode is a great interview with Oliver Burkeman about his book Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts.
How to Plan Your Yearly Goal and Achieve Results. 9 minutes. Optimal Living Daily. This podcast covers a 6-step framework for turning yearly goals into reality. Her method breaks down overwhelming ambitions into actionable tasks and following through with intention.
What Do You Think?
Have you considered what it means to have career insurance? What could you do today?
What are you doing to wrap up the year both at work and at home?
What ideas did the posts & podcasts spark that you could implement in the week ahead?