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I have to admit, I was a bit unsure when my partner suggested digging up our little grassy garden and chucking down a load of wildflower seeds instead, but look at it now!
It got me thinking about our work and how, so often, we can be conditioned to think we need to do the sensible, conventional thing – to be a neat and controlled lawn – when actually there is so much colour and variety available if we let our wild selves go.
Read moreShould you just do it TODAY?
Maybe you’re frustrated by a difficult boss, feeling trapped in work that is boring or stressful or even BOTH, panicking that your life is slipping away from you and feeling like you can’t do it for one day longer.The thing is, tempting though it can be to storm out the door in a dramatic flourish, it’s usually not the best idea.
Beyond all the obvious stuff about burnt bridges and references, leaving with nothing else lined up can create a real headache for yourself and – perhaps counter-intuitively – potentially delay your career change even further.
It’s easy, when you’re in the thick of it, to imagine if you could just leave the current job, you’d have so much energy, time and headspace to focus on your shift.
In fact, what I have seen many times with clients I’ve worked with over the years, those who give into temptation end up with a whole load of new problems they hadn’t anticipated. These can include:
Money worries: Regardless of how much you’ve saved up to tide you over for a situation like this, the reality of having zero pay checks coming into your account each month can create a huge amount of pressure. Career change takes time and requires an open and curious mindset, which is hard when you feel that kind of urgency, however imminent the need to start making money is.
Lack of routine: When you’re super busy, the promise of an empty diary looks really appealing, but - in reality - suddenly finding yourself with no structure and only yourself to be accountable to can make it even harder to get into action. Leaving the social connections behind from your existing role can also put you in quite a lonely and isolated place, which can be a challenge to energy levels, especially if you’re an extrovert.
Loss of identity and confidence: So often, I see previously self-assured and clearly talented, capable people suffer a huge blow to their self-esteem when removed from the professional identity and workplace life they’re become used to. So much of our sense of self-worth, for better or worse, is tied up in our jobs, and a lack of direction can create feelings of shame and worthlessness.
Each of these can be barriers to career change, whether from the ability to be open and curious, or the lack of momentum and drive, to the energy sap of struggling with your inner gremlins.I’m not saying don’t do it – for some situations, you just need to get the hell out.
Pre-empting some of this stuff means you can go into it with your eyes open and plan how you’ll overcome the obstacles, whether that’s working out a daily routine or getting some external support in place to help you maintain a positive mindset.If you’re thinking of quitting your job today and want a sounding board before you jump ship, just get in touch. I’m happy to chat and help you weigh up the pros and cons.
What do you do if you want to make a career change, but your current job sucks up all your energy? 😞
It’s a bind, right?
The reason you want to shift is also the reason you feel you can’t!
Either work is hijacking your time or is sapping any willpower you may have had, so you find it hard to take even small steps in a new direction.
In this situation, a “bridge job” can be a great strategy.
We think we see the world as it is, and we can feel so certain in our convictions, but our view of the world is clouded by preconceptions, judgements and biases.
Read moreIs it better to think ahead or to live in the moment?
Do you need a clear plan and goals to ensure future success?
Read moreIf you're thinking "New Year, new job", you might be reflecting on this question, and it's one that BBC's #WomansHour tackled last week with some great advice shared by the experts.
Here are some of the most important points I heard:
I used to spend days like these crying on a bus to work. Grey, rainy January mornings on the way to somewhere I didn't want to go. Dreading the day and the week ahead, and asking myself "is this really IT?". I felt so trapped - and not just because we were stuck in a traffic jam with about eight other number 73 buses, fighting our way through London's Kings Cross. I was stuck in a career and life that wasn't one I felt I'd chosen, but that I'd somehow landed in, and I had no idea how to change.
Read moreBefore I changed careers and when I was feeling pretty stuck, I landed on a great book by John Spencer Williams called F**k Work, Let's Play. It completely reframed work to me and helped me shake off a lot of the weightiness I was carrying around about "career" - even though, if I'm honest, I still didn't truly believe that kind of playful work-life was possible for me.
Read moreWhat does it take to turn against the tide of normalcy and social conditioning and to forge your own path?
My brilliant colleague Natasha Stanley has written a great piece on the Careershifters website on what she calls the "Renegade Mindset", and how to cultivate it for career change:
Navigating a big life upheaval such as a career change is never going to be easy. There are times where the uncertainty feels too uncomfortable or the magnitude of the task too big to bear.
In those moments, the temptation can be to tell yourself your current work situation isn't too bad, that maybe you could just stay where you are, and take the path of least resistance.
But if we really want to make a shift, we have to learn to navigate change effectively, accepting that it's going to be difficult and drawing on strategies to ensure we can do what it takes.
One of the big challenges I see my career change clients facing is finding the time and energy to make the leap when their existing work life is so draining. Often that’s the very reason they want to make a change, but it’s also the reason they haven’t yet made it.
Read more