Opportunities and Strategies for Change
Nick Williams
Realising that you are not happy with your current situation is a major step in the change process. But once you've identified the problem, what then? How do you go about creating a work environment that suits your aspirations and allows you to create the life that you want?
One way is to think about different ways of working. Below are some ideas that will help you break away from the 9 - 5, Monday to Friday routine and give you the control you need to shape your own career destiny:
Voluntarily changing your life to be simpler - a very popular idea right now, getting away from the heat and pressure to put some sanity back into your life. Be sure to make sure what you are moving to, not just moving away from, otherwise you may not have what you don't want, but you won't necessarily have what you do want. Read Downshifting by Judy Jones and Polly Ghazi
Many of us believe that a proper job has to be 9-00 to 5-00, every day. Most new work is not full time at all. See if you can cut back either to give yourself space, or start developing a new strand to your life or work, that might also lead to you earning part of your income elsewhere
Several different strands to your working life. This is becoming one of the most popular ways of working now, allowing freedom to pursue several interests, and to be as creative as you can imagine. One or two strands of your life could be non-income generating, but something that you find very fulfilling. For some of the practicalities of portfolio working, read Portfolio People by Max Comfort.
You don't have to restrict yourself to self-employment if you choose to go freelance - you could be working for an employer part-time and freelance the rest of the time. These days it doesn't have to be either/or but can be and/and. A career break can also help - a chance to take a step back, give yourself time and space to re-evaluate your life. Often we are so busy working that we don't give ourselves the gift of stepping back and looking at our life, see what is working, what doesn't feel true, and if we want to make some changes. Challenge the work ethic that says we are only useful when we are working hard. Discover the value of creative loafing.
Give yourself the gift of visioning and dreaming about the kind of working life you'd like to have, that would thrill and inspire you - so many of us limit our ideas in work to what we think are possible, but we miss the fact that there are so many opportunities open to us. Also, what we would love to do may not exist right now, but we can create it from the power of our own imagination and inspiration, over time.
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