<aside> 💭 Prompt: For most of us work gobbles up a good chunk of our waking life. We look to it for different things — to pay the bills, to scratch our creative itches, to give us meaning. With reality all topsy-turvy we're taking new glances at our work and these looks are revealing.
Write about how you're finding it to work. The kinds of projects you're getting into, any changes in motivation, a plan to promote your dog to VP of Barketing.
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By Jana Barrett
I was down to one client and nearly on sabbatical in February. I was planning to take a month or two off and do some soul-searching, then start looking for work seriously in the spring. I started working with a career/life coach and busying myself with hobbies, but otherwise wasn't doing much work. It felt like a long exhale after a few years with no long breaks.
So when COVID hit hard, I was suddenly bubbling up with this new energy, wanting to do and create and organize, while many around me were just getting the chance to exhale themselves. I feel like a toddler, with my energy bubbling and my attention floating a million places.
I'm ready to do... but I'm also just trying to focus on being.
By Angela Black
I have a lot of feelings about work that I wrote about here a couple of months ago. It was a little navel gaze-y but full of enthusiasm for what I could make out of 2020. The pandemic may have dampened prospects but we did pull off the relocation part of our plan. That feels good. We still have to pay for it so that circles me right back around to work.
All of the things I want for myself remain true. To find a team of good people that appreciate copy as part of beautiful brand and site design. Most recently I put together a voice & tone guide for a new hospital and it was thoroughly enjoyable work. It's fun to set out what a brand sounds like, the words it uses (or not), and how it connects to people through personality. I love figuring out clear, fun and simple ways to communicate style to others so I'll be looking for more of that work going forward.
As for how I think about work, being a hard worker or having a solid work ethic comes to me from my dad. For him it meant never missing a shift, taking every hour of overtime and never shirking your responsibilities. I viewed it much the same until I ran into a giant brick wall of grief after my parents died. Each day I'd sit at my desk and I could not be arsed to write about the joys of satellite radio. They were so good to me through it all but I was done and asked to be let go. I wanted time to grieve but also to figure out how to live after seeing the harder parts of life.
That's going back a ways now but getting through a real bad time did move me to new and good things. I found a big group of friends online that I whittled over the years into a small group of lifelongs. I found the very best partner in Josh and even got married. Something I didn't think I needed to do but now hold dear. I found Dave who made me laugh, gave me the best creative work and gathered an amazing group of kind and talented co-workers into my life. And I have learned to let go of the feeling that I always have to be responsible for EVERYTHING. My role as the strong, reliable, independent caretaker is important to me but it was also making me sick.
And so, I look upon the tough time ahead with a measured level of optimism. It's gonna be hard to find work but all of the things I depend on remain true. I know and love good people. I am a solid writer and creative thinker which are skills that can always be put to use. I am a delight most days and everyone needs good energy around, right? I like who I am and love what I do so something will click eventually. That's what I got right now but it's plenty.
Note to self: think back on this A+ attitude when you're writing yet another cover letter and want to throw yourself into the ocean to live with the whales forever.