What to do when the world around you is changing
New morning routine, post lockdown …
Wow. This year has definitely been a rough ride for many. Like no other in recent living memory! And when it comes to the impact of the pandemic on employment in New Zealand, some sectors have been hit harder than others, and women in particular have not fared well (see StatsNZ figures).
However, these dire statistics don’t need to be the end of the story.
It doesn’t take much to find examples throughout history where disruption and change, while difficult at the time, opened up new opportunities and ultimately led to vastly improved quality of life.
So too, can examples be found where, post lockdown in New Zealand, people have found ways to innovate and reinvent themselves or their businesses and survive, if not thrive.
Here’s what might help when the world around you is changing:
Maintain a sense of hope and possibility. Look for positive examples of people that have successfully transitioned their jobs or business. What you look for, you will find (positive or negative). It’s called confirmation bias. Interestingly, around 80 percent of people who had said there was a high or almost certain chance they would lose their job in the next 12 months in the June 2020 quarter, still had that same job in the September 2020 quarter (see StatsNZ).
Focus on what you can control. Rather than allow yourself to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the changes in the wider world, think about what is in your control, such as how you respond and steps you can take to improve your own situation.
Foster flexibility and open-mindedness. As in any disruptive environment, the more flexible you can be, the more resilient you are, and the more you can benefit from the new opportunities. Even if not naturally entrepreneurial, being open-minded and creative about how you construct your working life will help.
Reassess what matters to you. Think carefully about what you value, and give yourself permission to create a working life that supports it. When you are clear about what matters and live in alignment with that, the motivation to get there is no longer such an issue.
Know what good looks like for you at work. What I said in my blog at the beginning of lockdown still stands true. When the world around you is changing and new and different opportunities present themselves, you want to be prepared to make the most of those opportunities. Spend time, either through online career coaching, or other means, getting to know what good looks like for you when it comes to your working world. The more you know yourself – your preferences, values and the skills and strengths you have to offer – the more resilient you can be because you are better able to not only spot the opportunities that will be a good fit, but also to be deliberate and proactive about how you manage your work life. This helps to be resilient in any environment, but even more so when our worlds have been turned upside down.
Choose courage over fear. Don’t let your fear of change stop you from going after what has the potential to make you happy. Or in the famous, wise words of author Susan Jeffers; feel the fear and do it anyway! Many clients come to me saying they have no work-life balance and feel stuck in a rut. They don’t want to keep doing what they are doing, putting in long hours and getting little in return. At the same time they are fearful of change, and of stepping outside their comfort zone into the unknown. What I’ve found is that, while change can be scary, the more clear you are on what matters to you and what you value, the more likely you are to find the courage to push through the fear because you know the end result will be worth it.
Strike while the iron’s hot. The world of work was changing at a rate of knots pre-Covid, with the digital revolution opening up new and different ways of working, and Covid has reinforced the need for employers and employees to think differently about how and where we work. If you have ever wanted a more flexible working life, now is the time to ask!
Taking my own advice
When we went into lockdown in March 2020, I wrote a blog on How to reduce the impact of the Coronavirus crisis on your career. One of the points I made was that lockdown will be an opportunity to explore innovative and flexible ways of working, which in the long term will give us a lot more options regarding how and where we work. And therefore to use the time to notice what works.
I took my own advice and noticed that, having switched to coaching clients online during lockdown, the new lifestyle suited me down to the ground. Instead of waiting in the cold for a bus that never seemed to arrive on time, my morning routine included picking and arranging fresh flowers from the garden or doing an online exercise class before my first client of the day.
By the time alert levels dropped back down to Alert Level 1, I’d given notice for the lease on my central city office and fully transitioned the business online.
Sure, it felt scary at the time (What if clients only want face to face sessions? What if I’m making a mistake and giving up a lovely office that I’ll never find again? What if…). But I knew it was what I wanted and was determined that I’d find a way to make it work. And I did.
I can now work from anywhere in the country with internet access, giving me more flexibility to visit family and more time to spend on creative pursuits, with an online course in development and plans to write a book.
I would never had imagined this at the beginning of 2020.
I’m aware this is a ‘silver lining’ story that not everyone has this year. But many people have experienced positive and unexpected outcomes from our worlds having been turned upside down.
My reason for sharing is to highlight the value of taking every opportunity to notice what good looks like for you, so that you can be deliberate about your work and life choices and more likely to achieve your ideal lifestyle.
If you need help getting to get to that point, feel free to get in touch.