WHY MY JOBISN'T MY WORK

What do you do? 

It's one of the most common questions we get asked. Sometimes this question is posed before ones like how are you?

Much of our identity is formed through our job(s). I used to identify a lot of with what I did for a living. Speaking as someone who's recently quit her full-time job of 6+ years to pursue dreams of moving and working in London, this post is about work, identity, and jobs — and how I've come to redefine all three. 

My early 20s were slightly predictable and you couldn't pay me to re-live them. HOORAY for turning 27! After high school, I went to college, after college I did an internship, after that, I started working. I worked really hard. I got a job that not only paid my bills but that I genuinely loved. I had made it (whatever that means). There's a lot of pressure to get that first "real" job. There isn't as much of a focus on what to do after that. After a six year career, I accomplished a lot. I learned a lot. I worked very hard to get to where I did. But I did reach a point where I didn't feel challenged. I stopped growing at the rate that I wanted. I felt that I needed a big change. 

These past two months have been strange in that I haven't been working full time for the first time in over six years. This time has been so valued and has allowed me to figure out what's next. It has also taught me the value of not letting one single job be my whole life. When I let go of everything I had created — a career, a job, a work-life, I could clearly see who I am without it. For me, this was the only way to really know and feel my worth. I've given myself the opportunity to take a minute to sense my next career direction and I'm really excited about what I now know. 

WORK

The difference between my job and my life's work

I was listening to one of Oprah's podcasts and her guest was Wes Moore discussing if jobs are our life's purpose. He said something that really resonated with me. He said that our job is not our (life's) work. What we do for a living shouldn't define our identity. 

We all need money to live on. This is reason enough to not define ourselves by what we do. This whole experience has made me take a deep look at how I spend my time. I thought I would be so bored during the job search here in London. The truth is I've been just as busy as before — despite not working full time. My life's work as I now call it, is the reason why I've been so occupied. All the while I was working full time at the beginning of my career, I didn't realize that I was also planting seeds that would serve me later on.

Shirt: French Connection. Pants: Primark. Shoes: H&M. Glasses: Clearly

What have I been up to? 

I have been working part-time in a yoga studio at reception as well as teaching a class once a week. For the month of September, I've been volunteering at the London Design Biennale three days per week. In between, I have been doing photoshoots, writing blog posts, and of course — applying to full-time jobs. I've been meeting people and making friends, exploring my new city, and organizing the admin of my life. These things make me so happy. They are part of my life's work. 

Who you are, what you do, the affect you have on others, what you give, what you create — these are what define your life's work. The trick is finding opportunities to do all of the above. Once I began to focus my thoughts on the things I am passionate about, the opportunities started to appear. 

IDENTITY 

How it's formed and how I am re-inventing mine 

Identity really fascinates me. It's so fluid. So sensitive. We almost have to watch it and how it affects us. For a few years at least, my identity was hazy. It wasn't strong or confident. I was just trying to keep my head above water and going with the so-called flow. 

I re-designed my resume two months before I moved to London. I also made a creative portfolio. These were the hardest documents I've ever had to create. I realized that I had sort of lost touch with what I was capable of. What was I made of? I asked myself this a lot. It turns out I was made of all these awesome things that had become such normal parts of my day that I never took the time to appreciate them. 

I had to take the time to figure out what I had to offer of value, what my skills were, and feel confident in naming off accomplishments. I had to become an expert in my own professional self. I can't explain how good it feels to actually take the time to do this.

JOBS 

Can we make money doing what we love?

Yes and no. Sometimes we just need to pay our bills. Some people can't work for various reasons. Sometimes what we love to do just doesn't pay in money. The point of defining your life's work based on everything you are as a person, your volunteering commitments, your art, your services to others, is because jobs are sometimes just there to pay the bills. My various other fulfilling activities and commitments is what keeps me going when I have to do jobs that pay but don't fulfill me in other ways. What I have discovered, though, is I can bring elements of my life's work into any job. 

Life really is a miracle and I am grateful for each day. The fact that I can breathe, walk, talk, love, dance, sing, cook, write — is amazing. We are all magical miracles of life and the fact that we exist means we have purpose. We matter and we're here to inspire, uplift, and marvel at this amazing thing called life. 

So let's get to work. 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEANNE DIXON

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HOW TO RE-FOCUS AT WORK WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE A DISTRACTED POTATO

It's 2 pm. How is it already 2 pm? 

You glance down at your empty coffee cup and contemplate whether it's time for another cup. 

You look back at your screen and back at the cup. You get another cup of coffee. 

You sit back at your desk and decide to focus. But first you check Twitter because you may have missed something crucial. Then you check Facebook just in case you missed something that wasn't covered on Twitter. You see that your friend tagged you in ANOTHER meme, your mom commented on your same picture for the third time (true story), and you read yours and all your friends horoscopes. After, you took a quiz to find out which Friends character you are. 

You decide that now you can focus. Now is your time. You open the thing you are supposed to be working on. You put your earphones in. And you're really not feeling this song but curious about what this artist is up to these days. They're touring. Next summer. Def going! Ok, ok, you find the song that will launch you into super creative work mode.

Now you can focus. Like hard. 

In the corner of your eye you see your phone light up and it's a text. Someone could be in danger. If they were, they'd obviously send you a text over a phone call. So you better check it. Like now. Anddd your friend sent you ANOTHER picture of their cat. 

Does this sound like you? If so, you've come to the right place.

Suit: Primark London, $70. Heels: Zara $35. Purse: Value Village, $8. Glasses: c/o of Clearly.ca. How cute are these frames?! When I saw this pink suit, I knew exactly which glasses to wear it with. I feel like a monochrome dream. Thank you, Clearly!

You don't have to hate your job to fall under the distraction spell. Maybe you love what you do but you've just gotten side-tracked and are having a hard time finding your way back to awesome. Here are some tips for feeling focused and energized:

Go.  

The fastest way to focus is to give your brain a break. If you're finding that you keep hitting a block in with what you're doing, whether it's writing or coming up with a creative solution to a problem, chances are your brain has too many tabs open. Try standing, walking around, going outside, and basically visit an environment different than the one you're currently in. This will give your brain some space to re-sort. Some of the most creative minds in history spent the majority of their time on leisure and sleeping. Check out this chart. The red bars represent time spent doing creative work. The green bars are time spent doing creative work.

I realize we live in 2018 and most of us are required to work a certain number of hours. But you get the point. Walk anywhere. The water cooler. Go! 

Awareness. 

This should probably have been first. Awareness is your friend. Once you become aware that you're distracted, you'll be in a better position to do something about it. Next time you get distracted, try taking an extra moment to analyze the before, during, and after. 

Two or three things.

On a day when i'm feeling most distracted but I have deadlines looming, I make a list. It has two or three (at most) things that I want to accomplish by the end of the day. When I can cross them off, I leave work feeling confident. During slower work times like summer for my job, I found it helpful to chop up my day into chunks. I use a Google Calendar and schedule each hour with a different task and colour code. I had it send me pop up reminders when it was time for the next task. It also gave me soft deadlines.

One thing at a time.

Managing social media is part of my job and a regular piece of my day. But it doesn't come without major distractions. Let's say I'm going on Facebook to check if we received any messages or comments on posts. So, I log on and BAM. Black hole. All of a sudden I'm conducting all kinds of creeping. At some point I return to my senses and think wait, why did I come here in the first place? It's like when you walk into the kitchen and immediately forget why you went there so you start munching on some cheese. Anyone? 

What were we talking about?

Right, one thing at a time! When I start something, I try really hard to stick with it. Even if it means having to be hyper-aware and keep a strict inner voice. No, bad, bad, close that tab, exit, delete, focus!

Music. 

I typically have to work with one earbud in at all times. I need to have background noise to help me focus. Silence just doesn't work for me... at work. 

If you're able to listen to music at work and it helps you focus, definitely try it. When I need to hyper focus, I tend to listen to mantras or instrumental music. I find music has a really positive influence on my work flow. Here's a link to one of my favourite playlists I made.

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL TUNDO.

Breathe.  

Here's a yogi pro tip! Sit straight and block your left nostril with your index finger. Inhale through your right nostril. Hold the breath for five seconds. Exhale through your right nostril. Try this for three minutes. This is the breath to help you focus because it corresponds to the left side of your brain, which is associated with logic. 

Happy focusing!

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Public Relations: Life after Graduation

You've written one hundred press releases, you can come up with strategies, key messages, tactics, and objectives in any situation, and you can do a media interview on the spot, so NOW WHAT? 

As a proud public relations college graduate, PR is a topic I'm pretty passionate about. While I learned so much in school and gained experience, I found I had a difficult time adjusting to life after school and job hunting. I've been working in the field now for over three years and I've learned a few things.

Grab a tea or coffee and a note-jotting device! (I say device cause like who uses pen and paper anymore?) *raises hand*

A brief backstory: I studied public relations at Algonquin College from September 2010 and graduated in June 2012. I just had to reference a calendar to bring you those dates. Wow. 

I simply adored the program, the people, the courses, everything. I learned so much and would re-take it if I could. After graduation though, I was slightly panicked about finding a job. The place where I did my internship couldn't hire me full time and so I was working in retail while job searching. I freelanced for them on a very part time basis and was eventually hired for more and more hours. I've been full time for almost three years now. Time flies! 

Here are five tips to help you in your job search.

1. Find a job that will pay your bills whilst searching for a PR job. 

I know you're itching to work in your chosen field but someone's got to pay those bills! You might get very busy like I did. I worked full time in two consignment clothing stores but found a way to incorporate PR into it. I began creating the stores newsletters and managing their social media. This allowed me to put my newly learned skills to the test. Grab lunch with your boss and discuss ways you can help their business with your new skills. Create a proposal or plan and present it to them. (I created a document with a social media plan to show ways I can help grow their accounts). I also started my blog a few months after graduating and that helped me hone my writing skills. 

2. Keep at it. Stay in it. Don't drift. 

The thing about college is you pay a lot of money and spend a lot of time learning new skills in hopes of getting a job you'll love. But the thing about learning is you have to continually practice your skill to build on what you've learned and mostly to remember it all. If you don't find a job right away, find other ways of staying connected to the field. Start a blog, strengthen your social media skills, grab a coffee and pick the brain of a former professor or mentor that you met in college. Write something, even if only you will see it. Keep learning. The best way to do this is to volunteer or do an internship. It might be tough to do if it's unpaid and you're living on your own but try to make it work. Even if it's on an event basis, just a few hours per week, you have to make time in your schedule. Think of an internship as a prolonged interview. It's a chance to show what you can do and prove your skills are needed. Even if they don't hire you at the end, you will learn so much and network with people who can help you. 

3. Networking: Awkward? Yes. Important? YES! 

SO IMPORTANT. Public relations is all about building strong relationships with people. Be it clients, reporters, bloggers, non profits, and the list goes on. Don't be afraid to reach out to an old boss, or your new boss, or a former professor, your friend's cousin, your mom's friend, you get the point. I had a coffee with a former professor who was the communications person at my ex-boyfriend's dad's ex-fiance's work. THAT was a mouthful. Point being: she helped me so so much at that time in my life. She re-inspired me to push myself to my full potential and gave me so many great ideas. She even offered me a part time job. Don't ever underestimate the power of coffee and face-to-face interaction. Accomplished adults want you to succeed. And they want to help you! 

Networking events are great ways to meet new people. During school, I attended as many as I could, often going alone. I highly recommend attending these solo, as scary as that may be! It's the best way to practice your networking skills and that way you are forced to talk to people. Even if I attended an event and only talked to one person, it was still worth it for me. You never know who you'll meet. If you're in Ottawa, check out IABC or CPRS. MeetUp and Eventbrite may also have these type of events. Psst- they also have apps and systems that can send you a weekly round up of events in your city! TRES COOL. 

If you're not sure who you could ask, I would say it's not uncommon these days to add someone on LinkedIn and message them if you have similar interests. Just remember that everyone is busy and if you get to the point right away and have a clear objective, you will get a positive response. Add me on LinkedIn if you haven't already!

*this is just my opinion of LinkedIn because I'm speaking from experience. Some "gurus" may say to not ever add someone you don't personally know. 

4. Follow up. Be annoying. But polite. 

Like I said in my last bullet, people are busy. That's not to say they don't care. It's likely that it's just slipped their mind or haven't gotten the chance to get back to you. If you haven't heard a response from a job or a coffee meeting invitation, there is nothing wrong with a friendly follow up message. Maybe choose a different form of contact than you originally used. Send a friendly tweet or instagram comment. "Love the new glasses! Hope to meet up soon!" Or "I see you're attending that event, I'll see you there!" 

5. Frame of Mind: Set to Positive

You might not hear a response right away about a job, or a meeting, or a proposal. That's normal. You might drift into a spiral of negative thoughts. Feeling like you're giving a lot of effort to receive nothing in return can lead to a thought like "Nobody wants me." Please, please, challenge that thought!! You are brilliant and will find a job you love. It just takes time. Practise positive self talk or write yourself daily reminder post-its on your laptop or desk so that you remember how awesome you are. If you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for potential employers to. Keep building up your confidence because it will translate in your messages, meetings, interviews, and when you do get your first pr job! 

I hope this post helps you along in your career path. I have so much more to say and will be posting more about this topic on here. I wish you the best of luck and am always here to answer any questions you may have! 

Keep shining!

Here's a special work #OOTD for you. I literally wore this to work last week. 

Top: Value Village, $5. Jeans: Reitmans, $16. Similar here. Shoes: gifted, thrifted. Purse: gifted, vintage. Necklace: Forever 21, $12. Similar here.

CRISIS!!!! 

ALL GOOD.

Tweeting at all times. 

PHOTOS BY LISA KIDD.

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Purple Squad

You may notice things are looking a little different around here! I gave my blog a long overdue makeover. I had been wanting a new look for a while but it took some trial and error to find what I was looking for. Let me know if you like it and if you have any critiques or feedback, after all you're the reader! 

I'm not done the transformation but wanted to post these pictures from a few weeks ago. I wore this to an event for work that was actually a TED talk in a church. The talk was called Confessions of a Depressed Comic by Kevin Breel. He's from Vancouver, BC, but was on a talk tour and stopped by Ottawa. I was there representing DIFD (an awareness/education based youth mental health campaign) and handed out informational resources and said a few words. It was an inspirational and emotional evening to say the least and I was happy to be a part of it. My sister and I arrived a little early so we decided to snap some blog pictures. 

I'm off to dye my hair a bright hue. Stayed tuned! 

Jacket: Thrifted, $5. Top: Jones New York, Rikochet Resale, $25. Pants: The Bay, Nygard, $12. Heels: Target, $20. Purse: Value Village, $5. Sunglasses: Camden Market, London $10. Necklace: H&M, $15. 

Photos by Lisa Kidd. 

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