Your future trajectory has changed. The extent and clarity of those changes remain vague.
It is likely that you feel differently about what you do and how you do it. The way you connect and relate to colleagues, the way you now work and possibly what you do has changed. Your relationships will have shifted too, in any number of directions, so naturally your focus, your productivity and your creativity has been jolted by this unique and curious period of isolation/ lockdown.
I have been experiencing a tumultuous range of emotions and thoughts regarding what lies ahead as I (peacefully) accept the changes that are already here. Some fill me with concern, others with happiness and hope. Do you find yourself eagerly, desperately or worryingly contemplating this transition towards a “new normal”?
Many I have spoken to are pressing on, perhaps even ignoring their range of emotions, awaiting the next external stimulus of change. This might be a loosening of lockdown rules or a corporate directive or some defining announcement. Sometimes this is what we need to do, but if you are feeling disconnected, discombobulated, or disturbed then what are you waiting for?
In a recent interview on the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s student support webinar, The Study Buddy Podcast, I described two distinct clusters of people/thinking, both providing counter forces for change:
Returners – generally nudging to go back to what was, to put in place again the processes and habits that have been missed. Their voices are tinged with annoyance, pushing back on the restrictions that they feel are constraining them. Their energy is helpfully challenging, regulating, thrusting and creating a pacey push.
Reinventors – generally keen to grasp this opportunity to reassemble the pieces of their lives that seem scattered, imploring all around them to take the good from this and go about their lives and work differently. Their voices are tinged with positivity, hope, nervous excitement and challenge.
And in between are many, experiencing a mix of both states and likely an unsettled confusion.
Where are you on this? What do you want? Really want?
The unexamined life is not worth living. So said Socrates apparently and I agree! Now is a great time to explore what is out there for you; how you can do things differently.
So, start with what might have evolved for you:
• Your passions and goals? – what used to be your heading, your career and commercial aspiration might be different now. What was previously important may have lost its potency, new ‘importants’ may be vying for your attention. Spend time getting clarity on your ‘why’ as Simon Sinek writes, the over-arching purpose that drives you beyond short terms goals and the current day’s context.
• Your ways of working discoveries – what have you enjoyed or detested in your lockdown working environment. What has triggered your creativity, your focus? On what and when are you most productive? Keep a journal at your side for the next week and note what you are up to, how you feel, the nature of your focus and outputs, notice how your new habits and practices serve you (or not). – read Simple Note “Changing Days”
• Your ‘Mustn’t forget this’ list – in here are the secrets to your wonderfully redesigned future. The aspects of lockdown that you have loved, the patterns of your life that weren’t there previously, your mini-breakthroughs and ‘aha’ moments! Whatever they are, note them now, they are at peril of being lost as the new normal forms and envelops around you.
• Your relationships – how have your connections developed and changed, how have relationships and dialogues changed, what do you want them to be?
Write down your immediate thoughts on this now, add to them over the week ahead. Then, work with a colleague, friend or coach on this. Go explore!
As Socrates postured “The unexamined life is not worth living”.
Do not be afraid to start over again. This time you’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience, desire and aspiration. As Socrates is also believed to have said “I know that I know nothing”, start without prejudice or presumption. This is your life, fill it with what you love, what brings the best of you forward, now is the time for setting your desired and purposeful intentions. Let the rest go!
And, of course, keep it simple.
Simon
PS – I read recently how many of us have had the time and space to enhance our wellbeing, which deserves to be at the heart not at the edge of your redesign (see City A.M. article https://www-cityam-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cityam.com/wellbeing-must-be-at-the-heart-of-britains-back-to-work-efforts/amp/ )