What are the potential impacts on my work/life balance?
I don't have TIME!
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What are the potential impacts on my work/life balance?
I’m going straight off on a tangent.
You see, I LOVE investigating new, odd, unusual career paths. Call it a hangover of the time when I thought that the answer to my - ever louder sounding - call to the universe of ‘what am I supposed to do with my life!’ was to research an ever widening range of job descriptions. (Spoiler alert: it’s not).
Which is why last year I investigated a series of weird and wonderful job titles. And came across that of a prompt engineer.
Yes, I had no idea either.
But a prompt engineer is effectively someone who programmes AI with prompts. Good prompts - and ALL its variations.
So, when I read THIS question - ‘What are the potential impacts on my work/life balance?’ - I thought ‘Help!’ And also: ‘I need a prompt engineer!’
Which means that I’m going to ‘translate’ this question into what I THINK it means, which is TWO things:
Will it take a lot of TIME to start THINKING about my career change - and what’s the impact of that on my work/life balance? and
If I decide to change careers does that mean that I will have to retrain, or work all hours to start building something from scratch?
With a sprinkling of:
‘HELP! I am already NOT doing everything I need or want to do, what with work, commute, travel, kids, parents, the house, the dog, trying to keep reasonably fit, being a good partner or wife AND being sociable with my friends and family.
WHERE would I find the TIME to change careers! I’m EXHAUSTED!’
Does that sound about right?
Then let’s begin.
Time is elastic
I read the weirdest post on LinkedIn the other day. (Can I find it? Of course not).
It said: Don’t have £2,000 in savings yet? Cancel your Netflix subscription.
The premise being that you should sign up to this person’s Investment course, to learn how to GET that savings, instead of mindlessly watching 2 hours of Netflix every evening.
(NOT saving the £6.99 subscription fee, which will take you a LONG time before it becomes £2,000. Which is what I thought first of all. Which just shows you that I should MOST DEFINITELY do an investment course, you know, one day.)
The point, however, is this:
Time is elastic.
And by that I mean two things:
You’ve got time. You really do. Because you DO sit down and watch Netflix, or TV in general, or YouTube, or social media. Instead of scrolling funny videos or your social media feed you can do something else instead. Even if it is just for 15 minutes.
Time is a funny old thing. When you’re doing something you don’t want to do, it can feel LOOOOONG, and you’re EXHAUSTED by the time you get home. You think you’ve deserved that sit down. Instead of taking action.
So, what I’m saying is this:
That LinkedIn post wasn’t as daft as it sounded.
You DO have time. Now for that enthusiasm that makes you want to USE that time for YOU and your future.
Let’s talk about ENERGY instead
Let me bust a myth right here: work/life balance doesn’t exist.
There’s only TIME - which is finite - and ENERGY. Your energy. How you manage your ENERGY is crucial.
When we talk about energy, we often think about physical energy. And feel even more drained when we think about having to go to a gym.
But it’s not JUST that. It’s also about your mental energy. Your ability to generate positive emotions. To FEEL better, more enthusiastic and - yes - energetic.
This article is not long enough to go into all the ways in which you can measure and improve your energy (but do check out my Positive Intelligence programme, in which I offer a proven programme to help you build your mental fitness - book your Saboteur Discovery Call to learn more).
Let me say ONE thing:
You cannot always be in Performance mode. You need Recovery time too!
But recovery can take different shapes. Recovery should energise you. Not sap the energy right out of you. Which lazing about in front of Netflix every day will most definitely do.
Whilst working on your FUTURE, on a happy time when you’re doing what you do BEST in a way that suits you and your lifestyle, will - and I guarantee that - ENERGISE you.
And on that note, let’s get into the juicy bits of this article.
Will it take a lot of TIME to start THINKING about my career change?
Now, let me ask you a question:
What would happen if you DIDN’T start thinking about changing your career? For whatever reason, a lack of time included.
Does it bear thinking about?
No? Right.
Like anything that needs your attention you’re going to have to dedicate time to it.
And this is where a lot of us get stuck. Because in our heads we’re making it this HUGE thing. ‘I need to set aside AT LEAST 2 days a week to start thinking and reflecting and taking action’, you think.
Which then leads to what? Yes, nothing. Inaction.
So let me introduce your Avoider Saboteur. The one who has the most SNEAKY tactics to stop you doing the things you know you should do.
Like telling you that changing your career is this HUGE thing. So that you never get round to doing ANYTHING.
But remember I talked about the ‘15 minute rule’ earlier? (It’s not really a rule. I just made that up).
Yes, I challenge you. Take the most important FIRST step you can take right now.
Is that first step too big? Break it down into smaller parts. Until you can fit it into stolen moments, 15 minutes at a time, but no bigger than one hour. And go and do that.
Want to have more structure around your career change efforts? So that you KNOW you’re doing the RIGHT things? (And not spend 4 years re-inventing the career change wheel, like a certain person 🙄?)
Go and find a coach 😊 who can support you with taking the RIGHT actions, gives you the support you need AND the accountability to keep you moving forward. And who can tell you what your time investment will be.
Will my career change mean that I’ll be working all hours?
I’ve got TWO answers to this question:
It depends, and
You decide
Did that help? 😊
What I mean, of course, is this.
When you and I work together ONE of the things we’ll do is visualising your future work AND life.
The reason we do that is - of course - because this is YOUR time. It’s your time to design a career that fits YOU and the lifestyle you want to create for yourself.
You get to create a vision of what this can look like for you, based on what you know about yourself (your strengths, your values) and about what environment you want to find yourself doing your best work in.
You THEN get to decide which jobs, careers or businesses fit this picture.
So, when you ask me: what will this career change do to my work/life balance, I say:
How much TIME do you want to spend? How much time do you want to spend getting to that position, and whilst you’re IN that position?
How much ENERGY do you have to make that happen?
Example:
When I set up my business I didn’t know how much work it was going to be. I now work longer hours than I used to when I was still employed. I occasionally work evenings or even weekends.
And you know what? I LOVE it!
YES, it takes more time. But I also have boundless energy! My work/life balance is good, because I work from home.
Would I recommend it?
That depends. On YOU and what you WANT.
But one thing I am certain of. Once you decide on what you want, KNOW that your chosen career path is right for YOU and for the LIFE you want, your ENERGY knows no bounds and you WILL make it happen.
But more importantly? At EVERY stage of the process it’s you that gets to choose. YOU who makes the decisions. You who decides what’s right for you.
Maybe for the very first time in your life.
What do you say? You ready for that?
Tineke X
P.S. You’ll be creating your VISION for your life and career in Step 3 of my Career Freedom coaching programme. AFTER you get clear on what is STOPPING you and on who you are and what you’re GREAT at.
Want to know more? Book a free call in which we can discuss YOUR specific situation and you can ask me all your questions:
In other news:
(We are) Change Artists
It’s December and I’m REALLY starting to look forward to opening the doors to my new community Change Artists.
So, what IS a Change Artist?
A Change Artists is someone who isn't afraid of change but instead embraces it. It’s someone who chooses to jump around. Someone whose only constant is wanderlust and a need to stay in motion.
PERFECT for a lot of the women I work with. Women who want to make changes, who want to change, who EMBRACE change. In their professional AND their personal lives. CREATIVE women, women with LOTS of interests.
We’re getting going from January 2025. Scroll to the top of this newsletter if you’d like to get involved!
Book Club
Did I mention I LOVE books? Yes, I love books.
Which is why there will be a Book Club in Change Artists. An online community where we can geek out about books, tell others what we liked (or even LOVED) about books.
I’ll regularly post more extensive book reviews in video format. And if you join you’ll get my 30 illustrated book summaries as a present for joining!
So many books, so little time! So let’s get started and share the books YOU’ve loved!
Pledge your support and you’re IN!
🔴🟡🟠
Tineke Tammes is a Career & Creativity Coach and supports professional women in making successful transitions. Besides that she is also a lifelong feminist, part-time portrait artist, never-only-read-one-book-at-any-time reader, and obsessive doodler.
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Thank you again for this. Your posts always resonate with me in some way. The thing I wanted to add was that we need to change the language. Work/life balance is a misnomer. You describe how you now work longer hours but that you love it! So arguably, your work IS your life balance 😊. Instead, it's about occupational balance. So reviewing what you do that brings you joy, energises you and is for you. So in other words, time at home is not always life balance, especially when you factor in partners, children, the dog, your mother etc. It is more likely to be work balance!