I have been working from home for a few months now and I honestly really enjoy it. It allows me the time to focus on my work and during breaks, I get to spend it with my family either hanging out at home or going for walks around our beautiful neighbourhood.

I would like to say that I was proactive every single day and I had an excellent routine. That I completed all my work, housework, payed full attention to everyone, fit in all my exercise…

But it didn’t quite happen like that. Well, not every day.

There were days I’d run around trying to fit in a shower, feeding my one year old her breakfast, getting dressed, putting on some makeup, putting on the laundry and making a mental note to turn on the dryer, eating my own breakfast, brushing my teeth while sometimes holding my daughter, taking her to daycare a few times per week, and then rushing back to get to my computer, plopping myself down on my chair and starting my team meeting each morning. Phew.

And then there were other days when things worked really well and I was able to calmly do everything I had to get done to get prepared for the day.

I feel like I had to go through a cycle.

At the end of some days I felt frustrated that I didn’t achieve all that I had I wanted to. I consider myself someone who needs to be productive each day. Since having a child I value every single second I have available even more. Just see my post on how I spent my year of maternity leave here. Not getting something done would really bother me. And I’m talking getting myself down, thinking I’m not achieving anything, ever, and yes, losing sleep.

Proactive mindset

In order to make a start at being proactive while working from home, I made the decision at the end of that frustrating day that I needed to do that thing I didn’t get around to doing. The annoyance I felt gave me a drive to take action the next day. Sometimes I had to put things in place like asking for help to have additional time to do the things I wanted done.

Other times I would really have to force myself to stop procrastinating and just start on getting something done! I took the approach that would work best for me in that moment. It’s ok to adapt to whatever style you need when you need it.

Achievable goals

I also had to do a bit of a reality check and make sure my goals were achievable. I do have a tendency to want to do a little too many things in the hours that are available in a day. This would lead to nothing but more frustration!

Be fair to yourself and make those daily goals achievable – especially if there is a big task you are working towards. Those small wins each day will get you there, I promise!

Be organised – plan ahead and write it down in your diary

Sometimes I was too busy to plan and then when the time came for action, I would think to myself “ok, I have time now, what do I do first?”. I would get so overwhelmed with the tasks I had to do I wouldn’t know where to start! You can probably tell where this would lead…

Once I started writing down all the tasks I needed to do in my backlog, I would take out a couple of achievable things from that list into my To Do tasks for the next day. This helped me better achieve the things I needed to.

Be flexible

Other times things don’t go to plan and you need to change what you had set out to do. Being able to adapt and change my schedule for the rest of the day was key to still being productive. By having my backlog of things I need to do would let me easily take things from this list and alter my to do list to my new schedule.

Productivity train begins

Once I completed one of the things I wanted to, I felt calm as well as energised to take on the next job. Then my productivity cycle began and I was in the right headspace to keep going and ticking off those things on my list! The more I did, the better I felt and on went this cycle.

Don’t be hard on yourself

My key takeaway is not to be too harsh on yourself for not getting everything done that you had planned to. Things happen and your plans may need to change and sometimes nothing happens yet you still didn’t achieve all you had planned. Its ok.

Its fine to go through the cycle of feeling frustrated. It means it will give you that poke to do more tomorrow. When you do more, you feel energised to do even more. That positive reinforcement will drive you into that proactiveness that you were after.

And yes, there will be days when you again get frustrated and don’t achieve all that you wanted to achieve. This can come even after you have had a set of great days. Just relax. Tomorrow is another day. The key is to start doing…doing anything…to break you out of that cycle and onto the road of being proactive again.

Do remember it is also ok to take some time off. This is something that I still find hard doing myself. Even more so now that the line between when work ends and my personal life begins can be blurred quite easily when working from home. Personally, I have tried to relax myself in this space by taking time out to go for walks, sitting down to have my tea or coffee, or listening to a meditation. As you might be able to tell I’m a big introvert.

Remember, nothing stays the same forever. If you are working from home, enjoy the opportunity because you never know what might happen next week. Especially in current times! Things could change at any moment, even if you can’t see it yet. The past has gone and the future isn’t here yet. Enjoy the moment you are in now.

Please share any tips that you have about being proactive while working from home below!

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I have had the chance to work with many leaders in senior positions throughout my career. A key skill I have developed is being able to adapt to their personal leadership and management styles.

Understanding the ways they prefer to work is extremely useful when it comes to your own career development. I quickly learnt that even those leaders who do want to help you develop your career, may not have the time to sit with you to consider potential pathways and opportunities.

In my experience I had to be proactive about my own development. If I wasn’t, I probably wouldn’t have gotten many of the opportunities I was fortunate enough to undertake.

I’d like to share some of my insights from what has worked well for me. These don’t work with every leader you work with so it is just a matter of trial and error to figure out what works in your working-style with your boss.

Tip 1: Lay the foundation

The most essential step to take when working with senior leaders yet still developing your own career. Start by demonstrating you can handle any task and do a great job, no matter how big or small. Become reliable and trusted. You need to establish yourself before you can go on to the next steps of asking for opportunities for career progression.

Show you can handle what you’ve already been given to do first. Once you have established your foundation, you will be able to go on to the next steps of career growth.

Tip 2: Do your research and clearly articulate what you want

If you are interested in a career path, investigate it further. There are a number of things you could do. Start by engaging with the people in your network. Find out what qualifications and experience you need. Attend industry events and ask people in your network to introduce you to someone who is in a role you might want to be in one day. Do your research. Be clear on what you want from the next steps in your career. Note – from all that research you might find its not actually what you want to be doing!

You might find you have to take this approach if you don’t have the chance to have these conversations with your boss, but your boss is very keen to help you grown in your career. In my experience I was lucky enough to have several bosses who were supportive in helping me progress. They were willing to help me create opportunities, I just had to let them know what it was that I wanted.

Tip 3: Take initiative your boss’s key deliverables

You might be in a situation where you aren’t sure of what you want to do in your career at the moment, but you want to keep moving forward. I recommend understanding your boss’s key priorities. What do they need to deliver on? What are the priorities they are working toward? Is there a new way of working they might be introducing across the organisation? Offer to be involved/lead something in that space.

For example, years ago, a boss of mine wanted to introduce agile ways of working for all his teams. He then had big plans to expand more broadly across the organisation. I offered to work with a lead contractor he brought in to help roll this out. I put up my hand to do anything and everything and did it well. Responsibility came slowly but surely.. I was able to not only develop a great understanding of this new methodology. I also ended up leading projects in a new unit that was established and found a new passion!

Tip 4: Get involved in meetings

Ask to attend meetings you see in your boss’s diary. I was fortunate enough to have a boss who took the approach of “If you see anything in my diary you are interested in, just come along”. This was gold to me and definitely one of the best perks to working with a senior leader.

I went to so many interesting meetings with many different internal and external stakeholders. It gave me an excellent opportunity to shadow my boss and understand how to run their portfolio. I also started offering to take on tasks to do that came out of these meetings which turned into projects I was able to lead. I appreciated every opportunity!

Tip 5: Find a time that works

I still recommend trying to find a time that works for a chat with your boss. It would be a shame to miss the opportunity to receive guidance from a senior leader. I would figure out what time would work best for each boss I had. For instance, sometimes I met my boss very early in the mornings for a coffee, before the working day began.

Other times we would meet after work following our last meeting, or when my boss was working from home I’d give them a call via video-conference. Find what time works well for them and take that opportunity to have a chat. There is a wealth of experience you could learn from a senior leader.

Tip 6: Take a step back and reflect

At the end of each week or fortnight, write down the things you have achieved. When working with senior leaders, it is so easy to get caught up in the high work load that you may not get a chance to be fully aware of and appreciate your own achievements! Take the time to sit down and write out what you achieved during that period of time. I am sure that you will be pleasantly surprised by what you come up with.

Wishing you the best of luck with your career progression!

Check out other articles around Personal Initiative here.

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This afternoon I instantly perked up when three of my former colleagues joined me for a catch-up after work. Connecting with others was an excellent mood booster! Hearing about their experiences over the past few months and funny things they are doing to keep things interesting! I think we laughed the entire time.

A good thing I can take away from this time is that meeting with this group of colleagues would be very difficult to organise in person. Probably one of those events that you would have to organise weeks in advance, checking schedules and book a time when everyone is free. This way, we only had to organise it a day beforehand!

If you haven’t had too much engagement with others lately, reach out to someone – or a few people! Connecting with others is a powerful mood booster. So start a chat (video makes a lot of difference) with friends or colleagues using software that works for everyone. Don’t wait until you get to a point where you really start to feel isolated. Do something about it now.

I have started booking in coffee catch-ups with friends for the next couple of weeks ahead. This will help to get me away from feeling how I did earlier today. Its another thing to look forward to in my week

For additional articles on your personal initiative, check out the following link.

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I annoyingly find I do this when something in my career isn’t quite the way I want it to be at that moment in time. I start comparing myself to others my age and where they might be, what project they are working on, what roles they are moving into, their past experience, the list could really be endless!

And it can become quite the downwards spiral if I let it! So I don’t.

These are the things that help me mind my own business when times get a little down:

• Doing something else that helps upgrade my skills – I have started to engage with others in my industry and have begun using my network to start working for myself. Its scary but very satisfying. It is something I am doing on my own with my own terms and the only people I have available to compare myself are to the ones I look up to so I can see how I too can be successful in my new venture.
• Having patience – putting things into perspective, understanding where I am at a particular point in my career and re-evaluating where I want to be are the first steps in this point. I then recognise that it can’t instantly happen e.g. I can’t magically understand and be a master in a new project management methodology within the next week no matter how much I want it! It will take time and of course effort to make it happen.
• Take action and then take some time off – however long you are able to take off, even if its just a day, take it. With that time off, use it to do something to take you a step closer to what it is you want to be doing and where you want to be. Reach out to a mentor and meet them for a coffee, sign up to that course, launch that website, apply for another job. Whatever will make you feel like you have accomplished something with your time. Then, do something fun. I recommend something that you might not do too often. I enjoy going to symphonies at the Opera House. It reminds me that there is a much bigger world out there!
• Keep going – it’s ok to feel down for a little bit and its perfectly normal, don’t worry about that at all. Once you feel what you need to feel, pick yourself up and keep going. There will always be ups and downs so you can be guaranteed, an ‘up’ is coming around to you soon enough.

Bigger steps I have taken have included changing my job and industry altogether. For example, I was part of a cohort of about 20 graduates. We were hired for a two year program within an industry that most people continued working in for years after. It was the type of industry where many people spent their entire careers. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with this, just in this case the culture tended to be quite toxic and not very innovative in many areas. When we came to the end of the program we all had to find jobs, presumably within the industry, on our own.

At a catchup following our graduation ceremony the week before, the first questions being asked around the table as we were sipping our drinks were about what role we had scored and what level it was at. This continued for years that followed and it was generally just annoying and a little stressful to being constantly compared to everyone else in the group. So this (but among a few other major reasons) I decided I wanted to move out of the industry. I took a risk and found somewhere else to work and I flourished in my new work world. It was fantastic.

It allowed me the freedom to not have certain people and situations around me that reminded me of where I might need to be at a particular point in my career. My mind was free to soak up my new environment and eagerly learn new things. Basically, I was allowed to mind my own business and excel!

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To sum up my first few weeks back, I have the following insights I can offer:

Be patient

Before I left to have my baby I was in a role where I was constantly busy. I expected the same when I returned back on the first day!! I know this was unrealistic but I wanted to get back to being me at work again. It will happen! My diary is already full with upcoming meetings and it didn’t take too long. The work I produce will happen soon too.

Be kind to yourself

It is ok to go through a whole bunch of emotions and thoughts about choices you have made, whether you will still get the same career development opportunities, can you still do what you used to do!?!! It’s all normal and for now I’m taking it day by day. I’m taking the approach of saying yes to everything, being proactive and at the same time explaining my skills and how I would love to develop in the team.

Reach out

This one relates a lot more to the current environment under COVID19. It was pretty lonely and isolating coming back to work and immediately working from home. Meanwhile there was a restructure in the team and 95% of people were new. To combat my loneliness I reached out to my new manager almost everyday, spoke to work friends in other areas and once I was in a program of work, I started being included in a lot more team based meetings.

Put in a little extra effort

For me personally, I don’t feel settled when I can’t see the full picture and get to the point where I feel comfortable with understanding what is going on. I am spending extra time getting familiar with the broader context and more detailed content regarding the new project I have been assigned to. If you can allow yourself a little extra time when you are not at work to do this, even just for the first few weeks, it will pay off.

Wishing you the best of luck if you are returning to work after maternity leave.

For further articles relating to your personal initiative and your career, check out the following link.

The Career Girl

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The idea itself seemed terrifying. But I put my hand up to be considered as a resource for the project anyway. Note, to be a resource. I thought it would be great to learn how to approach a project like this and lend a hand myself.

Background

A little context first. I was part of a central executive team for my boss who had about 1,000 employees located in multiple offices across the state. His team had five people who were dedicated to running his central office. The team had a manager who I reported into and we ultimately reported to our boss.

My manager became the lead for this project. It made sense that all messaging and direction came from this central team. He asked me whether I wanted to co-lead the initiative and I said ‘yes’! Liking the fact that I would have him as a safety net.

Staff from across the organisation nominated themselves to also be a part of the initiative. They first checked in with their managers as to whether they could participate.

After about 6 months, the project really wasn’t going anywhere. This was mostly because of a restructure among the leadership team with culture being the last thing on their minds. As a result, those who had self nominated weren’t very motivated to contribute. They didn’t show up to our regular scheduled meetings or become involved in initiatives.

On top of this, my boss and my manager eventually left the organisation as well! This left me as the key contact for the project. Among all this, I admit I had let the project slide. It was terrifying to lead it on my own! I also didn’t have anyone I felt I could turn to for support with leading a project like this. Going it alone was scary.

After a few months, the organisation had somewhat of a stable leadership team and my new boss wanted the project to kick up again. I was asked to lead the project and think of a way to re-launch it.

This was terrifying and exciting at the same time. I wanted to make a good impression on the new leadership team.

So what did I do? I’ll summarise it here in dot points as I could go on for a little while!

That’s pretty much the essence of what I did and it managed to work. There were definitely other actions I also took throughout the process. But I feel these were the most significant that led to the success of the initiative the second time round.

As time went on we quickly had successful projects launch and people coming together to take part in them. I even started to have people asking me whether they could be a part of the group!

Leading cultural change in an organisation is difficult. Even though it terrified me I did it. When asked to lead my next project, I was less nervous to do so. And so my experience began to grow.

I would love to hear about your own experiences in leading a project that initially terrified you! Please comment below.

For further career insights, check out my blog here.

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Being a grad has so many opportunities that come with it.

This is your moment to ask all those ‘silly’ questions (just for the record, no one will think they are silly), this is your moment to ask if you can shadow someone who is at a high level in the organisation, this is your moment to ask whether you can attend an executives only meeting for learning purposes, this is your moment to ask whether you can work on any project you want that is interesting!

Don’t wait to do these things later – you might never have that opportunity.

Don’t be afraid to be given the ‘boring stuff’ from a project either. In previous posts I talk about how important it is to take those small tasks you are given and show that you can handle them perfectly to allow your reputation to grow. Because in reality, it is an entry level role and both you and your employer needs to take some time to find out what you can do before things really take off. As your reputation grows, so does the trust people have in you and the work you are given. All you need is patience and persistence.

From fellow graduates going through my program, we have all shared stories about our experiences. I noticed that there isn’t a set role in someone’s grad year. The grads who gained the most out of their placements were the ones who pushed for more work and showed they could deliver. They are the ones who ended up with great mentors and best of all, job offers at the end!

Your opportunities as a grad are there for the taking. Make the most of them.

Wishing you all the best!

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At around about the four or five month mark, I found myself feeling more confident with being able to take care of my baby daughter (and being able to leave the house on my own with her!) and yet I found myself still being frustrated, thinking I wasn’t ‘achieving’ anything.

I know this is not true – I had a happy little girl to prove I was in fact achieving a lot!

I didn’t quite know how to overcome this frustration so I started to again do all the things that I enjoyed doing. I read, I started being creative again through my writing and art, I started exercising which I hadn’t done for a long time. I was starting to feel better because I was doing something for myself.

I love being productive with my time and I am passionate about learning, and I found I was still very passionate about my career. Perhaps even more so because I wanted to provide the best life I could for my new little family.

So I asked a friend of mine who is a consultant if I could do a project with her, and that’s where it began! A project came up within a month and so began my endeavours into the consulting world. It was an interesting project with a chance to make a real impact on a lot of people. I felt really motivated and enthusiastic…and productive!

I am now taking chances and really changing how I work. Projects are leading to other projects and I have a fantastic chance of growing my own business in this space.

Because I am able to do things I enjoy and I am feeling productive, I am happier and I’m therefore able to be more relaxed, calm and more patient with my daughter. She picks up on how I am feeling very easily so the more relaxed I have been the more relaxed she is.

I have also noticed that I really value every single second and I don’t like to waste even one minute now. I have a plan of how I’d like to spend each morning she is napping to ensure I keep up this positive feeling going. I admit not every day goes to plan but I know not every day will be the same and I can catch up on ‘mummy’ time either later that day, the next day, or the day after that.

I hope that your maternity year gradually becomes easier too as you progress through the months. I know it is difficult and I hope some of my learnings are able to inspire you to take care of your self more too. Allow yourself the time to do what you enjoy. You owe it to yourself and your family

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It took me years before I arrived at a place where I was recognised for my potential. Working hard on gaining experience and exposure to different people is the foundational first step. I also made sure I was genuinely showing that I was keen to take on more work.

I recall constantly saying to my superiors that I wanted to work on any project that was going around! This all took a lot of patience and persistence but it was worth it. And I encourage you to do the same.

Sometimes an internal opportunity didn’t work out for whatever reason. I would go through the emotions of frustration and then get on with it. I would always start to search for work outside of what I was given. For instance, I would offer to take on a problem I noticed, or turn what I was given into something creative.

Example 1 – The stuffy storeroom

I was once given a task as a graduate where I was asked to tidy the storeroom. It was stuffy with lots of boxes with old paperwork. At first I really didn’t want to do it and wondered why my masters degree was going to waste. But then the organiser in me took it on, one box at a time. I read through old records, scanning and recording and uploading them into the organisation’s electronic database.

I did a good job, was able to find out a little more history about where I worked, and could notice something tangible from my hard work. It paid to just take it on enthusiastically (instead of groaning to my manager about it). I was able to take another step in being seen as someone reliable who will do a good job with whatever she is given. The cherry on top was receiving a note of appreciation from the records management team on my efforts. I had made important records permanently available for the entire organisation to easily access. I had grown my relationship with them too!

Example 2 – The confusing policy

A later task I was given involved analysing very poorly written and confusing policy document about the ethics research process for the organisation. It was a very confusing guide for staff members wanting to undertake research. I honestly wasn’t too interested in the topic and didn’t want to work on something no one else wanted to do.

But I changed my mindset and wanted to understand and solve this puzzle. I wrote out key steps on fun post-it notes and rearranged them as I read through the document. I was able to develop great flow charts that stepped staff through what they needed to do, who they needed to speak to and documents they needed to complete. My manager was over the moon and kept saying what an excellent job I did at analysing the document. I had turned it into something meaningful that people would actually use.  

In the end

Although it took time, one task led onto another and then another and my reputation grew. The tasks became more difficult as I slowly demonstrated that I was keen to do it all and my initiative didn’t go unnoticed. I was able to finish off my placement with a solid list of work experience, several excellent references, and best of all, a job offer.

So the next time you feel like your current job isn’t your dream job, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Find creative ways to turn boring tasks into opportunities to propel your career forward. That one task will most certainly lead onto another and you want the next task to be a good one! So put in the effort that is required. Show that you are reliable and that your team can count on you. At the end of it all, you will feel proud of what you have built for yourself and your reputation will grow in ways you can’t even see yet.

Check out more articles to drive forward your personal initiative here.

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Ask yourself what is going on for you.

Is it too easy to stay where you are? Are you afraid of going for what you really want? Do you think you lack the skills necessary to make the leap to something new? Don’t want to put in the effort to get that new opportunity?

I find that taking steps toward a change very helpful. No matter how small they are. Once you are on a role you become more and more motivated to keep taking steps.

You might want to test the market – see what is out there for you. Apply for a role or two – or more! See what happens!

You might want to ask for more responsibility at work – showing initiative and working hard gives those around you, particularly superiors, a view of you that is reliable and capable. This path will lead you to bigger things, I guarantee it.

You might look into finding a project you can undertake outside of your full time job – is there someone who you have always wanted to work with? Do you want to grow a hobby of yours into something bigger? The point is to take action, take a risk and do something for you. It will motivate you to keep taking further leaps and when you look back, I’m sure that you will see that you have made progress both personally and professionally.

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