You can't teach new tricks to an old Career Coach. Or can you?
Over the last year, I've been feeling uninspired with traditional job search tactics, because (and I don’t think I have to tell you this, but the job market has been a hot dumpster fire ON a rollercoaster). I’ve tried to help clients as best I can by offering them every service under the moon that I thought would be helpful.
We’re talking workshops & webinars, 1:1 coaching, group coaching, management consulting, ebooks, workbooks, physical books, freebies, a coloring book (don’t ask), courses, emails, etc etc etc.
As you can imagine, this has left very little room for really digging in and doing the work with my cherished clients.
However, in trying to get my coachy mojo back, I've discovered that paring down what I offer (and how I offer it) has been incredibly rejuvenating for my work creativity.
If you're in a similar place of work overwhelm and have been procrastinating by letting yourself get distracted by non-work related things, you’re going to love this post. I’m sharing how I’m tacking work overwhelm and you can too.
Hint: There's also one specific career thing I'm giving up despite the fact that Michelle Ward has experienced such great results with it that she created her own!
Can you guess what it might be? Read on to find out.
Why is Trying New Things in Your Career So Important?
You may think that you have how to do what you do all figured out, and you don't need to be trying to fix something that ain’t broke.
However, after working with hundreds of clients, and paying attention to my own working habits, I’ve come to understand that it really is all about focus. The more focused you can be, the more clear on your desired outcomes, the absolutely exponential results you’ll have.
It’s about clarifying the outcome you need and how to get there in a way that works for you.
Want to tackle your own sources of career overwhelm? You're in luck! I’m currently taking on new clients for my 3 Session Career Tune Up coaching package.
Thankfully, I'm not the only one who benefits from my newfound love of simplification and ditching of work overwhelm!
Let's get into the three things I've been trying in giving my fitness journey a boost].
#1. New Career Thing: Creativity over Productivity
As creative types, we are often prone to procrastinating on ‘boring’ projects or getting totally overwhelmed with projects that aren’t going exactly as we planned.
I know for me that means sometimes avoiding things I’m not good at. For example, I’ve never been very good at plowing through projects when I’m unmotivated or can’t find the answers immediately.
You see where I've been going wrong with my way of work right?
That's right, by trying to force myself to be ‘productive’, I've actually been holding myself back. Yes, even coaches have their things that need to be worked on.
Instead, I know I need to step back and engage in creativity totally unrelated to my work. Did you know Einstein used to play the violin when he couldn’t suss something out?
Next time you feel like you’ve been staring at the same email for 20 minutes, why not try writing a haiku, taking a few photos, drawing that stranger sitting across from you at the cafe?
Check out DEVELOP YOUR CREATIVITY AND PERSONAL GROWTH WITH THESE TIPS
It's chock full of tips on how to embrace creativity for personal (and professional) growth.
#2. New Career Thing: Harmony for Happiness
I know, just like you, I had been rolling my eyes whenever one of my friends tells me that they don’t read their emails on the weekends… for balance…
Thankfully, my wife called me out on the fact that while I work with my clients to help them find harmony, I wasn’t practicing what I preached. I do use the term ‘harmony’ instead of balance, because balance indicates that there’s only TWO things, work and life. That’s it. I believe that there are four things you harmonize in your life if you want to feel less overwhelmed, more grounded and just more like you:
work/career
play/relaxation
family/friends
health/wellbeing
Here's just a few things that changed when I started actually prioritizing my balance/harmony:
I have more energy and focus (because I rested)
I feel better (because exercise is a priority)
I can help my clients in a deeper way (because I’ve taken time to read)
#3. New Career Thing: Career Tune Up
Silly to think that a career and business coach sometimes neglects her own business, but here I was overwhelmed by a full client calendar, with no idea how I was going to plan for the next quarter.
It dawned on me that I'd been putting all of my energy into making other people's career goals come to fruition but had neglected my own.
I blocked off three days on the calendar and sat down with a notebook and my favorite beverage. Thank goodness, I gave myself the gift of that time. It was one of the best investments I’ve made in a very long time.
Fast forward to today, and I’m happy to say that I am finally crystal clear on my goals and how to achieve them and am continuing to thrive just as much as my clients.
For example:
I’ve booked 3x more clients than this same time last year, have doubled my email list in just one year, and have created fantastic relationships with my clients while helping them create careers they love.
Want your own Set Yourself Up for Career Success workbook? Download it for free over here!
Bonus! I've Given Up On Planners
Here’s what I’m not doing anymore.
Through my work with running a business and coaching hundreds of clients, I’ve discovered that traditional ‘get stuff done’ advice just doesn’t work for me.
It’s finally sunk in that ‘productivity hacks’ and super-organized planners can actually cause more overwhelm for many of us, than help us get our work done.
For example:
When I wanted to work on my personal work-life balance I did what the ‘experts’ say you’re supposed to do and I got myself a super fancy, expensive new planner with all the bells and whistles and some fun new markers to go to town in that thing.
As I was filling it out however, I was surprised to discover that just the act of writing everything down and organizing it and ranking it and caused me so much dizzying overwhelm that I felt absolutely paralyzed and just… froze.
I was anything but balanced. I decided there and then that I had to listen to myself. I needed a NOT planner. I needed to simplify. BIG TIME. By letting myself do less planning, I got more done than ever before, faster.
This means that I don’t plan my day out by the minute.
There is enough stress in being good at what I do without freaking out about getting it “right” in a pretty planner I’m never going to refer to.
The feeling of freedom that has come from simplifying my daily organization has let me just breathe and do what I need to do.
Key Takeaways
You can make the most progress in ditching work overwhelm when you pick a few strategies, give them a spin, and see how they work for you. And if one technique isn’t a good fit, you’re better off finding one that is better suited to your brain.
There are so many ways to have the career you want, and I hope this post has given you some new ideas to try in your routine.
Is there a main takeaway that was helpful for you? Let me know over on Instagram, I would love to hear from you!
I’m all about helping you find work that works for you and to do it in your own way.
Want more free career advice? Reach out here with any questions or comments.
I am lucky to host a wonderful career community over in my newsletter. Yes, of course it’s completely free, but it may be a gateway to individual coaching with me.
I hope you give a few new things a try and finally ditch something you’re ‘supposed’ to do that just doesn’t work for you!
Yours in ‘doing new things’ goodness-
EBS
P.S. Don’t forget to download your free “Set Yourself Up for Career Success” workbook
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EB Sanders | Career Coach for Creative Types
ebs@ebsanders.com
Unsatisfied with your work? Start HERE now!
