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Don’t forget to work too hard on yourself sometimes
By Justin Goldsborough | February 1st, 2010
Are you one of those people who works too hard? You know, the ones who get to the office early, leave the office late and are always online? Ok, since 95 percent of you just raised your hand, let me ask the question a different way — Are you one of those people who works too hard on work, and not hard enough on you? Because, you see, there is a difference.
I just got back from the IABC Leadership Institute conference in San Diego, a meeting of passionate chapter members from around the world who took a couple of days away from the office to work on themselves and to bond with their fellow communicators. I’m guessing nobody really had the time to spare and everyone had work they could have been doing, but this trip was important because there’s a value in professional organizations like IABC, PRSA, etc., and we know the people we meet and the conversations we have make us better communicators and build our personal brand.
The same “people and conversations” reference applies when it comes to our social networks. How much time do you spend meeting new people on Twitter, engaging with contacts on Facebook, learning from conversations on blogs and sharing your points of view by blogging with your community?
Lately, I see too many people working too hard solely on client work and neglecting work they could be doing on themselves. We preach to our clients to listen and engage with their communities, to have a conversation strategy. But often times we fail to practice what we preach and the only conversations we have are with our colleagues and are clients. It may seem that putting your nose to the grindstone like that and wearing blinders to the rest of the world is the noble thing to do — take one for the team (your clients and coworkers). But in reality, your work suffers and you risk burnout if you don’t take some time to develop yourself.
Here are six tips on how to develop yourself while continue developing awesome work for your clients:
- Blog. Every communicator should blog at least once a week. And “I don’t have time” isn’t a good excuse. Why blog? Well for one, we’re communicators. And we always need to be honing that craft and learning how people perceive what we’re trying to share. But second, blogging allows you to share your personality and knowledge with the world. It promotes creativity and identity — gives you something to be proud of. And that pride leads to confidence, which leads to better work for your clients.
- Participate. Yeah, I now you’re busy. But set aside at least an hour a day to read and reply to online conversations — tweets, blog posts, blog comments, forums. By joining these conversations, you gain different perspectives and learn from your peers. It’s like doing interactive research. Look at it this way…you probably think it’s a good idea to keep learning about your profession and developing your skills, right? That’s exactly what you’re doing by participating online. And you’re actually saving time and money (most professional development events cost money, especially that one called college :)). Plus, would you ever tell a client you have all the answers? If you’re not spending time online picking your peers’ brains then you’re only bringing one perspective to the table for your clients — yours. Is that really providing them the best work possible?
- Join. Find an organization you’re passionate about. At least one, maybe more. And try to interact with that organization at least once a month. Maybe you can attend a professional development event or go to a fundraiser. Maybe you can use your passion to step out of your comfort zone and try a skill you’ve always thought you need but don’t have any practice doing. If you’re like me, it’s budgeting. I hate math and have never been good at it. But I need to understand it to better understand our business. Through IABC, I’m learning to do a budget for the KC chapter as well as a strategic plan. Maybe you’ve always wanted to film/edit videos to pitch media and bloggers. You bought a Flip cam but are haven’t moved past filming your dog when he eats. Non-profits ALWAYS need PR help. Find one you like and create a promotional video for the organization.
- Read. I’m saying this to myself as much as I’m suggesting it to you. Set a goal to read a book each month. You may read a lot more than that, but it’s easy to get so wrapped up at the office that the books stay on the shelves. Fight the urge to put reading off and when you’ve finished your book, do a blog post about it. Tackle two birds with one stone.
- Network. It is not possible to do too much networking. Go ahead an try. I triple-dog-dare you :). And no, networking with your colleagues doesn’t count! Seek out one new person each week, online or offline, and really learn something about them. Every time you meet someone new, you uncover a new community of contacts, surface new perspectives and build new relationships. Your network is vital to your success. Who do you think writes those recommendations on LinkedIn and helps you with those questions you tweet? Not recommending or tweeting? Give it a shot. Those are great ways to network. Furthermore, you know what sucks…losing your job and not having a network built up to help you find a new one. Your company may not want to lay you off in the future, but they will do what’s best for the brand. You need to do what’s best for your brand.
- Exercise. Step away from the computer and do something fun and active. Working out actually gives you more energy if you get into a routine and even 20 minutes three times a week can make a real difference in how you feel…ok, ok and maybe in how you look too. But the how you feel piece is what I was getting at.
You don’t have to try all six of these tips at once. Pick one, give it a shot and then try a second. Remember, once you do something new for 30 days it becomes a habit. And that’s really what I’m getting at here…make a habit of working harder on yourself. In the end, you’ll do better work for your clients and feel better about how well-rounded you are. It’s ok to work too hard, as long as some of that working too hard is to develop your brand.
So…
- What do you do to work on yourself?
- Do you have a plan for making sure you follow through on these six tips?
- How has working on yourself changed your life for the better?
- What tips would you add?
Let’s continue the conversation in the comments.
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:20 am
Finding the balance between work time and “work for me” time is tricky. I’ve found that I’ve gotten better at it since going into business for myself because many of these activities also help me market my services…thus I don’t feel guilty that I’m doing things just for me. The important thing to remember is that doing “just for me” things isn’t “just for us” at all, it also helps us build our abilities to better serve our clients and colleagues.
While blogging, networking etc. can help us reinforce our personal brands they also help us with professional development. When I blog I have to dig into issues more deeply so that I can better explain them to others. In the process I learn more myself. When I Tweet, answer questions on LinkedIn, etc. the same thing happens. I learn from the people with whom I connect. In Web development, mktg, social media, etc. it’s a race to keep up with new information because the fields evolve so quickly. Connecting with peers, while also reading blogs and books, helps us to stay current so that we can do our regular work more effectively for our clients. I also get a lot from podcasts. I listen to both work related shows like “This Week in Tech” and “Boagworld” and brain candy shows like “This American Life” and the BBC’s “In Our Time.” Since I can put these on my iPod, it means I can take the learning and entertainment on the road, away from my computer, so I’m not distracted by e-mail and Tweets.
Reading books is great, I’d add that they needn’t be related to work or to what you blog about. A good juicy novel can refresh the mind while also exposing us to different writing styles. I like to read a lot — anything from Nobel prize winning literature to cheap dimestore novels. Reading helps us become better writers because it let’s us see what works. And if we read a lot we pick up this knowledge through osmosis, we become attuned to what flows, and what is awkward, then can apply this knowledge to our own prose. The ability to write and communicate clearly helps in a variety of fields so I think this can be important for just about everyone.
As you mention, exercise is helpful for a variety of reasons, but just taking a walk, and moving ourselves to a different location, can also clear the mind and give us new perspectives. Visiting Web sites and blogs in different fields or working on art projects can jump start the mind as well. If I’m working on something and get bogged down with a technical problem, I’ll put it down and do something completely different. If I run off and spend 20 minutes walking about with my camera taking pictures of trees (or whatever is around) it’s like restarting the mind. When I come back to the computer I can tackle the problem with fresh eyes then quickly ferret out the problem. If I’m snowed in, wandering the Web and reading a maritime blog or visiting a site about paleontology can be just as effective, because it puts my mind in a different place. (And we can sometimes get fresh ideas from sites that have nothing to do with our own fields of expertise.)
Overall I’ve found that applying these principles makes me better at what I do, but it also keeps things interesting. Networking and idea sharing make learning exciting because we can pick up on the enthusiasm of others. The quest for learning is always worthwhile, but somehow when we do it with others it really helps to build the momentum. In the end we’ll not only have improved ourselves, but by sharing online via blogs and social media we’ll also have enhanced our reputations in the process. One doesn’t even need to do it on purpose. If you are out there talking about the work that makes you want to get up in the morning, and sharing good ideas that others value, people will notice.
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:36 pm
These are all great suggestions. I think one of the best things you can do is blog because it helps you learn more about your field, network with others and participate in social media.
Great post!
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:49 am
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February 3rd, 2010 at 3:32 pm
@Heidi Wow, so many good points, where do I start. My favorite you made is that “doing “just for me” things isn’t “just for us” at all, it also helps us build our abilities to better serve our clients and colleagues.”
That sentiment is right on target and one of the points I think companies that don’t encourage employees to block out time to “work on me” fail to see.
When you write that blog post, form that new relationship, participate in the community…that all reflects well on your employer by personal brand association. And it makes you a happier person, which makes you a happier employee, which again positively impacts your company’s brand.
Can you say domino effect? Gee, I wish more employers could see that.
@Rachel I agree, I’ve learned so much from blogging. It’s made me do research, it’s made me think about how to best get my message across, it’s made me network. And blogging differentiates you and shows your personality — extremely important if you are looking for a job and extremely beneficial if you are looking to share and sell ideas.
Best,
Justin
@JGoldsborough
February 6th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
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