I just want to keep you in the loop. I can get so immersed in the changes happening around me (I am the queen of reinvention, after all) that I forget I haven’t told you what is happening, and it is not my intention to leave you wondering what the heck is going on…

Sanctuary

We are in the final throws of the reinvention of Sanctuary into a monthly on-line magazine. It has a beautiful new name (if you can guess the name there is a surprise gift waiting for you!!! – leave a comment below – and no, contributors since you already know you cannot enter – sorry!!!); a gorgeous new look and feel and format (thanks to the artistry of Leah Maclean, who always knows exactly what I mean when I tell her how I want something to Feeellll… she’s so in tune!); and a great line-up of contributors waiting eagerly in the wings for the first edition!

Thank you to all our loyal readers who have sooo patiently awaited the launch of the new… we’ve been working to get it ‘just right’… that sanctuary feel is soooo important! The new magazine will be like a day-spa for your senses… decadent, informative, relaxing, a real no-mobile-phones-allowed kind of escape where you can chill for a minute or an hour and emerge refreshed and ready to face anything your day throws at you!

We’ll be announcing the launch very very soon, and for those on our subscriber list, we’ll send you an email the minute it’s up! If you want to be on that list – please leave your email address here, and you can be one of the first to know about our exciting launch! (Freebies included!!!)

Career Change Space

On a totally different topic – we’re currently brainstorming the best way to make Career Change Space a valuable resource for you. We have noticed a huge amount of interest in this site recently, and want to provide the best information to help you make those gut-wrenching decisions about changing jobs or careers…

If that is YOU – I’d really love to hear from you as I work through this reinvention! Would you please leave a comment below, or email me personally at theclearingspace@ gmail.com – let me know what type of information on career change you think would be most useful to you.

It is an interesting path I follow, bringing this to you, and I just want to let you know I really appreciate your visit… whether you are a friend, a regular reader or you’ve just popped in today – you are special and I cherish your attention.

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and making a new ending.
Maria Robinson

Today, all the kids are (finally) back at school after winter holidays. They are regretting the passing of their free time and sleep-ins. I am enjoying the quiet and the ability to play my own music… I enjoy having them home, for the holidays, but enough is enough!

I am relishing this quiet Monday… are you?

If your week didn’t start out the way you would have liked, what can you do, right now, to make the rest of today and the week more to your liking?

Will you take up the challenge in this quote, and start today to make a new ending?

Here’s an extract from that newsletter:

A Clearing Space Moment

Can you set aside some time in the next week or so to reflect on the first half of 2007? Can you, without judgement, see what you have accomplished?

What about listing all the things you are grateful for, right now? You know those learning experiences we all had over the last six months (otherwise called challenges…)? Can you list what they helped you learn, realise or decide? They really did have a silver lining in there somewhere, didn’t they? (I love silver linings!!!)

Now, why not go back to that exercise we did back in January – and see yourself on New Year’s Eve 2007. Where are you? How are you? What are you proudest of over the past year?

What do you need to do today, tomorrow and for the next six months to make that a reality?

Will you be popping the cork on the Bollinger on New Year’s Eve this year?

Phil Gerbyshak, at Make It Great! had a similar idea… in 20 Questions: Monday Morning Greatness Phil lists 20 questions he’s going to ask himself for his mid-year review, based upon three areas that are very important to him – People, Learning and Time Management plus some general questions. I really like how he decided the categories first – the things that are most important to him at this particular time – then worked out what questions to ask himself in each of those three categories. Phil’s enthusiasm is infectious, and with a list of questions like this, we just know he’s going to have a terrrrrific year!

Here are his “general” questions which jumped out of the page at me as I read them:

1. What did I do that I am the most proud of?
2. What do I need to do more of?
3. What do I need to do less of?
4. What do I need to STOP DOING?
5. What’s the next baby step towards where I want to be?

I thoroughly recommend you pop on over and read his entire list of 20 questions – then set yourself the task of answering your own questions about your life if you’re yet to do that half-time review.

2007 really can be the best year you’ve ever had – you’re going to come home a winner during second-half!

PS subscribe to More Space today!

Even if you’ve heard the story before, the movie will make it come to life… grab a box of tissues though!

(You knew I could not leave it at that, didnt you?:)

This story helps each one of us – no matter who we are, not matter what we do, no matter how rich or poor – realise that by changing our focus we CAN make a difference in the lives of others.

We can perform miracles every day – take the time to notice the heart in others…

"A new level of success will always require a new level of organisation"

- Cheryl Richardson

It happens every time.  In the getting ready for the new stuff, the new project, the new business venture, the new timetable, we need to focus, for a little while, on the "getting organised" part of that.

In preparing for the new, as I am doing at the moment, even while I prepare my plans and write my outlines, I am (re)assessing my organisational strategies and processes for I know they need sprucing up (a lot) in order for me to fit the new into my busy schedule.

And it’s a systemic sort of organisation I am talking about.  Not just the paperwork.  Not just the filing.  Not just the bill-paying process, or who monitors the bank accounts.  It’s much more than that.

It’s about my whole life process.  For getting organised in my ‘business world’ isnt simply a matter of a new diary/planner, a way to manage the paper and tricks to keeping my inbox under control.  It’s also managing what’s for dinner, and when the washing gets done.  And remembering to buy dog food, and keeping milk and bread in the house. 

Not to mention regular dental appointments for the whole family, and remembering birthdays and anniversaries, keeping in touch with friends, and getting the car serviced on time. 

And in the past, when confronted with the challenge of a new level of organisation, I’ve taken the hard way.  I’ve looked for ‘the perfect method/system/book/product’ that will solve all my worries.

I’ve decluttered my heart out – (and yes, that still HAS to be done on a regular basis… each time I am so surprised by how much goes) but getting rid of clutter doesnt organise me or my life.

I’ve researched.  I’ve read the books.  And that is all well and good.  I love David Allen’s Getting Things Done.  I’ve been into Covey, and Karen Kingston’s Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui.  I’ve read Julia Morganstern, and devoured any magazine article on ‘getting organised’.  I even had an addiction to shops like Howards Storage World and Ikea – reading their catalogues over and over in the vain search for ‘the solution’.

Only, of course, there is no prescription.  No fixed solution to ‘getting organised’.  There are only small, itty bitty, baby steps.  And there is definitely Taking Action.

Once I finally learned that taking action, not reading, researching and planning, was my biggest hurdle – things started to change.

Now, when I catch myself trying to make a decision about my diary/calendar for 2007 – I realise I am back in my perfectionist ways.  I want the PERFECT diary.  Gorgeous, useful, will fit me like a glove.

[I am a pen and paper girl, my diary will never be a PDA - been there, didn't work...]

I’ve tried Filofax and other planners.  And to be honest, whilst they are nice – in the end I realised (this only last week) that they are never going to work for me either.  Too complex.  Too many options.  I really am not good at making decisions when faced with too many choices.

So!  I have next year’s diary.  It’s the same diary I have used previously (just not this year, for some reason).  But now I realise this one DOES suit me well – it gives me a month at a glance and then a day to a page – so all my lists can be scrawled there where I wont lose them.

That is just the tip of the iceberg, though, isnt it?  It’s great that I have made A decision.  Any decision is better than none.  I realise that.

But this is only the first step on a long journey to getting myself – a messy perfectionist – in order.

How do you prepare for change?  For new challenges?

How are you preparing for the new year and the opportunities that may present in 2007?

When opportunity knocks, will you be ready?

You may really like, or even love your job.  The people in your team are great, and you have a pretty good relationship (well, most of the time) with your boss.  They even pay you pretty well and the benefits are good.

So what is wrong?  Why, with all that going for it, is your job not the place you need to be right now?

In the situation I witnessed last week, it was due to a realisation (that hit like the proverbial tonne of bricks) that the organisational culture had changed over the past few years to such a point that there is no longer care for the individual.  This organisation had turned around its ethos of caring for their customers (it is in a people service industry), and now seems them simply as bottom line.  Previously, their front line staff were involved with their customers in a way that made sense – a caring, symbiotic relationship.  Now their front line staff are simply salespeople trying to earn their keep, with ever increasing sales targets and incentives for throughput rather than accuracy and customer care.

And as I watched my client struggle with this realisation, I found Rosa’s post over at the blog Synergy about a company where ‘people matter more than programmes‘ and where caring for your staff rather than demanding they work longer and longer hours is important.   Where staff are allowed to ‘disappoint’ their boss on occasion, on account of being human.

Check out this post, then this one, and maybe you, like me, will be inspired by this story.  And you will know if it really is time to move on and find a better place – one where the individual takes pride of place.  One where they manage with aloha.

This is a follow up to my post yesterday about job hunting while still employed, which resulted in a couple of emails and Emmer’s comment "I honestly believe if my employer knew I was looking for another job,
they’d either fire me or treat me so differently that I’d become
miserable if I wasn’t already."

I
recall one time when I found out my personal assistant was looking for another job.  I was on maternity leave at the time, and she was soldiering on alone (and hence given a heck of a lot of responsibility).  The State Manager (who I had her reporting to in my absence from a ‘personnel’ viewpoint only – you know, leave, attendance records, etc) had discovered on our computer system that she was looking for a job and phoned me at home to let me know.

I didnt do anything with the knowledge, since I was a tad preoccupied with my brand new son.

It took her over four weeks until she phoned to tell me she was resigning.  And so I was used to the idea by that time.  But it was so darned inconvenient, let me tell you – trying to recruit a replacement and ensure she knew what she had to do to hold the fort until I returned to work, all while juggling a two month old baby.  (I must’ve done OK with the recruiting because her replacement was still with me eight years later!)

I felt betrayed, let down and very disappointed by her move.  But this was a special case since I hadn’t been replaced while on maternity leave & the department was still officially mine.  These days, I am not sure how I’d react.  (I know how I’d feel – but acting is different to feeling).

If I was out job hunting while still employed these days, I think I wouldn’t tell my manager that I was looking.  I may, however (and have done in the past) have a chat about what isnt working and how I am feeling.  Because in any situation is the possibility of improvement.

As a manager or a boss – how will you react if an employee tells you they are going to start looking for a new job?

Is Emmer right – would you fire them (rationalise – well, they were going to leave anyway, I dont want them around any longer to disrupt the team); would you make their life a total misery (I’ll show him!!); or would you try and place yourself in their shoes and thank them for the opportunity to improve the way their job/team/unit works?

Would you stop and listen long enough to find out what the real issues are, and then check to see whether anyone else on the team felt the same way?  Would you propose changes to your staff to help them be happier in their job, and maybe save them from leaving?   If that failed, would you see if you can accomodate them elsewhere in the organisation?

Would you put aside your ego long enough to see the human side of the equation?

In these days of chronic shortages of applicants for professional jobs and the high cost of recruiting and training new staff,  can you afford not to at least try to keep them within the organisation?

Here’s my two cents worth on how to go about looking for a job when you are employed – which for most of us is most of the time.  It is actually wise, not only from a financial perspective, but also from a future employers persepctive, to be in a job while you look for the next one. 

1.   Do you tell your current employer you’re looking for a new job?  OK, if you check out the comments on the Lifehacker post, you’ll see that opinions differ widely from ‘absolutely’ to ‘never’.  And they both have merit. 

My take is that it really does depend.  It depends on your reason for leaving (career move because there are no further opportunities here versus I cannot stand to work here a minute longer versus spouse transferred interstate versus they really arent paying me what I am worth – two against, two for).  It also depends on your relationship with your boss, and where your boss stands in the heirarchy of the company.  In my book – if you report directly to the CEO then they are going to take it as a betrayal nine times out of ten.

Here in Australia the ‘norm’ is that you don’t tell your employer you are leaving until the day you resign.

2.   Resigning and notice periods.  Once again, it may be different here to what it is in the US (where most of the commenters seem to be from) but here it is usual to give one pay period’s notice – so if you get paid monthly, you need to give 4 weeks notice (and there is normally a minimum of two weeks).  You also may be bound by your contract, an award or an enterprise agreement as to how much notice you need to give upon resignation.  Any future employer worth working for should be flexible enough on a start date to allow you to give an appropriate amount of notice.  Of course, you may be walked out the door, or asked to ‘work from home’ for the duration of your notice – be prepared for this (start slowly taking little things home each evening once you make the decision to leave).

Resignation must be done in writing, but it is good form to do it in person first, with the letter to hand over at the end of the conversation.  As a lot of the commenters mentioned, face to face is the most appropriate, unless of course you dont work in the same city/state/country as your boss.  Even still – it may be appropriate to ask for a few minutes of their time and actually book a phone conversation so you can be guaranteed their full attention as you do the deed.

It is wise and appropriate to keep your reasons for leaving close to your chest.  Especially if they are negative about the company or the staff.  Make the reasons you give about YOU, and how you feel and what you want – rather than about what they did or didnt do or say. 

3.    Conduct the search for a new job on your own time.  It seems we all agree on this.  Dont make phone calls or send off resumes or check out internet job boards when you are at work.  It is very bad form, and can get you fired before you are ready to leave.  And take time off work to attend job interviews – dont try to sneak out!  NEVER use company email to send out your resume – most companies these days monitor emails to and from their organisation and you WILL get caught.  Ditto for phone calls – use your mobile number, and turn it off during core work hours.  They can leave a message.

4.    Don’t burn your bridges – even if you cannot stand your current boss, getting nasty with them as you leave is NOT going to accomplish anything.  And you never know when you are going to need a reference from them.  Remember also that word of mouth can follow you from job to job and you never know who is networking with whom and talking about you.  Keep it nice.

5.    Referees – some interesting debate here.  Most employers I have dealt with would prefer a current work reference, and this can be especially difficult where you have been in your current job for a few years or more.  One thing I like to suggest is to see if there is someone who recently left the company (and therefore is no longer bound by loyalty) who could provide a workplace reference for you.  If all else fails, some employers will offer you a job, provisional on a reference from your current employer once you resign.  This is only risky if you havent been doing a very good job lately, or have burned bridges behind you.

6.    Job interview wardrobe.  I loved the discussion about changing into your suit in a MacDonalds restroom or in your car…(how come no-one mentioned the phone booth? It worked for Superman!:) obviously the people who commented on Lifehacker dont wear suits to work, but feel they are necessary for a job interview.  I have found that it is appropriate to explain to a potential employer that this is how you dress to fit in with your current employer, and that you couldnt wear your interview suit without raising suspicions… but do it while booking the interview to determine whether it is going to be a problem or not.  (Just remember that if you are called in for a second interview, then you will have to wear the suit).  If you commute and have no-where to hide your interview clothes, then you’re really going to have to get creative with your wardrobe or rely on friends that work down the street!

7.   Going for job interviews while employed – wardrobe issues aside.  Here I would advise getting as much role playing experience as possible with recruiters or friends who have conducted interviews to brush up your skills (depending on the length of time since your last job search), all outside work hours.   If you are using recruiters, do your research then take a day off work and book in to see the top four or so who seem the best fit or who recruit for the companies you’d like to work for.

Secondly, be very picky about the actual job interviews you attend.  Get a full job brief first to make sure this is worth your time and energy.  When they propose an interview time, get a feel for whether there is any flexibility around that.  Also ask for some indication of how long they think the interview will go for.  As to how you get the time off work if all else fails – again, that depends on your current work situation and the flexibility and autonomy you have.  I find it is better to say you have an appointment, than to lie and say a dentist or doctors appointment.  Of course, we each have our own level of comfort around that, though.  And we may be desperate enough to leave that we’ll say anything!

A tactic I have found useful is to brazenly put on your suit and announce you are off to a job interview.  Then hint to the office gossip that you’re actually seeing a lawyer/judge/stockbroker and want to make a good impression… By the time you get back to the office, no-one will believe you actually went to an interview, even if you cheerfully announce you got the job and are ‘outta there!’

8.    One final thing – for all those who blog.  Dont blog about your job search if you are identifiable in any way on your blog.  If you really feel the urge to write about it – save it and post it all once you have secured your new job.

These friends are in their fities, and she was telling me about her early employment experiences in Melbourne.  Di was employed by a large insurance company just before their engagement, and one of the conditions of employment was that you could not continue to work for the company when you got married.

(Shock, horror, gasp!)

Now, these days of course we cannot believe that – but back then, it was apparently standard in the insurance industry – in Australia anyway.  You resigned and left a couple of weeks before your wedding!

In Di’s case, a senior manager came out to visit her at home a couple of days before the wedding, saying they would like to offer her her job back – after the wedding.  It had taken a full meeting of the Board of Directors, and a special resolution to go against years of tradition – but she was the first married woman on their staff when she returned following her honeymoon.  Other insurance companies slowly followed suit in the ensuing years.

How far have we come since the 1960′s???  The workplace for women has changed at the speed of light, when you reflect back on it.  We have so many more opportunities – doors opening all around us where once were only brick walls.

Whenever I get frustrated that things arent changing quickly enough, or where parochial, patriarchal attitudes still persist – I need to remind myself that since I joined the workforce things have changed so much… and most of that change has been extremely positive – especially for women.

What do you think?

I’d like to ask the question, “Who says I’m opting out?” To outside
observers, I may have looked like “just another stay-at-home mom”
dressed for a day in the park, pushing a toddler in a stroller, but I
came to think of myself as a secret agent on a mission of reinvention.
This opportunity was a precious gift, one that offered me the freedom
to make radical changes in my sense of who I was, professionally and
personally. Many people, men in particular, never feel that they have
the opportunity to reinvent themselves in this way, but the transition
to motherhood virtually guarantees that you will reevaluate your core
self. Time off from your former job may allow you to reshape a career
that was not satisfying you, start a new venture, or rekindle
long-dormant interests.

…I love the
idea of being a secret agent because it takes away the pressure of
worrying how others are judging you for taking time off. Being a secret
agent gives you the freedom to observe your new life as a mom and take
stock of your interests. I recommend that you take a lifelong view of
your career path and take steps that will help you remain competitive
if and when you decide to go back to work. Even if this day doesn’t
arrive for many years, you can keep your skills sharp in the meantime.
Here are three ideas to help you develop your future plans on your own
terms:

• Get creative. Playing with your kids can open you up to
new creative pathways. Look for ways to express yourself. Art is not
just for kids. Motherhood can be a catalyst for rediscovering our
creative selves. When I was writing Mojo Mom, the book that inspired me
most was The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.

• Get
professional—even one day a month. Even when you are not employed, find
a way to stay in touch with your professional persona. This will
maintain your professional image in the eyes of the community, and even
more importantly, keep this important aspect of your self alive in your
own mind. …

• Develop an
entrepreneurial spirit. Many women find that after they have children,
the idea of creating their own business so that they can work on their
own terms becomes very appealing. Women-owned businesses are growing at
double the rate of male-owned businesses. A new study from the United Kingdom
showed that women over age 40 are more likely than all other age
brackets to start their own businesses. Even more interestingly, just
3% of those women over age 45 who currently run their own businesses
admitted they had considered starting their own company when they were
younger… When I speak to
college-age women I emphasize that entrepreneurial skills can help
bridge the conflicts between family life and traditional career paths.
Whatever your field of interest, if you can create a plan that allows
you to strike out on your own, your career future will remain in your
hands.

The greatest gift I have learned from being a secret
agent is that no life experience is ever wasted. I am open to using
everything I see, hear, or learn as an inspiration for my work. I no
longer let others limit my career path or define the worthiness of my
work as a mother or a writer. When you are a secret agent, you’ll have
the confidence that comes from knowing that even if the rest of the
world doesn’t always realize how amazing you are, you can move through
life armed with the confidence that your plans will succeed on your own
terms. [bold emphasis mine]

MojoMom, I think you have the right of it.  The time we take off to be with our babies is soo very precious, even though it is often accompanied by financial pressures due to loss of your income for the duration.  And by definition you are in a hugely creative phase, after all you’ve just made another human being – I think that is the pinnacle of creative!

So rather than see yourself as the ‘Mum’ who is no longer earning an income and spends her days with this little being who demands so so much of you – why not turn that around and become a secret agent women, out there in disguise looking for all the options. 

Remember you ARE amazing – go forth with confidence!

From my own experience – returning to your former job after your maternity leave expires can be great, but it can also be a cop out.  It may seem a lot easier to go back to a company and a job you know, rather than follow your dreams.  Yes, it’s safe.  But is it what you want now you are a Mum?

Why not take the opportunity while you have it? 

How could you reinvent yourself to fit the new, creative, inspired, wonderful you?