Most things can be fixed with the writing of a list

I consider myself to be a career searcher.  I was made redundant in mid-October, which was a shock but fortuitous because I was planning to leave and had been making inroads into getting another job.  I don’t want to sound flippant but the situation was a useful coincidence. 

Deciding to temp for a bit and sort my head out I had a month’s break and then got a job at my local council doing admin for part of a Government-led education programme.  Now they want to keep me on, make my job permanent and I am very flattered and really pleased.

The best parts of my job are that it is busy, I get on well with my boss, it is in the public sector (ergo not making money for someone else) and I am involved with something that I understand.

More importantly this kind of job was one of many thoughts that made it onto my Career Ideas List.  While we’re being candid, I confess that I have Listmania.  On a daily basis, this involves simply writing a to do list for the next day.  In other aspects of my life, most personal crisis have been, if not remedied, at least helped, with the writing of a list.  A list helps to put all thoughts or worries outside of one’s head and see them for what they are.  Perspective can be gained, thoughts can be organised on paper and the mind can rest for a moment.  

So, the weekend after I was made redundant, and realising what an opportunity it was, I wrote a list for:
•    Everything I wanted to do at home, such as clearing out cupboards, putting up pictures etc
•    Friends to catch up with, films to see, and other things that I had not got round to doing.
•    My short-term job hunting plan
•    Jobs I was interested in doing and careers I wanted to know more about.

Before you start thinking that I’m some smug, organised so and so, please be assured that half the stuff I wrote down still has not been done.  Listmania is just that; a mania for writing lists.  It does not overcome procrastination or any other human foibles that stop things from happening.  Still, it helps at the time.

Back to redundancy though, and if you are in the position where you CAN have a month off, do it.  It is a great opportunity to think about what you want to do next and do some research.  I got into writing this blog because, at one time, I was researching journalism and wanted some writing experience. 

At the moment, I’ve no idea whether I will go into journalism but I love writing and was keen to just start doing some more of the things I enjoy.  I hope to be able to share my thoughts, experiences and recent research with you.  More on some of that next time!