If you’re pondering what you really want out of work, consider buying a pad of paper. What’s important to you as well as what’s next may well reveal itself on the pages of a journal.
Claire Conley, 48, who has kept a journal for 20 years, began to focus her writing on career issues about three years ago. At that time, she worked as a communications consultant and corporate trainer.
Conley says she loved her job but had begun to think about where she wanted to be by the time she turned 50.
“My career was extremely meaningful to me,” she says, “but I was ready for a change. And I was running at such a fast pace. . . . That pace of life doesn’t allow for reflection.”
So she picked up a pen, asked herself questions and answered them in her journal.
She says she asked herself how she could continue to make meaningful contributions and how she could have a life that allowed her more control of her time and her world.
“Writing helps me to reveal my own desires and thoughts more,” Conley says. “I saw that I could be doing something different with my life, whereas I didn’t think I could before. It lets you see life as a possibility for personal growth.”
The journal helped her embrace the idea of a major change. In 1999 she founded CIC Consulting Inc., a communication-skills coaching company, and embarked on a program to become a certified practitioner of Feldenkrais, a method of teaching people to move their bodies in the most efficient way, often used for chronic pain sufferers.
Running her own firm allows her the flexibility she needs to pursue parallel careers and, studying under the Anat Baniel method of Feldenkrais, Conley expects to be certified in 2003.
Besides liberating your thinking, a journal can be a way to vent–from letting off steam about a bad day at the office to getting through a rough patch in your career.
Judi Lansky, president of Lansky Career Consultants, says that in times of adversity, some people turn to writing as an outlet. “It helps you think things through,” says Lansky, who has conducted several workshops on journal writing.
Another benefit of writing is that it can be an excellent way to come to terms with losing a job.
Writing and communications consultant Lynn Staudacher remembers relying on her journal when she was laid off from her computer sales job in 1992. “Writing lets you tell things to the page that you couldn’t tell a friend or mate,” she says. “It can help you deal with the pain of rejection in the workplace.”
Staudacher began leading informal writing workshops and in 1997 founded her own firm called Trance-Formations.
She also sees writing as a great tool for job hunters. Staudacher likens journal writing to scrubbing up before an interview, or as she says, “getting the gunk off your soul.”
But while writers may extol the virtues of recording their ruminations, it’s not a natural response for everyone, says Tom Murray, executive director of the Career Transitions Center at Old St. Patrick’s Church.
“Some people think it’s [the best thing since] sliced bread, but others don’t see a practical purpose to it,” he says. “Writing is difficult for many people. Some people are completely turned off by the idea.”
As for practicality, Staudacher counters that “it’s cheaper than a career consultant.”
And Conley points out that even if you don’t manage to map out an exact route to your dream job, writing can be helpful in terms of contemplating life’s larger questions. “What you want out of life is scary to think about,” she says. “It’s not so scary to write about.”
To help first-time writers, the experts offer these suggestions.
Lansky advises using a paper notebook as opposed to a computer screen. “The connection between the brain and hand is much closer than with a computer,” she says.
Taking a cue from the “The Artist’s Way” series of books by Julia Cameron, Lansky recommends getting up at the same time every morning and, before doing anything else, writing three pages.
If you don’t know where to start, Lansky suggests writing a letter that you’re not going to mail. For example, if you are dealing with a layoff, you could write a letter to your former boss explaining why you are angry.
Don’t worry if it seems unproductive or even silly. Lansky says the point is to fill the pages, even if you end up writing something like: “I hate this, I wish I were in bed.”
Keep the journal for at least a month and eventually you should start to tap into your creativity.
Writing also may open you up to new ways of thinking. Says Conley: “The joy is that writing lets you create a positive vision of the future.”
(For more information about writing workshops, contact Staudacher at 773-489-6696 or Lansky at 312-494-0022.)
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E-mail: jfitzgerald@tribune.com
