Sunday, March 15, 2020

Do you have what it takes to be an online creative freelancer

Do you have what it takes to be an angeschlossen creative freelancerOnline creative freelancers can vary in the specifications that areneeded for theirclient. Whether it is website development, content, or even design being an online creative freelancer is customizable to the skills you have. Becoming an online freelancer is a great career choice if you are looking for either full-time or part-timejob opportunities. The work hours are very flexible and you are in chargeof how your day goes as well as the workload you can handle. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) Thinking about becoming an online creative freelancer? This quiz is perfect for helping you decide if it might be a smart career move.script font=text/javascript src=//cdn.playbuzz.com/widget/feed.js/script div class=pb_feed data-embed-by=849e55f8-0435-43df-8530-07799c43ae5c data-item=1fd0110d-5b85-454e-83e9-d4aefc8ecf52 /divSource Playbuzz

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

5 Ways to Overcome Your Mid-Career Crisis, According to Harvard

5 Ways to Overcome Yur Mid-Career Crisis, According to Harvard Weve all heard of the midlife crisis. However, theres a similar phenomenon that affects many successful professionals, known as the mid-career crisis. Harvard Business Review reporter Kieran Setiya explains it like thisIn 2008, the economists David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald found that self-reported life satisfaction takes the fasson of a gently curving U, beginning high in youth, bottoming out in our mid-40s, and then recovering as we get older. The pattern is robust around the world, affecting both men and women. And it persists when we correct for other variables, such as parenthood. The curve is gentle but significant The average contentment gap between age 20 and about 45 is comparable to the drop in life satisfaction associated with being fired or getting a divorce. The data on life satisfaction is consistent with earlier research specific to work. A 1996 article based on a survey of mora than 5,000 British empl oyees found that job satisfaction also took the form of a gently curving U, although the nadir came earlier, around age 39.Whether you feel yourself in the throes of this ennui or want to prevent the mid-career crisis before it begins, here are a few useful suggestions for getting yourself through the challenges associated with this issue1. Reframe the way you experience career-related regret.Mid-career crises often begin with an accounting of the past and the regrets that inevitably follow. What should I have done differently? What experiences did I miss out on? What choices should I have reconsidered?These reactions are entirely natural. But a more productive way of encountering your past decisions involves a bit of restaging. Setiya reminds readers that regret isnt always indicative of a mistake made in the past. After all, the only way to avoid regret entirely is to care about just one thing, one metric to max out. But that would impoverish your life. Remind yourself that feelin g youve missed out is the inevitable consequence of something good the capacity to find worth in many walks of life.Think about what your decisions have brought you rather than thinking of the opportunities you may have lost out on. Remember that everything has an opportunity cost, even spending your time regretting your career moves. And remember, like Setiya suggested, that a rich life requires give and take.2. Focus on the concrete ways in which your career choice has brought you happiness, even in an unexpected fashion.If your mid-career crisis prompts you to view your mistakes as bigger deals than your triumphs and encourages you to put serious weight on your wrong career decisions, try focusing instead on the positive results of your chosen professional path.According to Setiya, we live in details, not abstractions. Against the nebulous fact that you might have had a more successful career, you can distribution policy the concrete ways in which your actual career is good. As w ell as attachment to people, there is attachment to particulars the interactions and achievements you would not have experienced in another life. When I think I should have been a physician, not a philosopher, and begin to regret my choice, I am ignoring the texture of my work and the countless ways in which the value of what I am doing is made vivid to me as I do itin a students progress, say, or in fruitful conversation with a colleague. It is the specifics that count against the grand cartoon of lives unlived.Go ahead and make a list of your real-life professional triumphs. Allow this list of concrete, fact-based evidence to boost your career-related self-esteem.3. Make time in your life for feel-good activities.Setiya argues that mid-career crises often happen as a result of a workload thats too heavy on ameliorative work (the putting-out-fires tasks necessary to keep larger projects moving) and too light on projects with existential value (the types of jobs that attracted you to this field in the first place). Even if you dont see opportunity to change that workplace imbalance in the near future, you can use your time outside of the office to fully engage in activities and projects that bring you unadulterated joy.Setiya advises you to make time for feel-good activities either in the officefor instance, by starting a pet project youve been putting off for yearsor outside it, by reviving a favorite hobby or taking up a new one. This advice may seem mundane, but it has depth. Salsa dancing and stamp collecting are probably less critical than your job, but existential activities have value that ameliorative ones do not. You have to make room for such pleasures in your life.4. Broaden your perspective when settling in for a work project.The focus that many professionals in different industries place on projects can inadvertently spur on a bout of mid-career crisis. Setiya reminds readers that focusing solely on achievements will impede your ability to feel a holistic sense of satisfaction at work. Instead, it helps to view work tasks in two separate categories telic (tasks designed to come to a clear conclusion) and atelic (tasks that continue on indefinitely and are fully realized in the present).As Setiya puts it, at work we engage in both telic and atelic activities. You are, for example, writing an HR report (telic) and taking feedback from colleagues (atelic). Most telic work activities have meaningful atelic aspects When youre working on that deal, youre furthering your companys growth strategy when youre hosting that conference, youre engaging industry stakeholders. So, you have a choice. You can focus on either the fixed activity or the ongoing onethe project or the process. By adjusting your orientation to become less project-driven, you can defeat the sense of emptiness in the present, without changing what you do or how efficiently you do it.5. Dont be ashamed of your crisis.Above all else, its important to remember that a m id-career crisis doesnt need to inspire shame within you. In fact, Forbes writes about the mid-career crisis as a natural result of maturing and becoming more aware of what you really want and need from your professional life.Instead of treating this life change as a crisis and something to avoid, we should welcome it and plan for it as something that may happen in our careers, and certainly as nothing to be ashamed about, Forbes insists. You can choose to use it to your advantage to advance your career and your happiness, unlike so many who might choose to ignore their career confusion and stuff it down in fear. Recognize it for what it is a sign that youve been evolving and that your current situation no longer suits you.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

5 Ways to Supercharge Your Personal and Professional Success

5 Ways to Supercharge Your Personal and Professional Success Article by Lisa StephensonWe are all in this thing called life together, and what a ride we are on In the middle of all the madness and mayhem, the peaks and valleys, the lessons and laughter, and the triumphs and tragedies is the beautiful and complex you. You are the writer of your story and the CEO of your life.Life is extraordinary, sometimes boring, and occasionally heartbreaking. You start new projects, change direction, and end things you thought would last forever. Then, you rebuild and do it all over again. You are designed and destined to feel, love, win, lose, and sometimes mess up. Thats your humanness, your strength and your weakness.To set yourself up for a successful, resilient, and happy life, you need integrated strategies that support both your personal and professional success. People often focus on one area of their life too much, whichcan leave critical relationships and decisions in other areas neglected.A holistic approach that considers everything from your career to your health will serve you best. Here are five ways to adopt such an approach1. Play and Plan BigThis is your one shot to live an amazing adventure, so be ambitious in your dreams. Consider what you want to be able to say about this life when you are 80 years old and sitting on the porch, reflecting on the experiences you had. Successful people arent necessarily the smartest or best educated rather, they are simply brave enough to own what they want. Make a plan for the next six months, two years, or 10 years. Get specific about your goals and how you will make them happen. What are you really capable of?2. Make Yourself Your Most Important ProjectInvesting in yourself is the most important investment you will ever make. Successful people think strategically about how they are living and where they are heading. They set deadlines and consult experts who will support their success. T hey create a vision, identify obstacles, and review their progress. Consider ways you can learn, adapt, and grow with the resources you have access to. Dedicate time every single week to your own self-development. How can you make yourself, and your future, a priority?3. Do What Others Arent Prepared to DoThe world is full of people who start stuff but never follow through. Successful people do what is required. That means they keep going even when its hard and they dont want to. Dont wait dont give in. Commit to your plan. When your motivation has passed, it will be your commitment that keeps you going. Be clear about what compromises you are prepared to make, and know your non-negotiableswith respect tohow you practice self-care. Are you prepared to do what is required?4. Find Your TribeSurround yourself with people who want you to succeed, who will challenge you to be more, and who understand your true potential. Your tribe extends beyond friends and familyto encompass all people who will challenge you and celebrate you. Identify those in your world whom you trustto tell you the truth. No energy vampires allowed Successful people rarely create success on their own. Find someone who inspires you, and you will quickly see theysurround themselves with peoplewho make them better, too. Who do you know?5. Get UncomfortableThe greatest learning happens in discomfort. To know what you are really capable of, you have to test the limits of your resilience and abilities. You dont know what you dont know about yourself yet.Holistic success across all areas of your life will come when you have the opportunities to stretch and find solutions. Knowing you can trust yourself is key to personal growth. You are an ever-evolving, complex human with so many things to learn. Intentionally look for new experiences. When was the last time you really felt uncomfortable?Personal and professional success are yours for the taking when you consciously plan your life. By implementing t hese strategies, you will be prepared for the curveballs and ready for the opportunities life is sure to bring your way. The reality is that no one else in the world can create success for you.A supercharged plan and approach will absolutely make all the difference.A version of this article originally appeared on SUCCESS.com.Lisa Stephenson is the author of Read Me First (Major Street Publishing) and the founder of the auf der ganzen welt consulting firm Who Am I Projects. Over the years, she has worked with some of the biggest global names, CEOs, elite athletes, and entrepreneurs. For more information, go to www.lisastephensonconsulting.com.au.