I had an amazing 2011 and I’m certain that one of the contributing factors has been my job. Sure – I’ve struggled with general small scale issues: too much work, not enough time, friction between people who see things differently… but I still love my job.
The reason? Because it suits me. When the smaller interferences can be minimised, it feels more like play than work. It becomes effortless. If that ever changes, I’ll need to look for a new career path.
It wasn’t always like this. I’ve struggled hard to find what I’m good at and I’ve tried many things. I have a physics degree but have also worked in shops, call centres, probation offices, art galleries, hospitals. All great jobs for someone; just not for me.
One of my first memories of school was asking for more maths work to do and being told there weren’t any more books to do. Then wondering why I had to keep doing stuff I already knew. I was about 5. Eventually I switched schools and went from being considered unmanageable to being nurtured and encouraged.
I still had problems though. I think very quickly and get bored easily. This translated to me speeding through work to try to avoid getting restless. I’m not that great at the long haul. My attention begins to wander and I want to go do something else. When I was younger, this translated in to errors. My work was unchecked and full of mistakes. I heard that criticism so often.
I couldn’t change the speed at which I wanted to work so I developed other ways to balance the ‘weakness’ out. I practised having meticulous attention to detail, being highly organised and always giving myself enough time to review.
Now, this weakness is a strength. In advertising, working fast and being able to think on your feet is an advantage. Also, my tendency to get bored matters a lot less as most of our work is short burst and doesn’t require months of work. I need a feeling of continuous achievement and momentum to keep motivated. I don’t leave that to chance any more – I run a different interval session every other day.
This confidence and ability to see these skills as strengths to play on has taken a really long time to arrive. During my degree, I used to chastise myself for not wanting to see it through. I love the subject but found maintaining the effort over the 3 years a massive challenge. Equally, I wasn’t the best ever front end developer. My background should have meant I was great but I could never remain interested long enough. Admitting this was a tough thing to do (especially as I’m an ENTJ) but I’ve not regretted it.
Another strength that used to be seen as a weakness, is being chatty. At school I was thought a bad influence and at university, amongst the Physics undergrads, I was an anomaly. I have a bad day when I don’t have people to talk to and feel isolated. Now, communicating ideas, mentoring others and building relationships is a massive part of what I do. I can get on with anyone and talk myself hoarse quite frequently.
An interesting challenge this year has also been finding out what the strengths of other people around me are. Especially within team I manage, playing to these skills and hiring the right people accordingly has made a phenomenal difference. We are all so different but roll as an awesome little group.
I’m also lucky. The work that I enjoyed most last year were my 3 projects for adidas. I hear of a few more in the pipeline and can’t wait to get started. They are the absolutely perfect chance to marry personal interest with skills and talent. Thank goodness I’m also stubborn as hell. Otherwise, I might never have got here.
