If I were to give May a theme, it'd be resonance - most of the articles that I'd be sharing here are articles that resonate with what I've been going through for the month of May 2021
1. There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing - New York Times
"It wasn't burnout -- we still had energy. It wasn't depression -- we didn't feel hopeless. We just felt somewhat joyless and aimless. It turns out there's a name for that: languishing.""Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. It feels as if you're muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield. And it might be the dominant emotions of 2021"
Like many others, I can't help but resonate with "languishing" so much for the past year. We are going through a period of unprecedented uncertainties. We are grieving over the loss of "normalcy: - how life was before the pandemic.
The article gave a few suggestions for us to manage languishing:
1. Acknowledge what & how you're feeling
Put a name to your emotions. When someone asks you how are you feeling, instead of the cookie-cutter "Great" or "I'm fine", be honest and tell them honestly how you're feeling.
2. Find your "flow"
ie do things that make you forget about the sense of time, space and place. It may be watching Netflix, immersing yourself in a book you love, and for me - it's baking. When I start baking, everything else seems to melt away.
The state of "flow" differs for everyone - do things that make you feel happy :)
3. Set boundaries - give yourself uninterrupted time
The magic of boundaries. Now that I'm officially...self-employed/a freelancer, I am setting Sundays as my rest day.
Set aside about 10-30 minute each there where you'll mute your notifications. Give yourself space
4. Focus on a small goal
Create small wins.
2. Here’s how many social media followers you need to make $100,000 - CNBC
No, I'm not seeking to be an influencer at this point in time :p but it's an interesting insight into how many followers & sponsored post you need on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok respectively to generate $100,000 in earnings.
Youtube: 1,000 YouTube subscribers and about 24 million yearly views
Instagram: 5,000 Instagram followers and 308 sponsored posts a year
Tik Tok: 10,000 TikTok subscribers and over 270 million views a year
Content creation is no easy - the amount of time one has to spend editing photos/videos/audio, to structure their content etc. etc. When this blog was at its prime (I was getting daily views of 3k-5k views), I had posts that were sponsored, but it was not enough to make a living out of what I was getting. In fact, I don't think it covered my cost of travelling to the place where I had to do the review etc etc :p but back then as a student, blogging was a hobby I truly enjoyed, I get to know many new friends and it opened many doors for me. Definitely worth it, but not something I can pursue full time, at least this is what I think now. :P
3. Loss and Renewal: Moving Forward After A Door Closes - Hidden Brain
"No matter how hard we work, we won’t always achieve the goals we set for ourselves."
This podcast starts off with the story of Maya Shankar. Maya was well on her way to an extraordinary career as a violinist, but an injury closed that door. She eventually found a new path forward in a very different field.
This struck me close to heart - being someone who has shifted industries...to switch my career path and close the door behind me. It gives me the reassurance that well, it's not the end of the world when one door closes.
This episode ended with the poem, One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
4. Why You Should Take Time to Mourn During Career Transitions - New York Times
what informs that connection to work is the human need for a sense of belonging, said Beth Humberd, an assistant professor of management at UMass Lowell.
“We want to be a part of something, and we want to be seen as needed in an area,” she said.
Dr. Wrzesniewski added that for many people, what they do professionally is symbolic of other things. “It’s symbolic of the things you care about,” she said. “It’s symbolic of your talents. It’s symbolic of your offering to the world.”
I've just recently left my job - and I find myself nodding vigorously while reading this article. On the days leading up to my final workday, I find myself feeling sad, empty, lost, and sometimes I felt as though I have no sense of purpose. Reading this article helped me make sense of why I was feeling so :) What I was feeling was essentially grief.
The article also shared some tips on how to manage those feeling:
1. Expect the feeling of grief
Accept & expect it will come - and it may be different for everyone. You might feel sadness, anxiety, anger, or a combination of different emotions. Know that it is normal, and like any other emotions, this too shall pass.
2. Have a succession plan
Plan how you'll be phasing out from your career - it might be creating a list of things you've done, or compiling all the important document related to your work.
“It’s really important to value the complexity of what goes on at work. It isn’t this experience where you just execute tasks,” Dr. Orbé-Austin said. “There are really complex, dynamic growth experiences that are occurring, and when you experience loss, you’re acknowledging the full breadth of all you experienced at that workplace.”
5. Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker
Saw this on Minshift's Facebook page and thought these are good reflections questions that we should ask ourselves :)
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