The New You
Matariki heralds the start of a new year. The days are getting longer, so rather than waiting until January 1st (when the days are getting shorter) why not make some New Year resolutions right now?
We keep hearing about the new normal. For some of us, this means changing how we do things at work. For others this means facing an uncertain future and possibly losing jobs or businesses.
I know, from experience, that losing your job makes you feel as though you have lost your way. I know how hard it is to think and present positively as you grieve for your loss and feel panicked about your future.
So, what to do? I was lucky in that I had a supportive family and good friends, but even they could not offer all the support I needed. I took myself off to a counsellor who helped me restore my faith in myself. For quite some time, small issues continued to feel threatening and overwhelming. My strategy, to deal with this was to make small incremental steps towards preparing for a new career. Once I started on a pathway, my thoughts gradually changed from feeling like a victim to thinking “Well, just let me show you what I can do.”
The first time I lost my job, I ended up doing all kinds of things from working in a dairy, to cleaning motels. The second time, I ended up starting WritersInc. However, before I had the courage to start the business, I had to learn my new trade. I completed two writing courses, and having been a teacher, I ended up teaching both courses a couple of years later.
WritersInc’s core business is providing technical writing services. However, we also deliver technical writing training. We can do this in a classroom setting, or via ZOOM and we also have a self-paced online course Write-on-Target: Effective Business Writing.
Technical writing is an interesting and rewarding occupation and being able to develop effective documentation is a great skill to have regardless of your role. Quality Managers, H & S Managers, engineers, HR personnel, to name a few, all need to be able to develop documentation from reports and policies, to operations and quality manuals.
Maybe it is time for you to think about your Matariki New Year resolution and what the new, possibly upskilled, you could be.