Change is Good. Now Where to Start?

We all know that change is good for us: trying different foods, making new friends, mixing up our workouts and rearranging our office space  But, it's easy to place "changing careers" into another category altogether. It seems too hard, too far of a leap, maybe even too risky. 

Below is an excerpt from a new blog series by Mark Turcek, President and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. Mr. Turcek used to be a high-rollin' Wall Street big shot until he realized he was ready to make a change. He gives some great advice (advice that I've used in the past and found helpful personally) in this piece posted on LinkedIn:

"My advice for those looking to make a change: Start now. Don't wait. Get engaged immediately..."

Instead of being paralyzed by a fear of change, Mark harnessed it to his advantage and took action: "There was no time to waste." 

Sometimes you have to jump from the deep-end and take comfort that your body will float to the top. Oh yeah, and it will feel really good.

To read Mark Turcek's entire blogpost, head over to LinkedIn.

Travel Tips

Here are my top tips to keep your Joie du Travail mindset while jet-setting around the world:

Pack Snacks. Pre-washed, pre-cut, finger-friendly food. Berries, grapes, carrot sticks, hummus and pitas, granola bites, nuts, cheese cubes, apple slices, whatever*. Throw them in a tupperware with a napkin and you're ready to go. You'll be so happy to munch away on good food while the masses around you suffer through Sbarro or Mandarin Express. *Exception: bananas... they do not travel well and nobody wants to dive into a brown one.

Download the App. Say goodbye to standing in line at customer service. I cannot tell you how many times the Fly Delta app has saved me in a pinch. You can use it to upgrade your seat, find and book other flights when yours is delayed, search old itineraries, book a last-minute hotel, you name it. In addition to Delta, I highly recommend Kayak, Southwest, Hilton Honors, TripAdvisor and XE Currency apps.

Do Yourself a Solid. Solid shampoos, conditioners and detergents save space and sanity when traveling through security with a carry-on. For travel-friendly, non-liquid body care products, I recommend Lush and I cannot live without Wash and Stain bars from The Laundress. You'll never come back to a hotel room that smells like your morning workout clothes again!  Speaking of which...

You Really Should Work Out. Hotel gyms ain't what they used to be. In fact, I am constantly amazed at how nice some are compared to the gym I actually pay for at home. There is nothing worse than sitting in meetings all day, eating out for most meals and returning back to the hotel late at night feeling like a tired old slug. Even 20 or 30 minutes in the morning will give you energy and a positive outlook for the rest of the day. Traveling is taxing - so don't expect to set a PR - but putting on your sneakers will break up an otherwise monotonous schedule and leave you feeling positive. Bonus: You'll be glad you packed tennis shoes when stuck in the airport and want to take a concourse walk instead of watching the same CNN loop for hours.

Photograph Receipts. It is hard to keep up with those pesky crumpled slips of paper. Take a quick photo of your receipt with your phone right when you receive it. It takes 30 seconds and can save you so much hassle on the phone with Finance when you get back.

Business Travel: A Poem in 12 Lines

Don't take your shoes off, please.

Would you do that in a client meeting?

Don't answer that.

Crushing push toward the gate agent

Who you know cannot help you

Even if he wanted to.

Blue screen of death means something different here.

Reflected in the eyes of weary travelers

Gazing up at delay announcements.

"It's not all bad," you repeat to yourself

How else will you rise to the top?

Don't answer that.

First Month Report Card

With one month under my belt at the new gig, it's time for my first self-imposed performance evaluation.  I am considering grades in the following categories: 

Orienting to new office, colleagues and internal politics: B

Communicating with my new boss: B+

Performing well in crucial situations: A

Handling the traffic to/from the office: C*

Making good use of the mega coffee machine in the office kitchen: A

Overall, I feel great about my new position. That's not to say there haven't been bumps in the road as I get used to the new team, issues and practices. A missed conference call here, IT problem there... I think those challenges are to be expected, though, and I'm doing my best to go easy on myself in terms of self-criticism. It can be daunting to completely change your daily schedule and work focus, which is what I've done with this move. Breaking out of routine is hard. Creating a new routine is even harder. However, I cannot advocate making the shift enough: my life is happier, calmer and more satisfying than it has been in years. 

Taking a small step reaps giant rewards.

   *I was so spoiled working from home.

Wasting Time at Work

The following hits a little too close to home: "Top Work Related Distractions: Fixing other people's work (54%)."
Guilty as charged.

This awesome graphic came from Tempo: www.tempoplugin.com

Vacay

Now that I work for a bigger organization, I am pumped (Hanz and Franz style) about my new benefits package. I now have access to better health care options, several pre-tax savings plans, matching retirement contributions, and on and on. However, there is one big caveat to my amazing benefits plan: I am back to only two weeks of paid vacation a year. TWO. WEEKS.

You're probably wondering what I'm whining about. Don't most people get two weeks of vacation a year? What is the big deal? Well, the big deal is that I had built up four weeks of paid vacation a year with my last employer, which was pretty amazing. I took Fridays off for long-weekends. I never thought twice about the week between Christmas and New Year's. And I still had enough time left over to plan a two-week vacation to Europe last year. In other words, I was spoiled rotten.

My new reality means scrimping and saving throughout the year and planning trips far more in advance that I'm used to. The good news is that every year I stay with this new organization, I'll receive a few more days in the annual vacation bank. While I have no regrets from my transition (indeed, fewer vacation days is a small price to pay for sanity), it got me thinking about paid vacation and why there never seems to be enough to go around. Business Insider has a great infographic about paid vacation around the world which really brings this point home: Americans do not receive any mandatory paid vacation days off. All of a sudden, "Kazakhstan" (24 days) has a different ring to it, don't you think?



www.businessinsider.com/countries-that-require-vacation-2013-5



Choose Your Own Adventure - Office Edition

So what can we, worker bees of the world, do to create a successful and productive environment at the office?  We can't give each other raises. We can't move into a Google-like campus. We probably can't even lobby for a cappuccino machine or yoga break room.  But there are a few characteristics we have control over and can promote from within. 

Fast Company highlighted a new book recently titled Passion Capital: The World's Most Powerful Asset promoting 8 simple "rules" for creating a great work culture that, in turn, leads to lifelong career success. 

1. Surround yourself with passionate people.

2. Communicate regularly and transparently.

3. Weed out the whiners who pull everyone down.

4. Work hard, play hard.
5. Be ambitious! Be extraordinary!

6. Respect diversity in all of its forms.

7. Promote dynamic interaction with bosses, coworkers, other departments, even interns!

8. Keep your eye on the prize. Not all success is short term.  Be focused on long-terms goals everyday.

As the new kid on the block in my office, I've paid a lot of attention to Numbers 2 and 7, making sure I get to know everyone one-on-one, understand their role on the team and figure out how my own activities can help and enhance their projects. I could probably give a little more effort toward #5. I hope that as I grow more comfortable with everyday responsibilities, I can shift into the extraordinary by connecting the dots among programs, anticipating solutions to problems and identifying opportunities to take my contribution to the next level.  

For more detail and examples on these rules and others, check out Fast Company's recent blog on Creating Passionate Work Cultures!