Head Hunting Galore
Today I launch into search and selection for senior media, marketing, advertising roles after a nice two week break in the Lake District and Oban.
The break allowed for some thinking, reflection, and frankly doing nothing. It is the doing nothing that I'd like to comment on (a tad indulgent I know.)
Oban in the evening
It has been a rather charming two week break with She who must be obeyed. First the Lake District, then Oban with the in-laws. A nice time in which to do nothing. What is nothing? I think for me it is taking in new sights and sounds about me, whilst letting the old brain box rattle or more precisely drift, and not engage in what has come to pass, or “things” that normally consume my thinking.
So what do I normally do, or have on my plate from a work perspective?
I have people to look after who want to be “off radar” as they look for a change or a new role. Senior people who want advice as to a career change in Media, Marketing, Advertising.
I have people who wish me to find, or chat to senior people looking for a move, or have asked me to solve a commercial need that a person can solve for them. This is work normally “off radar” and plays to my skill at matching people.
Both of the above draw on my experience, skills, and knowledge gained from a number of years in the business, plus senior positions. And the above, done properly, takes time. I care about what I do and people are not a quick fix.
I also have consultancy work for people that revolves around sales and marketing.
All of the above I deliver on, which can lead to a busy mind. (Plus running your own business with all that entails.)
Brain clutter and the ensuing fog is not conducive to achieving results or running a business. Mentally we can become tired or so overloaded that our ability to answer work requirements or find solutions becomes intractable - it is a bane of the senior person (who also normally has a lot on outside work commitments.)
This is where nothing comes into it all. I believe strongly in letting go and having a mental break. Yes, I know we have all heard this and would say, “well isn’t that what your holiday of two weeks was about?”
But Nothing takes a skill and practice as I have learnt. It is daily and not limited to two weeks away.
So today I have a some quick recommendations that work for me. I seek not to think about the past but the present moment I have created for myself by taking myself out of a cluttered and maybe overpowering present environment, whether work or personal. It is about letting the mind drift and detach from the past moment and engage with new material, thoughts, or calmness. The moment in time. In a very generic sweeping statement, this leans toward traditional Buddhist meditation, i.e. clear the mind to find peace; to find peace is to find solutions, answers, or calmness.
Taking a break. Indeed. Take yourself out of the present physical world you inhabit so that your mental, and audio visual senses are both separated from pressing matters, and stimulated by a new venue, even if just people watching for example. Thus distraction occurs from brain clutter that leads to brain fog.
Please note that doing nothing also does not have to occur on a holiday break. You can remove yourself from an office or a home, or a location. You could even have a 15 minute walk. When I set up the Goto.com/Overture (became Yahoo!) office in Manchester I regularly took myself to a Café Nero or Manchester Cathedral to do nothing.
Removed from the environment of brain clutter, we now focus on the self. I find listening to a meditation very helpful, as is learning to meditate. Do use and try Insight Timer for free meditations across all topics. Try Audible or Podcasts as well; again a wealth of free and paid for material is at your fingertips on the average smart phone.
Do read if you can, and maybe read something that expands knowledge, that way you will feel achievement. A good example are texts on managing workload or tasks. For example I have listened to Atomic Habits on Audible.
Routine is a big one, as this creates habit. Maybe try and allocate time each morning to set you up for the day.
For example, have a read of material such as this book. Clears the mind, whilst stimulating it away from present and pressing “things”.
Overall what happens is that you find and create clarity and a clear mind, by letting your mind relax and let it’s subconsciousness work on your tasks, goals, and dreams. Engaging with self allows for freedom mentally - I suppose a bit like freeing up processing in a modern computer. Free mental bandwidth whether conscious or unconscious is time and freedom in which to find solutions and the like, rather that be bogged down in the here and now, which in modern society we so easily succumb to - give yourself daily “me” time to allow freedom of mind and mental rest.
For me doing nothing as to work (or other) leads to me being able to see the nuances in both people and a brief, so allowing me to best deliver on what is best for the person or people involved. I find answers appear to me that were otherwise opaque. In business I successfully match people to businesses and vice versa, with many a person happy in being fulfilled and at senior level it is not always about finances.
Running up fells in The Lakes and exploring islands off Oban are ways of doing nothing by way of my business and personal life. I create pleasurable distractions that can be habit forming. But it is noteworthy that each morning I would always be up reading and meditating to connect with the self and free the mind from it’s clutter, so freeing it to find resolutions. Life and it’s daily dirge can distract us from this. (I do this every day and not just on a holiday break.)
There is no harm starting work at 9am and finishing at 5.30pm, as nothing is that important that it cannot wait until the next day. This become routine. It is also good routine to create “me” brain time, and I suggest in the morning, or halfway through the day.
