Leveraging Social Distancing for Professional Development
I woke up this morning like any other: I shut my alarm off on its first ding; I threw on a robe and took my dogs outside; I fed the dogs and made myself a cup of coffee; I sat at my makeshift workspace and booted up my MacBook. Check Slack, check email, check Trello, check Asana. Make a to-do list and start carving through it all. So far I’ve described pretty much any work from home position right now, all of us attempting to find a new normal during COVID-19. It’s a scary time for the world and stress is not conducive to creativity. Don’t get me wrong, I strive under pressure, but that’s not really the same thing as what we’re dealing with right now.
In an effort to stay sane and keep my creative juices flowing, I’ve been trying to make the most of my current situation. I realized that others might be interested in this approach too, so here we go.
How can you use social distancing to boost your creativity and workflow? How can you leverage this boost into professional development in your field?
Connecting
We might be social distancing, but we don’t have to be social media distancing. There are still ways to connect with our friends, family, coworkers, and community. Putting yourself out there and being present is the best way to keep those connections alive, so don’t let the virus stop you from that.
Make use of LinkedIn to connect with likeminded people in your field, or to keep up with companies and organizations whose work inspires you. When I was a semester out from completing my Master’s degree, I realized how few people I knew in my field of instructional design. I hit LinkedIn hard. I posted every couple of days, commented and engaged on the posts of my peers, requested connections with likeminded people, shared articles, and attempted to write a few too. My point? I made myself visible. I try to connect my posts back to my website/blog so that people get a better sense of my skill-set and interests. This kind of visibility helps put me at the front of a recruiter’s mind or someone wanting to collaborate on a project, or someone who needs advice.
Connecting isn’t supposed to be one-sided. The best way to truly connect to leverage this down-time for your career is to be the person you wish you were connecting with. I’m in a few Facebook groups for instructional designers and I try to check in weekly to help answer questions, peer review projects, share my portfolio and my experiences, and in general be a part of my instructional design community. I learn so much from this interaction and, occasionally, I help others too. It’s incredibly rewarding and I take comfort in the fact that while we are all battling stress and a broken routine, we can still help each other and support those who need a little extra help. My consulting has become so popular that I plan to publish a few blog posts that cover some of my most commonly asked questions. Stay tuned for those!
2. Self-Education
One of my favorite ways to have “me time” is to research. This goes back to my English major undergrad days. I have a curious mind and I enjoy learning, so the first thing I try to do with extra time is find something interesting to learn about. Lately I’ve been researching effective assessment strategies in MOOCs for writing programs, the role of UX and LX in instructional design, leveraging simple tools for big impact, and motivational psychology.
A few times a week I spend some “me time” investing into my education. There are so many resources out there for this, but a few of my favorites are: LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com), TEDx Talks, articles from the Articulate brand website, and edX courses. I also read higher ed newsletters, books, and blogs. I have a folder full of bookmarked websites that I slowly sort through. I keep a spreadsheet and document my notes and ideas as I go through them, expecting to return to the notes later for a potential blog post or tutorial. I plan to create a resources section on my website that can link users directly to the resource. Stay tuned!
Ultimately, self-education is important because it illuminates other perspectives or practices that are different from your own. To take this a step further, I highly recommend attending conferences when things open back up to connect, learn, and socialize outside of the topics you’ve selected. In the meantime, webinars have been a great substitute, particularly those that are live and encourage Q&As. I’ve noticed a bigger shift toward this method as COVID-19 sticks around, and I hope it opens up doors for the future to provide more webinars and learning opportunities.
3. Projects—Old and New
I can’t be the only one with a never-ending list of things I want to do, projects I want to complete. Now is a great time to devote an hour to working on that unfinished project, whether it’s a blog post or an assignment idea you wanted to try out. Because we can’t go out with our friends and family, we have some extra time after work, so why not use it to develop your professional growth? Or perhaps there’s a new project you’d like to work on. Do you have a great idea for a course design that you haven’t tried yet? Did you find a really neat edtech tool but haven’t used it yet? Suggestions: Try making a mock course or tutorial on how to effectively use the tool. I have a list of similar projects that I want to complete--and then share with you all! Right now one of my projects goes hand in hand with #3 Self-Education: I have ideas for LMS landing pages and supplemental formats that I’d like to create, but I need to learn a little more about the HTML behind them. Working through these projects reveal to me where I have learning gaps and what I need to self-educate on.
Whatever your project is, don’t let fear and stress keep you from getting started. Make a list. What’s one thing you can get started on right now, today? Don’t look at the project as a whole. Break it down into parts that you can accomplish in bursts. Now’s the time.
4. Job Searching
Whether you lost your job due to COVID-19 or you’re keeping your eye open for that next opportunity on the horizon, now is the perfect time to prepare for the best job hunt yet.
Make sure your resume is up-to-date, but also consider a re-design to showcase your skills and experience in the best way possible. This is an area of consulting I get a lot from people of all sorts of backgrounds. Having held a variety of jobs in higher ed, I’ve developed some expertise in how to market yourself in that environment, and I love practicing tip #1 and connecting with people and sharing my experience.
Similarly, if you have a website or portfolio online, now is a great time to give it a facelift. Take a moment and research what an effective website looks like, click around and find websites that inspire you, figure out what makes that design or layout work, and then apply it to your own website or portfolio. A revamped website or resume is like new paint and furniture in your living room. It’s the same room, but it’s fresh and clean now. And we all know a clean space can do wonders for creativity and focus!
When you have your materials ready, make use of the tips above and get out there! Look through the job search section on LinkedIn and make connections with people in those environments. Sign up for job listservs that match your professional goals, like HigherEdJobs.com. Look over the job description of the jobs you like and make a list of the skills you are most confident in, as well as a list of the skills you either need to work on or acquire, and then take those steps.
Your dream job is out there. Your next creative breakthrough is out there. Your projects will be successful. Your experiences can help people. There's still so much value you can give and receive.
Use this time to your advantage!
How are you staying creative?
Share in the comments below!
