Herein we further explore Chapter 3: Taking Stock of Your Current Brand of Exile Lifestyle’s Personal Branding eBook. Part 4a: What’s Left to Take Stock of? looked at the evolution of your brand and clarified the importance of the company you keep and so in Part 4b I look at maintaining balance between work and play.
Balancing Your Personal and Professional Lives
When you are working outside of normal work locations and timeframes, it can be easy to fall into the trap that many freelancers succumb to that I like to call ‘Perpetual Work,’ because under its spell the workday never officially begins, and therefore it never really ends.
This I understand very well. The magazine has meant that no matter what when I leave the house I’m working, even when technically I’m playing. Meeting new people, invariably talking about our lives and common interests means that I end up talking about work, lucky for me I love what I do.
Perpetual Work is a trap because it’s not necessary to stay on the clock 24/7, but rather to segment your day in a flexible way so that you are able to keep up with professional and personal responsibilities without losing your pace or having to establish barriers between them. The ideal situation is one where you can seamlessly flow from work-mode to non-work-mode without a single indication to those around you that any transition took place.
Here I disagree with Colin. I believe it’s is crucial to have clear boundaries between work and play. For example, when I’m interviewing and my friends see me they know the difference between my work persona and my play persona. It also helps the people you meet to know where they stand with you.
In this community, I’ve found it is common that those people I’ve met, interviewed and have since called me a friend need to know they remain outside the play persona boundary line. I joke that I have several personalities, but in reality it isn’t a joke, it’s a boundary I have created to maintain my privacy and professionl ethics.
The Events You Attend
It’s all about finding the right people to network with, finding the right situations to be a part of, and participating in events that you enjoy and believe in.
I consider leaving the house simply attending an event because there really isn’t too many places I, or my friends, will go that doesn’t involve other expats or Chinese locals. Just as guanxi suggests, every introduction is a possible network and every person in your network feeds off each other. I am not always in work mode but I am always conscience of my professionl image because you simply never know who is paying attention.
How do you maintain balance?
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Coming Next in the Personal Branding Series- Part 4c: What’s Left to Take Stock of?
Missed the Beginning?
- Part 1: What is Personal Branding?
- Part 2: The Labeling Theory
- Part 3: Your Skill Set
- Part 4a: What’s Left to Take Stock of?
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