When exploring different jobs, people often overlook something incredibly important – the work environment.
This goes way beyond just whether you’re working inside or outside. It’s thinking through everything in detail.
What would a typical day look like starting with getting ready for work, the commute, lunch breaks, colleagues, end time, shift patterns. Everything.
The same job can often be done for a multitude of different companies and for your own business. But the qualities around the work can have a huge impact on your enjoyment.
For example, I used to design training for blue chip organizations. But doing that while working for someone else’s agency was very different to when I did the same work while also running my own agency. It was much easier to focus and actually get the work done while working for someone else!
Activity
- Create two column
- Title the first one, “Likes” the second one, “Dislikes”
- Fill each one with all the things you like and don’t like about different work environments. You’ll find that they create natural opposites in each row.
- After you’ve written all the things you can think of, some will mater more to you than others. Highlight these in some way because these are your non-negotiables. Check any future job or business ideas against these.
The reality of how much you can stick to your personal preferences obviously depends on your situation and the jobs available. But this activity will help you figure out what your ideal work environment is and where you are prepared to compromise.
Example
These are my personal preferences to give you some ideas for your table.
| Likes | Dislikes |
|---|---|
| Working inside | Working outside |
| *Regular working hours* | Shift or rota schedule |
| Creating new things | Maintenance tasks e.g. bookkeeping |
| Working alone | Working as part of a team |
| Deep work and focus | Short, quick, repetitive tasks |
| New challenges | The same work over and over again |
| Learning | No learning required |
| Working from home | Working from an office |
| Planning my own time | Having my schedule dictated to me |
| Having a positive impact | Working to make other people rich |
| Creating things that will still be around in 20 years’ time | Creating things that only matter for one project |