Making Space

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

I'm Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. People hire me for No BS Career Advice and Coaching globally. That support relates to a holistic view of a person and their careers--help with job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, and more.

If you have questions you want answered, visit my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us, click the blue button that says schedule, and choose the option Trusted Adviser Services to schedule a time with me. You'll receive a recording of the session after we meet.

Making Space

I returned to graduate school many years after I completed my undergraduate. I wanted to make a career transition and knew I needed to learn more in the new field to switch. I tried to keep doing many of the things I did before but the reading for class and the requirements of my job were making it hard to keep all the balls up in the air. Something had to give and it was better for me to make the choice.

I was online a lot at that time, discussing many esoteric subjects with people. I decided that was an easy one to give up. I told a number of people personally that I was going to step away and unsubscribe from different discussion groups. "I've always found that when I make space for something new, it is filled with something even better."

I met my future wife 10 days later. Almost 25 years later, we are still married, have raised a soon-to-be 22-year-old son, and individually and together celebrated a variety of wonderful milestones, sad events, and "complicated circumstances."

Periodically, taking inventory to see what is working and what isn't working anymore is a terrific exercise that allowed me to eliminate busy work that seems too repetitive, mundane and unsatisfying. In much the same way as an article I wrote recommended making a list of 25 things I would like to do this year, prune it to 5 and only focus on those, I have my 5 and I have also begun looking at what I am doing that is not a "Hell, yes," and eliminating them from my schedule to give myself the time to do the five I want to accomplish this year.

So, making space requires that I make changes to free time to do what I want because I want to do it.

Today's livestream of Career Coach Office Hours will be the last one.

This issue of No BS Career Advice will be the last one.

I've already eliminated interviewing people for JobSearchTV and No BS Job Search Advice Radio.

I am dropping one activity I've been doing for several years to make space and focus on my 5 things for 2023. As someone said, "if it isn't a hell yes, it's a hell no."

As one final remark, there is a lot to help you professionally at www.TheBigGameHunter.us.

If you need me, you know where to find me.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter