Pivot! Pivot! Pivot!

Patience, they say, is a virtue.

Good things come, they say, to those who wait.

My response to these platitudes?

NO! It’s time NOW! I’m ready NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW!

Thankfully, I have Suzanne as a business partner!

We were talking the other day and I expressed my frustration about a few things we’ve been working on.

“Ugh!” I said. (Ok, I kind of yelled it.) “But this should be easier, right? It seems like it should be easier! Why is this taking so long?”

And, of course, she said the perfect thing. “Because we are figuring it out,” she said. “And sometimes it just takes time to figure things out.”

Suzanne’s response was, of course, just right. Because, yes, “figuring it out” is usually the part that takes the longest. And that’s the phase we’re in right now on not one but TWO of our projects. 

However, my frustration (and those emotions that come along with it) made me wonder: “How do you know when it’s time to pivot? How do you know when it’s time to change your direction?” “How do you know… when it’s time to move on?”

We’ve seen how challenging the job market is right now in the audio and media landscape. You know what I’m talking about: WBHM recently laid off four people, NPR canceled four podcasts and cut 10% of its staff, New England Public Media has laid off 17 employees – or 20% of its staff, Buzzfeed News staff have been laid off…the list goes on and on and on. 

The landscape of audio is changing.

Here’s what we know, and here’s something that has become even more clear, as we’ve been hearing from more and more people affected by some of these changes recently.

You ARE skilled in telling a story and finding a story and writing a story. You ARE skilled in connecting with an audience you’ve never seen – an audience you’ve only ever imagined in your mind. You ARE skilled in communication, content creation, creative problem-solving. That magic ability to know exactly how long sixty seconds REALLY is and to know exactly how quickly you can reboot the entire system without missing a beat? That’s a skill.

Those skills are valuable. YOU are valuable.

Sometimes it’s just nice to hear that, especially in the wake of turmoil and change and fear and sorrow.

Here are a few things to think about if YOU are in the midst of transition (and frankly a few things to think about even if you’re NOT – it never hurts to reframe your current skill set in a way that might be appealing to industries other than media).

Suzanne recently attended a panel from AIR – “Adjusting to a Changing Audio Industry.” Here were her top takeaways that she’s sharing with you: 

* Look to smaller production companies for work

* Send a personal note to people who are hiring

* Use downtime to take a class, learn a new skill

* Check out Rephonic (sign up for a free trial). With this data, you can make an educated guess about which podcasts are bringing in money and then reach out to that group about job opportunities

I’ve recently been doing a bit of coaching with Sara Roy. A few questions that have consistently come up are these: “Are you open and flexible enough to even consider a new way to work?” “Are you flexible about the KIND of work you want to do?” “Do you even know WHAT you like when it comes to work?” Great questions to think about and try to answer.

Finally, I recently did something I thought I’d never do. I always thought it was kind of…silly when people said they had to change their environment to change their mindset.

I. Was. Wrong.

A couple of weeks ago, I DELIBERATELY took two days away from my current work space and found a new place to work. It wasn’t expensive – it was a nice little VRBO in a super rural area. It was quiet. It was peaceful. It was small.

Why did I do this?

Because I work at home and I often get distracted by my home life. There’s ALWAYS something that needs to be cleaned or put away, a floor that needs to be mopped, a yard that needs to be raked, a dog that needs to be walked, a call that needs to be made. I am wonderful at distracting myself from the work I know I need to do. So I decided to remove those distractions and try to focus in a new environment. And guess what.

It worked! The project and the pivot we’ve been talking about since January is on its way. And it took removing myself from my current situation and mindset and allowing myself the space to really dig deep into what I was trying to do.

Listen. 

If you’re tired, if you’re scared, if you’re burned out, if you’re feeling hopeless, if you’re wondering “what’s next” and “is it time to move on,” know that you’re not alone. Patience might be a virtue and good things might come to those who wait but it’s never NOT the right time to be thinking about and evaluating your next steps and what you’ll need to do to take them.