Career Path - The Plan

Career Path

1.)  Since I am fairly happy with where I am at within a bureaucracy I am 80-90% sure I am staying there.  Currently, I work 184 days a year which means that I have 181 days for other components to my life.  I am a quarter of a way through receiving a pension (which amazes me).  It can be overwhelming and petty however I think any work place can be.  You never know what can happen.  I could be forced to seek other full time employment or dynamics in the work place could change dramatically to the point where I would want to leave for my well being. 

        a.)  With this being said - I'd love to leave work at work.  I'm going to try me best to do this.  There are several components to this. 

        b.)  I'd like to leave as soon as I hit 30 years and have my benefits with the retirement package (mid-year, possibly no collection of personal investments, or social security due to my young age - I want to prepare myself to be ready)

         c.) Stress, time, pain management along with good ergonomics and relaxation techniques are going to be crucial.  It's time to think like an OT and beef up the research and knowledge in these areas. 

                      * Through my research and expertise I could potentially end up doing presentations, speeches and consulting with stressed out employees 

2.)  I love to write - I'm decent at it and putting my thoughts into words gives me a new perspective on how I view where my life is headed.  So, I have 3 different blogs that I am building up (each of them focus on different components of my life).  

          a.)  Maybe eventually I will take a course or receive training on how to earn money on each of my blogs and how to run a website.

          b.)  In my internet searches I've noticed that blogs could become eBooks or books that are actually published. 

          c.)  Perhaps this could give me an extra chunk of money for retirement years and keep me out of trouble, because I will be busy typing away! 

3.)  I could do consultant work based on the knowledge I gain from my personal experiences and training/expertise.

I feel so happy/excited and motivated about these ideas.  I am sure I will think of more and things will change as I take this journey.  

Career Path. Detours? Or A Straight Path?

I missed out on all the fun of indecisiveness and the uncertainty of knowing what I wanted to do with my life when I was 15-20 years old.  I had a one track mind and that was to become an OT.  At the time I thought I was lucky and skipped the nonsense of not being focused.  I got down to business and worked hard to reach the career goals I set for myself.  As I have gotten older I've begun to realize that sometimes not knowing and tripping or stumbling along the way is part of the journey. Exploring several different options or changing your mind on a constant basis adds adventure and makes someone stronger and more prepared for the uncertainty's life has to offer.

So, now I guess I am lucky enough to say that I feel like my career path feels uncertain.  It's safe to say I would be bummed out and burned out if I continue to only be a paper pusher/shuffler in a bureaucratic system.  I don't always feel like an OT who is learning.  The kicker is, the bureaucratic system provides me healthcare and a pension (along with other pretty awesome benefits - summers off)!  I also love the location and people I work with. I am also in my mid 30s with a house and car payment.  So, I am torn.  I've felt this way for a couple of years now so I've begun to brainstorm.  This has been a long process and I guess I am beginning to narrow down the areas of interest I have.

Basically, I've really had to think about what I truly am passionate about.  The things that are still crossing my mind when I am busy or really tired.  I have thought about so many different options and paths I could take.  Many of these options seem to be options I "should be" taking.  Like when I tell someone this is the path I am now taking, he/she will become very excited and tell me to go for it. Or if I mention that I am bored or not satisfied I get advice to shift to a new job that would have the exact same down sides.  Some of these "should be" paths include an assistive technology certification, a PhD or beginning to work as a vocational rehab counselor.  All of these should be options have been things I ponder and then begin to explore and research and in my gut I just know it's not my path.  I look for excuses to not continue my research or exploration into these areas.  I think it is important to always trust your gut.

So far all of these "should be's" have been detours with dead ends. And that's ok!

As time goes on and I become more confident with myself I have begun to narrow down what I am truly passionate about.

Stay tuned as this all unravels!

Setting priorities and time management

I was first introduced to time management at the beginning of college.  However, because I was a student with special needs in the public school setting having a schedule and routine was instilled in me at a very young age. As a professional in the world of special education, I now understand how much structure and having a routine can impact someone's success. People have commented on how methodical and organized I am. The past couple of years I have realized how and why this came to be. Professionals worked with my parents and I starting at 2 years of age to create healthy habits when it came to balancing and scheduling rest time, therapy time and study/work time.

I feel I was born to be a rehabilitation professional/OT therefore when I entered into adulthood and chose a college degree that many individuals without a disability aren't able to complete due to the level of difficulty I knew it was crunch time.  It was time to enhance all beneficial strategies and supports that were offered to me.  This included tutoring, counseling, progressive muscle relaxation, body mechanics, stress management and time management.  It is interesting to me that all of these are a part of OT and the rehab/recovery process. If individuals push through with a busy life style while avoiding these topics they are going to end up attending OT or different types of rehab during middle to late adulthood anyways.  So I got an early start to think about these things which was actually a blessing and successful jump start on my adult life.

At age 18 I wrote down a daily schedule of when I had class, worked, studied, rested/attempted progressive muscle relaxation.  That was a very difficult time in my life because I had so many challenges and milestones to all at one time.  Since then, I have not always kept a specific schedule that I had written down and looked at.  However, my life style is still very methodical and I have always naturally accommodated myself to take in what life has to offer at a much slower pace than most adults.  I didn't work a side job or party during my undergraduate degree.  I studied.  Rested. And got out to socialize and take trips.  It was a very bizarre equal balance for such a young adult. For my graduate degree I worked as a professional OT part time and lived with my parents. Living with my parents during grad school allowed me to get a wonderful jump start financially and they were also able to help me out by grocery shopping, cooking, etc. We didn't even realize that this was a benefit to me during that time. I have always seen myself as capable of grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning but not having to do it, is a wonderful experience!

It's been a recent idea that I need to take a look back at strategies I was once introduced to in order to live the life I want to it's absolute fullest.   I'm at a time in my life where I am living completely independent.  I do all the chores.  I work to pay all the bills.  Am I an overachiever when it comes to wanting to be organized and having a clean house?  Yes.  Do I feel financially comfortable and ready to hire help?  No, not quite yet.  However this is something to think about.

At this stage in my life I think it is going to be important to set priorities and make goals of what is most important to me.