When all is flowing well you can create a great energy. For example I get energy from projects starting and coming to an end and from the variety of different strands of work and work environments. It does however require an investment in the first place to get the work and to then sustain over time.

There are other challenges with maintaining a healthy portfolio career. For example if a number of deadlines are coming to a head at the same time you need to manage the situation and adopt energy giving techniques.  Some tips:

• Be well organised
• Plan ahead
• Don’t over commit
• Get help and support from others
• Build space in to your diary
• Take time out during the day

Also notice what is working well and what is generating a good energy. Notice what is causing energy levels to drop. Make changes so you can build on the good stuff and whenever possible avoid taking on energy sapping projects.

Also be aware of overplaying your strengths. One of the health warnings of doing work that you enjoy is that if you don’t take time out, then it can be counter productive. So it’s all about balance and finding the right balance for you and your portfolio of work.

Just find the space to reflect on your energy levels and consider any changes you may want to make. In the next blog we’ll be looking at recent news coverage about part time working.

Parallel projects

I’ve been lucky to have worked for two years on a student engagement project, which involves students in the design and delivery of their careers service. The work is totally aligned to my interest and work in employee engagement and the work I do to help individuals develop their career in line with their interests, motivations and personal goals.

During the university project we have seen the value of engaging students in ways which gets them interested in their career and which in turn motivates them to spread the word to fellow students. They let us (the careers centre) know what they want and how they want it delivered.

Approaching staff development in organisations in a similar way can also pay dividends, and engage employees in positive ways. With technology and more fluid work environments, there is great scope to engage employees in the design and delivery of their training and their development needs. Sharing ownership with staff at all levels and not just senior staff can generate motivation and a positive learning environment.

Transfer of learning

For me it is great to feed ideas from the work I am doing in education in to the work I am doing with business people and vice versa. This is one of the key benefits of developing a portfolio of work in different sectors and with diverse client groups.

For my clients and employers it is also win-win, they benefit from the creative ideas, new perspectives and ways of working, which working on parallel projects can bring. All of this starts with space to explore and start projects in new sectors, which is not so easy if you are fully engaged in a full-time project or job.

Are you working on parallel projects and would like to share your thoughts?

What are the challenges? How can you effectively manage parallel projects?

How can you look for creative ways to diversify in to new sectors?

And how can you create the right space conditions for taking on parallel projects?

More about this in future blog posts.

As we build our career stories on this site you will see that a portolio career is unique to the individual, and typically grows in line with their strengths, skills and interests. In future articles we will be considering how to build a successful portfolio career, but first of all let’s consider why do it. This will give you an insight in to the advantages and disadvantages.

If you enjoy change and variety; if you are self-motivated and organised; and if you have multiple interests, then the likelihood is that portfolio working will appeal to you. Here are examples of specific reasons to develop a portfolio career:

1. Are you at the start of your working life and want to try out a range of jobs before you focus on one specific profession or career route? This is potentially a great time to try out portfolio working.

2. Are you finding it difficult to find a full time job, and therefore need to take on available part time opportunities? Use your portfolio of work to describe this phase of your career in a positive way. You may even choose to stay with a portfolio way of working.

3. Are you mid-career and want to change direction or to enjoy a new way of working, in place of a full-time permanent job? Portfolio working can enable you to build your career in a new way and in future articles we will talk about how you can take responsibility for your own career develpment.

4. Do you want to start a business, but not give up a regular income stream in the early stages? Having a portfolio of income streams and space in the diary can help you to take a low risk route to business start-up.

5. Are you approaching retirement and want to build up a portfolio which gives you flexibility at this stage of your career?

Whatever the reason, be clear about your motivation and see it as a positive step in your career journey. Employers are increasingly wanting to recruit employees who demonstrate adaptability and flexibility. Also given the fluidity of the jobs market, having a portfolio of career experience and skills can put us in a strong position.

Before embarking on a portfolio career, speak to others who have been there and done it. Find out what they enjoy about it and the challenges. Here are a few insights based on my experience of developing a portfolio career in recent years:

I enjoy managing a portfolio of work and the variety of working on a number of projects, with some days in the office working for a regular employer and some days working for my freelance clients. I’ve just added writing to my portfolio, a surprise addition emerging from the space and time to do more creative work. Having time to do new things is great. With this however can come the demands of managing and juggling a portfolio, with often competing deadlines. The challenges also include managing a fluctuating income, coping with the lack of stability and building resilience to constant change. You definitely need to be good at networking, time management and be self-disciplined! 

Don’t just take my word for it, speak to others who have a portfolio of work and take a look at the growing amount of literature on the subject. More about this on Portfolio Career Connections soon.

Yes, planning is important and there is certainly value in finding the space to research and formulate a plan before starting a new venture. You need to be clear about your proposition and where you add value. Why will clients want to buy from you? Why will readers follow your blog? You need to spend some time researching the needs of your target market or even before that deciding who your target audience is. In future articles I will write about JUST SPACE and the importance of finding space to research and make new things happen.

So back to making a start. At what point do you start? Just reading this blog could be a starting point for you to develop your career in a new way. What I encourage you to do is to notice what you notice and in particular notice the tipping point. At what point do you move from thinking, contemplating, planning and research to start? Or is planning and research already the start?

The work I do as a coach helps clients to move from thinking and contemplating to action. There is a phase of exploring the options and then a commitment to a way forward. There is often a tension between just starting and knowing that this is the best start you could be making.

This is where it can help to JUST START. Through the doing and experiencing a new way of working or a new way of publishing your writing, you have the firsthand research to inform your focus, your vision, your passion – whatever it will take to move forward with a compelling vision.  The closer you can align your work to a compelling vision, the more likely you are to sustain the change and continue what you have started.

Having a portfolio of work lends itself to allowing your business or ideas to grow organically. This is different to conventional business planning or having a rigid focus to the way you work. In future blog posts we will explore the challenges and benefits of organic and portfolio routes to grow your career, work or business. Key themes such as managing your time, combining multiple income streams and staying sane with a portfolio of work, will all feature in our blog posts. Do get involved – comment, offer to write a post or suggest a topic you’d like to read about.

Welcome to Portfolio Career Connections!

1. you are new to the idea of developing a portfolio career and want to connect with others who are on a similar journey.
2. you have a portfolio career and want to make connections to build on your current success and to benefit from being part of a community of portfolio careerists.
3. you are an employer, who is interested to find out more about what motivates portfolio careerists and how they can have a positive impact in your organisation.
4. you simply want to explore new ways to manage your career and your development. We will be sharing innovative ideas and exchanging expertise across the community.

So wherever you are on your portfolio career journey, we intend to provide you with honest, accurate and motivational support and information. We want you to get involved so do let us know what you’d find useful to see on the site. Most of what we offer is free to access. There will be a charge for some of the services, such as one-to-one coaching and mentoring and workshops for small groups.

Each month there will be a key theme, with either a focus on a key portfolio career development topic or a sector-specific focus.

The founders of the community are based in Birmingham in the West Midlands, and this is where we will launch our first off-line connections meetings.

We very much look forward to connecting on and offline. Wishing you an exciting and rewarding portfolio career journey with lots of great connections along the way.