Attacked By Monkeys: Post #15 on Procrastination

I had an awesome week… two weeks ago.  The deadline loomed, the pressure was on, and I performed.  I made a month’s worth of income in a week, and good thing too, as I had pretty much pissed away the preceeding 3 weeks.  The week after that was another total write-off, I did almost nothing besides attend a meeting and answer my email.

How can I follow a star-performer week with a useless-johnny week?  Why, after I shake off the procrastination monkey, is it so easy for him to climb back on?

For a while now I’ve been performing well.  The work was new and exciting.  But now it’s all so last-month.  It’s time to bring back some tried-and-true procrastination-beating tactics, and to try out some new ones.  

Consulting Life

An Update

It has been a while since my last post.  Why?  I started thid blog in part to find a community of like-minded existential careerists.  Since then I’ve been laid off, joined a career transition program, and met all kinds of like-minded existential careerists. I’m getting in real life what I was looking for online.

And speaking of real life: it’s keeping me busy!  Things taking up my time these days, in order of hours/week:

1. Sleep.  8-9 hrs /night.  It’s wonderful.  I feel more healthy than I have in years.
2. Consulting.  Who would have thought?  I am an SR&ED consultant.  I secure refunds and tax credits for Canadian companies in compensation for time and money that they spend on “Scientific Research & Experimental Development.”  It’s pretty interesting work: I get to research and report on R&D work that is being done in all kinds of different industries.  I get to use two of my key strengths: fast learning and technical writing.  And YES, I am using this as my ticket into the environmental and clean-tech sectors.  I’m working on getting some green companies as clients.
   And I’m currently working a radio engineering contract, as well.  Why not?  Can’t let all that expertise just go to waste.
3. Researching the Green industries.  There’s just so much going on right now!  The Green Energy Act, Smart Grid, the new carbon economy (go Obama! shame on Canada!), the hydrogen economy, electric cars, renewable energy, CCS, new pollution regulations, etc.
4. Networking.  I’ve met some great and interesting people lately.  It’s amazing, the connections you can make when you ask EVERYBODY you know:  “do you know anyone working in…?”  And I’ve just co-founded a networking group of “classmates” from the career transition program (which is more or less done now).
5. Playing with the kids and helping out around the house more.  This is nice. 
6. Music.  I’ve been going to more live shows, and jamming with my friends more.  (But I still don’t practice  )

I’m spending almost no time job searching right now. The consulting work is keeping me busy, and I guess it’s less scary than networking and going to job interviews, so I’m letting it take up most of my time.  If I’m still serious about getting an engineering job in the energy business (for example), then I should get disciplined about spending at least 50% of my working hours doing the job search.  Yes, I said “If…”.  Alternatively, I could just stick with the SR&ED consulting work.  It looks like I could make a comparable income.  And it may eventually let me in the back door of the clean-tech industry.  Maybe I can evolve from SR&ED consulting to carbon emissions consulting.

Or is that just me taking the path of least resistance?  I don’t know.

For now I’m almost too busy to think about it.  And busy is good.

-Johnny

An Aussie’s plea to Canada: Help fight global warming

Australians are much like Canadians in their friendly demeanor, cosmopolitan culture and British-empire roots.  They may not share our fascination with doughnuts, but then they have Lamingtons instead.  As a Canadian I feel right at home there.

Our nations differ in one important respect, though.  Global climate change is already having a serious impact down under.   And this month, things turned deadly.  As Canadians, operators of the most polluting oil projects on Earth, shouldn’t we feel some responsibility?

Re-posting a great article from the Toronto Star newspaper, of Feb 23rd.

Arwen Birch

The recent bushfires in Australia that claimed more than 200 lives were not merely random natural disasters or the sole fault of pyromaniacs, lightning or fallen power cables. They were forecast by climate scientists’ years earlier and are the result of a changing climate that is likely to get worse in the future.

I am an Australian desperate to tell Canadians about what is happening to my country. Although droughts and fires are a natural part of Australian life, what we have suffered over the past 10 years is far from typical.

My Biggest Fan

Two day seminar hosted by the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA):  $420.

Notepad and pen with CanWEA logo:  Free with admission.

The support of my biggest fan:  PRICELESS.

Security’s Siren Song

I keep bouncing between two opposing concerns.  One is that, while I am planning the next phase in my career, I am missing opportunities that are open now.  Ontario is steaming ahead to build more renewable energy capacity right now.  The feds just announced more subsidies for carbon-capture projects out West, right now.  But I’m not even halfway finished the program with the career consultants, yet.  My resumé is still a work in progress.   What if my ideal position is open somewhere, right now, and I’m missing out?

The other is the worry that I will be offered a less-than-perfect position too early in the process, before I have really made a run at my ideal job.  There are still many green-tech industries that I want to research further.

It all comes down to one question: should I be networking yet, or not?

In Canada It’s Smoke and Mirrors and Business As Usual

It used to be, we Canadians could gripe self-righteously about the US Americans’ obstructionist behaviour on climate initiatives.  Now, we are the bad guys.  Our morally corrupt (Conservatives) and spineless (Liberals) government continues to offer toothless “green” measures, while in the oil patch it is business as usual.

Need I say more?  Read the article and get angry.

-Johnny O.

Ottawa failing on climate, watchdog says

Environment commissioner finds emissions-reduction programs lack ‘coherent measurement system’

BILL CURRY

Globe and Mail Update |  February 5, 2009 at 11:25 PM EST

OTTAWA – The opposition declared vindication Thursday for its attacks on the Conservatives’ climate-change plan after Canada’s Environment Commissioner criticized two key measures as weak, negligible and disappointing.

Commissioner Scott Vaughan’s report concludes that the government’s plan to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is not delivering on the promise of “real, measurable and verifiable results.”

“The report is scathing. It’s right there in black and white. It basically backs up what a lot of people have been saying all along,” said NDP MP Linda Duncan. Liberal MP David McGuinty said the government’s projections amount to “eco-fraud.”

Dream Job #13: Riding The Wind

Maybe I’ll work in the burgeoning wind energy business, replacing smoke-stacks with white propeller-topped heralds of the green revolution.

The Environment IS The Economy

David Suzuki on the new ‘New Deal’

The National Post recently asked Dr. David Suzuki and a number of other prominent Canadians to share their thoughts on how Canada could create a new New Deal.  Here’s David’s contribution:

It’s time to put an end to the false dichotomy between environment and economy. A healthy environment and a healthy economy go hand in hand. We need a green stimulus package for the budget.

Any government spending to stimulate the economy should come with green strings attached. Bailouts to flagging industries? Conditional on them putting more R&D into energy-efficient products. Infrastructure spending? Make sure it goes to things such as public transit and retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency…

Read the rest HERE.

This Time It’s For Real

Much has happened lately.  The big one is: I got laid off.  Yes, gentlefolk, it happened.  As several of my good friends have said (and so it must be true): “the universe is giving [me] a nudge.”  Either that, or someone up there got tired of my sanctimonious bellyaching about how unfulfilling my job is while all around me are losing theirs.

There’s something about actually being unemployed that brings things into sharp focus.  How important is “meaning,” really, compared with having a salary at all?

Actually, I’m very happy this has happened.  The severance conditions were generous (I worked there for a long time), so I can afford to take a few months to focus full-time on my new-career project.  In fact, if it weren’t for all the good friends I leave behind, plus the whole worst-recession-since-the-Great-one thing, I would be screaming “JACKPOT!”

But then I get cold feet.  Am I nuts?  I should just put all my severance pay in the bank, and go get another telecom job ASAP.  Hello mortgage pay-down, RRSP top-up, and holiday in the sun!  Instead I’m going to squander all that sweet capital on a few stressful months trying to start a new career?  In the middle of an economic crisis?  All for this elusive quality called “meaning?”

Hell yeah.

It’s commitment time again.  And this time It’s For Real.  Swim or sink.  No looking back.  I am going to earn a living by following my passion: my work will bring  mankind into harmony with the natural world.

Wish me luck.