Thread by @jharleyaus

So, I was hugely honoured to give the Occasional Address to graduating Arts and Social Sciences students @UNSW 👩🏻‍🎓👨🏼‍🎓- my alma mater.

It focussed my mind on what I’ve learned working, surfing the wave of change across media & tech for 25 years. THREAD 👇

As some of you know, the nature and future of work - how to be happy and effective amid the mayhem - is a bit of pet project.

So, in the spirit of sharing - am offering my 6 #WorkHacks, in the hope they’re of some small use. Here goes (& keen to hear yours)...

#WorkHack #1: make friends with ‘uncomfortable’.

Being out of your comfort zone is where the magic happens.
Wisdom, growth, knowledge, rarely come from comfort.

I first learned this as a young, naive @abcnews correspondent, covering conflict in Kashmir, war-and-drought ravaged Afghanistan & earthquake-flattened Gujarat

These were challenging, heartbreaking, uncomfortable stories and experiences, that stretched and shaped me profoundly.

BUT we’re in an age where comfort is a kind of expectation.  As though across millennia the human condition has been defined by consumption of air-pods, coffee pods, sleep pods. All fine things, but understand their limitations and the confusions they bring. Which is why...

#WorkHack #2: Never confuse production with consumption.

Eg: MAKING good TV and WATCHING good TV are galaxies apart. EATING in a cafe and RUNNING a café: as distant as a macchiato is from a soy chai latte. It’s the DOING, the MAKING, the GIVING that makes work rewarding. So…

#WorkHack #3: Focus on the work you DO not the TITLE it brings you. Titles are nice - mostly, for the ego. But the ego is a performance artist: it needs a crowd. And the crowd is fickle and fleeting.
So, focus on the CRAFT, that which engages you, & that essential ingredient...

Work Hack #4: Stay CURIOUS.
 
CURIOSITY is the 21st century super-power, fuelling purpose and resilience amid the mayhem. Curiosity is the best weapon you’ve got to stay engaged, relevant, valued.

CURIOSITY is not the same as PASSION. No doubt, you’ve been told to ‘follow your passion’. Or asked what’s your ‘thing’?  But why should we have just 1 ‘thing’? To me that’s like saying you can only love one type of music.

To me, work is like music – we can love and accomplish across a wide range of areas and interests. In fact, in the 21st Century, it’s key. As Steve Jobs observed, “Creativity is just connecting things.”  Staying curious drives growth, connectivity, creativity.

For those with a clear, singular calling – fabulous. But in my experience such people are rare, and I’ve seen too many with talent turn off the tap of curiosity or ambition because they haven’t heard that one clarion call.

No-one has the answers. The future belongs to those who ask the questions. And there is one question that has served me better than any other…

Hack #5: Can I do this at any other stage in my life?  

When presented with an opportunity or challenge, ask: will this chance come again? Is it now or never?
It’s the best way I have found to navigate the unknown; to recognise opportunity when it arrives at your door.

There will be times in life you get offered a seat on a rocket ship. Don’t sweat the colour of the seat upholstery. Just hop on board!
 
For me, the life-changing chance to move to India, to write a book, to work @Twitter, to spend my life with @sarahvmac...all ‘now or never’.

This hack will almost certainly lead you out of your comfort zone. That’s a good thing. Which is why #6 is the biggest hack of all....

#WorkHack #6: The single most important skill you need, everyone needs, in the 21st century workplace, is managing and maintaining your mental health and welfare.

Whether you’re a teacher or a doctor, a reporter or a stock trader. The waters will be choppy, you need ballast in the hull. I put relationships, exercise, meditation at the centre. You’ll find your own combo – make sure you do.

It will make you more GENEROUS - more GIVING of your skills, your knowledge, your spirit. And we need generous – at work, home and in public life. We need it now more than ever before.

These are my 6 #WorkHacks.
Look forward to yours! 🙏
And tks @UNSW for such an amazing opportunity - and the educational grounding you gave me. 👨🏼‍🎓