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I'm not a spy. 

Now, that might seem like an odd clarification to start with, but on more than one occasion it's come up when I'm answering the question – So, what do you do?

I never have a neat answer to that question. 

Because I have a wide range of concurrent projects, titles, and jobs happening in my professional life.

I've been self-employed since 2016 and I work from lots of places – my apartment in Cary, Spain, coworking spaces, Panera, the beach, Washington, DC, etc.

Plus, I travel on various side quests and international adventures. 

Career Braids

So, what is my career? What do I do? 

The shortest (and most vague) answer is freelance consultant. What does that even mean?

Here's what I'm working on right now:

• Co-creating and co-organizing a brand new three-day in-person conference called the Ampersand Gathering happening in Washington, DC in September. 

• Designing and promoting an afternoon summit for solopreneurs, freelancers, and side-hustlers in Cary, NC in August. 

• Skill-building and networking for my new fiction book editing freelance business called Teal Edits. 

• Exploring launching various offerings including a business building challenge, a writing/solopreneur retreat, and a journaling workshop. 

• Writing projects including a fiction story, various newsletters and personal essays.

These are some of the current projects that I've braided together to form my career that continues to shift and grow. It fits me and allows me to follow my energy.

Side Quests

So, what do I do? 

Do you mean how do I get paid? 

Or how do I spend my time? 

Because I also spend my time learning Spanish, talking mid-day piano lessons, practicing yoga, training my dog, and playing board games, volleyball, and softball. 

I recently spent the weekend in Baltimore at a writing conference and the last two weeks of June in Greece. That's two of the nine trips that I've planned for this year (so far). 

There are choices I've made along the way to support a life funded by career braids and allowing for side quests – housing is a big one. I don't own property. I also don't have kids. 

And also:

• Ownership. I'm the one in charge of my own life, growth, and professional development. There is no right career path up a corporate ladder. Job titles, descriptions, and promotions are made up. So, I will just make up mine.

• Design instead of default. The social norms of the workplace and the world feel reassuring because they are familiar. Just because they're the default doesn't mean they work for me. It's okay to abandon them. I just needed to design my way. 

• Make requests. Mostly to myself. Ask for the tools, time, and structures I need. Like work-changing portable external monitor.

I'm responsible for designing my life and building a professional container that aligns with my goals and supports me and mine. 

So, that's what I've been doing with an ever-changing of career braids woven together to a whole that works for me but doesn't fit in the 'traditional' corporate ladder. 

Still not a spy though