Karen Lawson has worked in a number of high profile senior executive positions, most recently as CEO of CareerOne.
So you’d think she’d spend her time out of the office with her feet up.
But instead, Lawson works as a food and travel journalist in her spare time, a side career she took up ten years ago after knocking on endless doors to find a publication that would feature her work.
She is, as she calls herself, a ‘slashie’, and maintains a ‘CEO/food journalist’ career. Since leaving CareerOne following a successful restructure of the business late last year, she also has a number of other roles including start-up advisor, and managing her own ‘personal board of directors’ to help in landing the next big CEO gig.
Speaking on a panel session with Women’s Agenda and GA last Tuesday night, Lawson said the side journalism career allows her to indulge in her passion for food and travel. She had no formal training when she took it up, just a determination to make it happen.
The slashie lifestyle is growing in popularity and possibility, especially as workplaces start to offer more flexibility and see part time work as something that can be offered to everyone, not just to working parents. Some slashies work part time in two completely different fields, others like Lawson manage to pursue their second career on the side of a full-time role, often combining eating and traveling with business
It’s all enabled through technology and flexibility, and may ultimately play a part in creating a more satisfied workforce. Indeed, Lawson believes it is the future of work, something more of us will be doing in the years to come.
But living the ‘slashie’ life is not always easy, and does require some sacrifices.
So how does Lawson manage it?
Following last week’s panel session, Lawson offered me some insights into her multi-tasking working life.
“I think it’s a very personal decision about creating a balanced life: One with love, family, work, friends, wellness, passions, hobbies and, possibly, obsessions?,” she said
Everyone loves to eat out, so Lawson often combines a business dinner with a restaurant review, later carving out time on a Sunday to write.
“Like all things in life you have to create time to do the things which are important to you,” she said.
Those important things don’t have to be your full-time job, or the role that provides your main income, but they can create a more satisfying life and career.