Current networks (Task 3a)

To start this task I began with a spider diagram! I used colour coding to see how I used the networks I'm part of. Have uploaded the photo below, hopefully you can see the colours!

Blue = Both

Green = Social

Orange = Professional

Whist analysing how I used my networks, as you can see from my diagram, there are no greens. I don't consider any form on networking that I do to be totally social. Perhaps it's part of my profession and based on the fact that the majority of my friends are part of it, but I believe there could be professional opportunities from all of my networking. 

As well as shocking me, I was also slightly disconcerted, as I don't want it to be this way. This brings me back to an idea I considered in Task 1b, if we can keep networks totally social/ professional. 

For me Spotlight is the most useful professional network I'm part of. As a member of Spotlight, as a performer, there are a mass of opportunities to help start and sustain your career. You can set your profile to email you castings. I receive approx 5 plus a day, which they have tailored to my settings. They hold seminars to help performers launch themselves. Offer valuable discounts that help with the cost of being a performer. E.g.: Gym memberships, dancewear, theatre tickets, physiotherapy, singing lessons and subscriptions to other networks such as Dance UK and The Stage. As part of my professional practice I use Spotlight once a day at the very least to check for suitable auditions.

After looking at my first diagram I then made a chart of how often I use these networks. A main part of being a performer is being in the right place at the right time. Because of this I found that a lot of the networks I consider myself to be part of are not networks I can always be actively involved in.  

From looking at my chart I could also identify the networks which I don’t actively engage in as much as I should do. It’s mainly the face to face networking that I don’t push myself to work on. This shocked me as I am an outgoing, bubbly person, who loves meeting new people. I think I feel weakened by the fact that I need something from them; I don’t want to be seen as desperate. But in reality you need to meet people to give them the complete picture of who you are and how you’ll be as an employee. I think with the vast improvements to technology the element of meeting and talking has become slightly lost. Because of this I will try harder to involve myself with more face to face networking. 

Task 2b: Journal writing experience

On the whole the journal writing experience has been going well. The more I read the more inspiration I get to try out new methods, and try and critically pick it apart. 

Was I surprised by anything? Yes. Mainly the clarity you get from writing down your thoughts. Also the act of going through your day shows how much you have learnt. After journalling my day I generally felt a sense of almost relief, can go to bed with a clear head. Love the fact that a journal can only be judged by you the writer and thoughts are shared at your discretion. 

Was also surprised on how light I made some of my entries, especially after a stressful day. Think I like to be a positive person, so do some self correcting when writing! Will try not to do this. Instead write actual accounts, followed by how I could have made it better. 

Was there one way that really made you think? When attempting the suggested ways to start your journal there were two approaches that I really struggled with. First was the 'Graphs, charts and diagrams' I tend to over complicate artistic methods, partly because I know I don't have the natural ability. I struggled to find a graph that suited me, and really spent a lot of time trying to get things down, that I just found stressful. I then read Charlotte Ballards blogs on Journalling and she had posted a description and pictures of  created a diagram of head bubbles. I took her theory and today drew my own, but used coloured pens to highlight different feelings. I've already found this to be a great help in making all the niggles in my head into a manageable diagram which I can then tackle and reach positive outcomes. 


Is there one you might use again? I love writing 'What if?' I'd write my initial journal and then and the end write some what ifs. Sometimes my ideas were so out of this world, but it was nice to write, as I always ended positively. Sometimes it really made me see that by doing one small thing differently, it had a huge impact. This gave me inspiration to try and do more reflecting in the moment, in the hope that next time I can actively improve the situation.


Was there anything useful for the way you actively plan or reflect your work/your practice? I've found that, in my practice, when things don't do well I don't want to reflect upon them. I like to put them behind me, which I believed helped to move forward. Not to dwell, just get up and go. After reflecting in my journal and using different methods of reflection I've found just what a key skill reflection is in my profession. To look upon it as a skill to help improve work and not staying in the past has enabled me to gain a lot more from professional experiences. For example; Having a bad singing lesson. The old way, for me, was to put it down to having a bad day. A one off thing that I couldn't change. Instantly forget and just work for the next. The new way is to ask why. Was I unorganised, unprepared, tried to fit too much in, aiming for unrealistic achievements? And how could I of changed that situation to have a positive outcome?
And on the other side if I'd had a positive lesson, great, no need to worry, everything's good. Now since journalling, I can critically reflect upon this too, to find out why it was good, and what I can use again. I've been using the Kolb cycle to actively make the most of my experiences. Have found it's made me a lot more positive as I can actively see improvement!