It's no secret that PR is one of the most stressful jobs out there. In fact, 92 per cent of PR professionals agree that work-related stress has had a negative impact on their mental health. We've all been there- the late nights, the "urgent" requests at 12 am, last minute announcements, events, launches, leaks, customer complaints, and managing full on crisis- a PR consultant's dream!
And while, yes, you could argue that this is a dynamic industry, and "no two days are the same", you will quickly come to realize how exhausting and under-appreciated the sector is. It's quite easy to get to the point where you are just churning out content and delivering tasks- quickly losing your passion for your profession.
As someone who's been doing this for 14 years now, my advice is: don't give up on PR yet! Here are 5 practical ways to reignite your excitement for what we do. No matter how busy things get, it is essential that you adopt those habits, and make time for them, to allow you to reignite your creativity, and deliver work that you are truly proud of.
1- Block time daily to read up on your client's industry trends: and no, I don't mean rapidly scanning your monitoring provider's AI generated newsflash. Take the time to read up on what your clients' competitors are doing, or their global peers. Go on their pages, websites and scan top media outlets. Go to the source!
2- Check out one creative campaign a week: look up award winning campaigns, and take the time to understand the concept, rationale and execution behind them. This is guaranteed to spark your creativity.
3- Read content from people who inspire you: blog posts, op-eds and even books. Read, read, read- and get inspired by people you look up to and admire.
4- Brainstorm with your team: is there a way you can take your media plan further? Are there any potential collaborations you can have with other clients across your agency? Is there a tool that your colleague is using that might be useful for you?
5- Build your connections: with the media, with fellow peers, and influencers. Not only will this allow you to do your job better, but it will also open your eyes to new ideas.
6- Pick up a new skill: If you feel stuck, it might be time to pick up a new skill- there are plenty of areas in communications for you to branch out into and other teams you can join.
None of what is listed above is groundbreaking, but you rarely need extreme measures to re-love what you do. You just need to carve out time to adopt healthy habits that can help make you excited about PR again.
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