As much as we’d like it not to be the case, there is frequently more we can’t control than we can. And what we can’t control seems to be on the increase. You may be feeling frustrated by a declining or nonexistent budget. Or tired of having more tasks added and less time to do what you know is important. There are many things out of our control, but we are in control of how we react to them.

All these challenges are real, but you can work with them and make them better. Like turning thrift store or yard sale finds into treasures, you can take what you have and with a few additions — and a mindset shift, always key— transform it into something beautiful.

In her article, Not happy with your career? Get scrappy, Julie Winkle Giulioni explains how you can change negatives into positives and make your job a better fit for your Vision and Mission. She defines “scrappy” as “using what’s available and within a person’s sphere of influence, enriching their current roles, getting creative, and wringing every ounce of development from routine activity.” By being scrappy, you can make the small changes that result in turning the job into more of what you want it to be and gain control in challenging situations.

Giulioni recommends the following four techniques:

• Practice with Purpose – Reflect on what you do as part of your job. How can that be improved? For example, maybe you want to update your collection in a specific area, but you have no budget for it.  Giulioni suggests these three steps:

Set an “Intention” – In this case, it might be to explore funding sources used by other librarians. Maybe looking in thrift stores or at www.paperbackbookswap.com for inventory.

Plan – Find ways to use your Professional Learning Network (PLN) to find out what others have found successful. You can ask them what advice they have for making their pitch have an impact.

Reflect – Just like we look for essential questions in the lessons we present, check to see if you notice the questions you didn’t have answered, the ones you couldn’t know about. Then, the next time, you can do a better job in refining queries to your PLN.

• Seek Out an Opportunity Zone – Professional Development (PD) may not be giving teachers and others in your community everything they need. For example, you may be concerned about how to use AI and ways it might currently be misused. To help, you might explore the issue, again using your PLN, and prepare a one-page infographic you can submit to your principal. Call shortly after you have given it to them and ask to discuss some way to deal with AI, recognizing both its positives and negatives. See if there’s a way to present what you’ve learned to others.
• Optimize Your Extracurriculars –Use what you do outside of productively. You might work on an advocacy committee with your school library association. If that seems a bit beyond you, see what help you can give the person who is handling advocacy. And look to see where your other interests intersect with ways you want to grow your program. As you cook, you may think of ways to bring in new ingredients to your work. As you garden, you may realize the importance of patience and creating a rich soil.
• Soak It Up – Become a conscious observer. See who gets heard and watch how they do it. Notice who is liked and who isn’t. Can you tell what about them brings out those reactions in others? By doing this, you are creating your own PD. You will find yourself adapting better to situations and being noticed for the right reasons. It will be not only a career but a life lesson.

Of all the things we can control, the most important is our outlook. Change your mindset. Take a pro-active approach to turning your job back into one where you look forward to going to work. Being scrappy will bring you more benefits – and make you a better leader.