Er du mere et T eller et M? Altså har du ét område, som du virkelig kan gå i dybden med – ligesom et T. Det kan også være, at du har flere områder, som du finder fascinerende og kan fordybe dig i.
Det har været, og er stadig, svært for mig at balancere det med specialisten og generalisten. Begge karriereveje har fordele og ulemper. Derfor synes jeg, det var interessant at høre Anika Paulus sætte ord på, hvordan hendes karriere heller ikke havde været ligefrem.
Anika er freelancer tekstforfatter og strateg, og har arbejdet med designbrands og offentlige institutioner. Hun kommer fra Tyskland og bor nu i København. Og så tog hun sig heldigvis tid til at dele sine erfaringer, på engelsk, i denne udgave af Konteksten.
What has been a creative “aha moment” for you?
My career has not been linear nor focussed on one discipline. I started in advertising, moved to PR and communications, worked on brand strategy and marketing, then started to write as a copywriter and on personal texts and essays. About 10 years into my career, I was feeling that I was doing a lot, but nothing right. Compared to people who do and “master” only one thing. There was a phase of self-doubt and of questioning everything.
But I simply love doing different things, and I am good at them. And then, a few years ago, it suddenly all made sense. Because everything I do is interlinked, it influences and nurtures each other. Some projects are focussed just on one thing, as e.g. copywriting. But in other jobs or projects it all comes together. For example, I can work on brand positioning, formulate a brand narrative and brand voice, then bring it to life through copy. It brings so much joy to work across disciplines and see how it is all connected. It broadens my horizon and understanding. So today, I am quite happy with who I am professionally and with what I do – at least most of the days.
How do you create the best conditions for your work?
Silence is the most important factor for me. I am easily disturbed by background noises, so I love working from home or with noise canceling headphones. A clean desk, a coffee, no music – perfect.
When I feel really stuck, I know that staring at a blinking cursor on a white page for too long won’t take me anywhere. Instead, I close the laptop and head out for a yoga class, a walk, or bike ride. To deliberately not think about the task or problem for a while, but clear my head. To idle, for me that does the trick. When I return to the page, it mostly goes easy. In an ideal world I’d sit down to work from 9-3 or so, but that’s not how my brain works. So I learned to go with its flow and to trust the process. Sometimes that means being very last minute to a deadline, but in the end, it always works out.
What book, movie, song or person has inspired you a lot during your career?
Oh, so many. Especially the works of Siri Hustvedt – a PhD, novelist, essayist, scholar, and lecturer in psychiatry. I love her writing and novels, her observations and her thinking, her essays on the intersection of philosophy, psychoanalysis, neuroscience and art. In all her life and writing, she tears down the barriers between disciplines and explores what it means to be a writer of intellect in a world still dominated by men.
In her essay collection Mothers, Fathers and Others, a mixture of feminist philosophy and family memoir, she also explores what happens when we cross borders – between disciplines, between states, between languages. I am living and working across multiple disciplines, cultures, and in multiple languages. Sometimes that can be overwhelming. Her work is a constant source of inspiration and motivation to me – to stay interested, to dive into new fields and themes, to look beyond the familiar. And to not let yourself or your work be restricted by boundaries – be it cultural, linguistic, or form.
How do you keep honing your craft?
I write in German and English, so it is important to keep both languages sharp. That means continuously training both of them, doing writing exercises, trying out new forms. And of course, it means reading a lot in both languages (and in Danish), and all forms of texts. I am so fascinated by language, and how it changes in different contexts. I read essays, newspaper articles, interviews, but also poems and novels, to nurture my imagination. I tap into philosophy, literature. I search for inspiration in art, in nature, and always try to stay open and curious. I search the exchange with other creatives and professionals, from my but also other crafts, to observe, listen and learn from each other.
Hvis du vil følge med i Anikas arbejde, kan du gøre det på hendes LinkedIn. Og ellers smut ind på hendes hjemmeside, www.anikapaulus.com.
Fotografi af Luke Marshall Johnson.
