Work, Interrupted: Gut Feelings, Bad Software, Good Weird
Step into my office. Free advice, no appointment needed
One (maybe two) people mentioned in the recent Work Unseen survey that I should start an advice series. That’s all it takes—I’m in. So let’s dig in.
I pulled these questions from comments left on Work Unseen posts. Now that my office is “open,” you can submit your own here in comments or DM. This will be an ongoing series. I think. You know I can’t commit to anything right now.
If you're in that blurry space between who you were and who you’re becoming—this one’s for you.
Work, Interrupted: Advice by Kel
There’s Dear Abby, Dear Savage Love, Dear Prudence, now Dear Work. Advice doled out by me, Kel, to the readers of Work Unseen.
If you’d like in-depth, 1:1 phone call or text advice with me, Kel ☞ become a PAID subscriber of Work Unseen. It’s one of the benefits I offer ✩ And thanks for supporting the work I do!
And now, to the questions—
➼ I followed my gut—now I’m lost.
Dear Work,
I picked the path I wanted, not the one that made sense. It felt right at first, but now I’m scared I made a mistake. How do I stay grounded when the payoff isn’t clear yet?
—Newly Freelance, Emotionally Feral
Dear Emo Feral,
Look for clues. Make notes. You don’t need a massive plan, but you do need signals—little hits of joy, momentum, creative energy, curiosity. What makes you feels alive? What feels like drag and downer?
Staying grounded doesn’t mean being still. It means staying connected to yourself—your body, your gut, your appetite for the work (and life!). Even if the payoff isn’t visible yet, your response to the work is a clue. You’re learning, even when it feels like you’re flailing. Especially then.
BUT don’t linger on a path just because you chose it. If it’s not giving you what you need or want—and it’s been a while—it’s okay to change course again. That’s not quitting, it’s adapting. Reinvention. No one’s grading you on commitment to a past version of yourself. It’s not that serious.
If you need permission to bail, here it is: ✘
If you need help deciding: read Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away by Annie Duke. It’s not cute, but it is liberating. I go deeper on the topic of Quit here.
Still making it up as I go,
Kel
◎I have the eye, not the tools.
Am I still a designer?
Dear Work,
I love design but hate the software. Everyone around me seems like a tech wizard. Can I still call myself a creative if I can’t keep up with the programs?
—Can’t Use Figma, Can Curate a Vibe
Dear Cursed,
The curse of design right now is how much the software gets mistaken for the work. Design is balance, space, shapes, problem-solving, typography, taste. If you have the eye—you already have what a lot of people don’t.
You’re not broken. You’re just not a machine. You don’t need a computer to be creative. Sometimes the computer gets in the way.
You can learn the programs—just enough to get by—on a weekend. But the thing you can’t fake is the taste, the vision. If you’ve got that, the rest is logistics.
In good taste,
Kel
❧ My passion projects get noticed.
My ‘real’ work gets ignored.
Dear Work,
Every job I’ve landed came from weird, personal stuff—not my polished portfolio. What if I’m not meant to be professional in the way I was taught?
—Hired Off a Zine, Not a Resume
Dear Off Zine,
This is the best possible outcome! You're getting noticed for the work you actually care about. That’s a green light. Keep following it.
If you’re curious, it could be worth asking someone you trust to look at your “polished portfolio" and your personal work side by side. Not to fix anything, but to spot what’s missing—or what you might be holding back. Sometimes the stuff we think is “2 weird 2 be professional” is actually the thing that makes us undeniable.
You don’t need to be professional in the way you were taught. You need to be recognizable as yourself. Keep making zines.
Hired off zines and vibes since 2006,
Kel
Reminder: Work Unseen Zine 01: THE UNPOSTED drops this Friday!
Created by reader submissions, all the posts left unposted on the internet.
Because –too awkward, too revealing, too sensational or simply not meant for the net.
It’s a simple, one-page first go at making something together as the Work Unseen community 🫱🏼🫲🏿
This Friday I’ll publish the digital version and send out hard copies to folks who submitted to this first, experimental issue. Stay tuned!
Dear Work,
After being fired from a toxic job where I was constantly bullied and gaslighted, my confidence is shattered. I used to be a capable professional who excelled at work, but now when employers contact me, I can't help but think, "They'll just see how worthless I am, that I have no value as an employee. I'm a fraud for misrepresenting that I can even do anything."
I've never felt this way before. How can I rebuild my professional confidence and find a workplace where I'll be valued instead of abused?
-- Feeling Like a Failure
Where do I get this idea that I have to have ALLLLL the financial stuff figured out at all time? Taxes. Bookkeeping. Quarterly payments. Municipal payments that have wonky websites so I have to send a CHECK??! S-corps?! It's hard enough doing the "small business work," you mean I have to be a professional finance department, too?