(Originally published on July 7, 2022 by Microsoft 365 Insider Engagement Team)
Rebecca Jackson
When Rebecca Jackson was a child, she wanted to be a ballerina when she grew up. Then it was marine biologist, then psychologist, then journalist. Later, she attended art school, where she initially felt like she’d found her calling.
“I've always loved drawing; we've got a lot of artistic inclinations in my family,” she said. “I even got a scholarship to attend a special art school for high school in Western Australia. At the time I felt like, ‘Yeah, I'm an artist; it’s what I do.’ Later, however, I decided I wasn’t good enough to make money at it.”
But that same curiosity and creative drive eventually led her to a career in technology. And when Rebecca discovered sketchnoting a few years ago, she realized that she could combine her artistic passion with her tech skills.
“I used to get in trouble as a kid for drawing on my notebooks and in the margins of my papers, but research shows that even if you're just doodling while you're taking notes, that visual connection helps you embed the details in your brain,” Rebecca said. “When I started sketchnoting, I realized that it was OK to draw for work. Now I try to bring it into my work wherever I can, and to share it with others.”
In a recent interview, Rebecca talked about melding her twin loves of art and technology, and how being an Office Insider gives her access to the latest cutting-edge tech tools and ideas.
Can you describe your current professional role?
Rebecca: I started about six months ago with Avanade Australia, as a senior consultant in the Workplace Experience Advisory group. It's my first big consultancy gig. I came from the client side, but I was really keen to gain that consulting experience. I work on a variety of projects—everything from change management-focused stuff to training to user experience and employee experience design. Ultimately, it's about meeting clients at whatever point they are in their technology journey and help them understand the problems, and then design and deliver solutions.
How does being an Office Insider help you in your career?
For me, becoming an Office Insider was a no-brainer. When I found out about the program, it was like, “Here's the way to get all the cool stuff early, tell people about it, and play with it.” I'm happy to be an early adopter, even if that means things aren't always perfect.
As an Insider, the opportunity to give feedback is awesome. Microsoft is a huge company, and I don't think people always realize that there are real people on the other end who actually do read the feedback that customers submit. But I know you do! I tell all my clients and colleagues that as well.
What are some of your favorite Microsoft products?
OneNote might be my favorite productivity tool. I had been using a different tool for all my notes and content, and when I discovered OneNote I was like, “This is better structured and has a lot more features.” That fact that it integrates with other Microsoft tools that I commonly use makes it a huge productivity boost. I have the app on my phone, and I’ll make notes on the go with links, ideas, sketches, documents, and pictures. OneNote makes it easy for me to create, search, and consume my notes from all my devices.
I’m also really passionate about Yammer; I started using it way back in 2009, even before Microsoft acquired it. For organizations that want to foster a sense of community, develop engaging internal communications, and connect people to their leaders and each other, Yammer is incredibly powerful. It offers places for like-minded people to come together and share knowledge without silos or barriers, which creates amazing opportunities for improving organizational culture and business outcomes.
How did you come to combine your drawing and artistic talent with Office tools?
At a conference a few years ago, fellow MVP Darrell Webster—who knew that I was a sketchnoter and loved drawing—asked me if I wanted to do a sketchnote live in OneNote. And I was like, “That's scary. Let's do it!” And we did. He set me up on his Surface Pro and I sketched, and we shared the OneNote notebook so all the conference attendees could follow along live. Later, when the drawing features started to drop into PowerPoint, I was ridiculously excited to be able to sketch in that program as well.
If I can show people how easy it is, and also convince them that it's not easy for me because I know how to draw—it's easy for me because of the tools that enable it—then that's a great thing. It’s a practical and useful thing that they can apply to their work.
How have the rapid advances in digital technology unleashed this kind of creativity in the tech field?
I think about the great tools we've got today, like the Office apps—the different colors, brushes, and weights—and all the latest hardware, like Surface and the digital pens and styluses. Being able to use a device that actually recognizes the pressure of your stroke makes a huge difference. The availability of the technology and the reduced cost have opened up many doors for people to be able to experiment, which is really cool.
And from an employee experience perspective, most organizations are in a position to equip people with tools to do amazing things. So why wouldn't you provide those tools and those trainings? Not everyone can afford to buy the tools personally, but, as a company, you can provide them and allow people to leverage their creativity in their day-to-day work.
What is one word that describes how you work?
“Frenetically,” because I'm distracted by shiny things, and I like to do everything at once and all the time. So like, one gesture to describe how I work is like this. [waves arms wildly in the air] Last year, I was diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder). I’m still figuring out how to share my diagnosis with others and how to better understand that frenetic side of myself; I’m learning how make it work for me, rather than be an impediment to getting things done.
Is there a superhero that you relate to in real life?
It's a little bit of a funny one… not technically a superhero, but a super-something that I relate to: Galactus. It comes from my husband, who likes to joke with me about, “Galactus, destroyer of worlds, consumer of worlds.”
The way I relate to that is I want to get into everything. I’m a serial hobbyist, and a big reader. I love sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, so I watch a lot of movies, and I have a number of tattoos related to my favorite shows and characters. I’ve even got an accreditation in understanding Japanese sake. I just like trying new things. Yeah, I don't want to destroy things, I just want to consume them—consume all the things. So, I'm going to say Galactus.
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