Further thoughts on yesterday's blog theme.
It's a couple of days before your holiday. All those loose ends in your in tray that have been there for a while. A couple of grotty filing jobs to do too. They are low level bugging you. You want a tidy desk before you go. A fresh start when you return. There is also the domestic stuff to sort. Grass to mow, bedding to change, car needs cleaning. How am I going to get all this stuff done in the time available!? You do - you sail through it. Time imperatives mean you are energised and decisive. You get your finger out! A bit of stress yes - but it all gets done. You reflect why on earth did I let that in tray hang around for so long and mess with my karma. I sorted it in no time. I pat myself on the back at what I have achieved in the time available.
Most of us will be in a management role at some time in our lives. At some time you will need to decide whether staff are being asked to do too much - whether they need more support. Whether they are overworked.
I know someone who worked for the local authority. He was convinced he was overworked. His department was outsourced and privatised. He went with it as part of the deal. He was given much more work. He actually said I thought I was busy before - now I know what busy is. The ironic thing - he is now enjoying his time at work much more. He loves the challenge of being productive - he is getting job satisfaction - he loves the buzz of a busy office.
A manager not getting some key tasks done. She needs support. We agree to a PA. The key tasks are still not getting done - but everyone claims to be busy. The reality - phone chats take longer. There are more meetings. Staff amble around. We can do that tomorrow rather than today.
Can you relate to this. WORK EXPANDS TO FILL THE TIME AVAILABLE. Very few of us say I am all done now - can I have some more work please?
Another truism comes to mind - "if you want a job done well - go to a busy person" I rest my case!
Thursday 13 August 2015
#Truism - the less you do the less you feel like doing!
Last Friday I had a very painful injury playing squash. Straight to hospital. Damaged medial knee ligament, pain killers and crutches. I get home at 1am. Pain acute but only in certain positions. I have a decent nights sleep. Wake early and reflect.
I have so many jobs on the go that require me to be mobile. I also have my daily sports fix. I can do none of it for a few days at least - there is no debate about that. Suddenly (and inconveniently) I have time on my hands. I reflect further - this is a GREAT opportunity. There are so many things I can do - things I have not got round to doing - things that only require me sitting at my desk - things I can do on my computer.
A few days later. My knee is easing gradually. I have made some paperwork progress but not much. I am grumpy with myself - I have wasted time and opportunity. What has happened? Truthfully - a bit of self analysis - I didn't do much on the first day on the sofa and the old truism kicked in. THE LESS YOU DO THE LESS YOU FEEL LIKE DOING. The reality and honesty of this simple bit of wisdom makes me smile. It is particularly the case with study, or training - or even my beloved allotment! Go on holiday and try and get back into the routine! Christmas always majorly messes things up for me until I can summon the willpower to break the cycle and get active again.
Why am I writing this. This simple truism is why there are so many obese and unfit people in our society. It is why there is so much under achievement in our schools. We have to get started - momentum creates further momentum. Lose momentum and it is difficult to get the juggernaut of life moving again and bad habits prevail and prevail and prevail.
Ps One of the things I have been doing is watching far too many episodes of Ridley Scott's The Good Wife on Netflix. One of the lawyers came out with the line - "life is a road and it is easy to steer off it". Very profound and I am not in context! Maybe "life is a road and it is easy to park up in a layby" - ha!
I have so many jobs on the go that require me to be mobile. I also have my daily sports fix. I can do none of it for a few days at least - there is no debate about that. Suddenly (and inconveniently) I have time on my hands. I reflect further - this is a GREAT opportunity. There are so many things I can do - things I have not got round to doing - things that only require me sitting at my desk - things I can do on my computer.
A few days later. My knee is easing gradually. I have made some paperwork progress but not much. I am grumpy with myself - I have wasted time and opportunity. What has happened? Truthfully - a bit of self analysis - I didn't do much on the first day on the sofa and the old truism kicked in. THE LESS YOU DO THE LESS YOU FEEL LIKE DOING. The reality and honesty of this simple bit of wisdom makes me smile. It is particularly the case with study, or training - or even my beloved allotment! Go on holiday and try and get back into the routine! Christmas always majorly messes things up for me until I can summon the willpower to break the cycle and get active again.
Why am I writing this. This simple truism is why there are so many obese and unfit people in our society. It is why there is so much under achievement in our schools. We have to get started - momentum creates further momentum. Lose momentum and it is difficult to get the juggernaut of life moving again and bad habits prevail and prevail and prevail.
Ps One of the things I have been doing is watching far too many episodes of Ridley Scott's The Good Wife on Netflix. One of the lawyers came out with the line - "life is a road and it is easy to steer off it". Very profound and I am not in context! Maybe "life is a road and it is easy to park up in a layby" - ha!
Wednesday 5 August 2015
#India November 2015 PART 1
I am excited. I have just received my Indrail Passes.
An explanation. I have walked on Indian soil twice - Mumbai airport - in transit - ha! I have always wanted to go to India proper and now I am going.
My interest in India has been fuelled by books, documentaries and of course by Indian food. Years ago I read A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth and India by V S Naipaul - those wonderful Indian Railway documentaries and more recently Rick Steins visit to India series - the fascination of their religions, the Ganges, the Raj, the caste system - a culture in many ways so different from ours.
I have my visa - £104 plus a visit to the Indian embassy in London (Paddington) to get it.
I fly (with Jet Air) to Kolkata (Calcutta) in early November and will be there for 4 weeks.
I am back packing, travelling alone and moving around mainly by train.
I have pre booked trains with Indrail through S D Enterprises London and with the help of the web site Seat 61.
I have put together my own itinerary - having read quite a bit about what is possible. A quick outline - visits to :
Kolcatta
Varanasi
Jhansi
Agra
Jaipur
New Delhi
Kalka
Shimla
Mumbai
Kerala
Goa
Over the next three months I will be working on putting meat on the bones so to speak and will be posting with up dates.
An explanation. I have walked on Indian soil twice - Mumbai airport - in transit - ha! I have always wanted to go to India proper and now I am going.
My interest in India has been fuelled by books, documentaries and of course by Indian food. Years ago I read A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth and India by V S Naipaul - those wonderful Indian Railway documentaries and more recently Rick Steins visit to India series - the fascination of their religions, the Ganges, the Raj, the caste system - a culture in many ways so different from ours.
I have my visa - £104 plus a visit to the Indian embassy in London (Paddington) to get it.
I fly (with Jet Air) to Kolkata (Calcutta) in early November and will be there for 4 weeks.
I am back packing, travelling alone and moving around mainly by train.
I have pre booked trains with Indrail through S D Enterprises London and with the help of the web site Seat 61.
I have put together my own itinerary - having read quite a bit about what is possible. A quick outline - visits to :
Kolcatta
Varanasi
Jhansi
Agra
Jaipur
New Delhi
Kalka
Shimla
Mumbai
Kerala
Goa
Over the next three months I will be working on putting meat on the bones so to speak and will be posting with up dates.
Tuesday 4 August 2015
#Performingontheday in the zone
In this short blog you will find no answers - just questions!
After a lifetime as a keen and enthusiastic sportsman I remain puzzled by the fact you can play well on one day and not so well the next - for no apparent or possibly - controllable reason. Why is that? Why on some days does everything come easy and conversely why on some days is everything a struggle.
Ok - what is obvious - performance factors are part physical, part mental and to some extent you can only play as well as your opponent lets you. (I am discounting the opponent for the purposes of this blog because you know whether fundamentally you are playing well - a different thing from how well your opponent is playing, his affect on your game or the actual result which is of course opponent dependent). For myself I am going to rule out will to win because I have always held that at a pretty consistent level I believe and I rarely if ever make excuses.
As a sportsman - even as an amateur sportsman you have to prepare well before playing. If you don't there lies a part answer to variable performance of course. From boyhood I played football. From 30 I have mainly played squash. I have played them regularly - usually on a weekly league rota. This does allow a fairly consistent approach. However it would be fair to say I have always been dogged by inconsistency. I rarely play a shocker - if I do I can usually identify a reason - but on some days I can play much better than the base level. This of course is not unique to me. Literally everyone is the same. Why is it?
While I am not neurotic about it if the game is important I think about preparing for it - good rest and food the night before - think about the game on the day. The right meal at the right time to have energy but not a heavy stomach - warm up - stretches and more recently a prior hot bath as a loosener. The approach is the same. So why isn't my performance!?
I am suggesting two things. One is concentration the second - the most important I am going to refer to as bio-rhythms.
Concentration - being in the zone. They sound like clichés - watch the ball, play each point as it comes, be in the moment. This is what happens however when you are naturally concentrating. As soon as you think about them - or anything about your technique or the outcome, by definition you are not fully concentrating on the actual rally, tackle or pass. This affects performance and outcomes. With amateurs like me - like most of us - we do not fully concentrate all - or perhaps even most of the time. Things come into our head - even if they are game related. They are not helpful to performing well. Of course this is well recognised in top sport now. Sports psychologists are employed. Visualisation techniques are used. They are all about improving concentration. It is a wonderful thing to totally lose yourself in a game - when the focus is intense and natural. When you do not have it or you lose it - it can be very hard to get it back. Top level tennis serves to illustrate it well. Follow Andy Murray. A great competitor - a fantastic tennis player - but his matches are so often a rollercoaster while he struggles to get in or to keep in the zone. I have yet to find a technique that works consistently for me.
Bio-rhythms. Do they exist? Are they controllable? I know nothing about the science or pseudo science behind it. However for me the concept sums up the fact that for some reason your body and mind, whatever they are made up of, come together well - work better some days than on other days - the tide of life is helping you - you are not swimming against it. This doesn't help - it might be used as an excuse - just not your day. However it is not an excuse - it is a fascination a constant challenge - something that makes sport and more widely - life - both unpredictable and interesting. I mentioned tides. The sun and moon in various alignments are enough to bring the sea onto and off our shores to variable levels on a daily basis. Our bodies are about 60% water - so is it the tide of life - it ebbs and flows - ha! Is it simply that - have I cracked it - there is nothing we can do about it. That makes me smile - I am not such a crap sportsman after all - just human - ha ha ah!
After a lifetime as a keen and enthusiastic sportsman I remain puzzled by the fact you can play well on one day and not so well the next - for no apparent or possibly - controllable reason. Why is that? Why on some days does everything come easy and conversely why on some days is everything a struggle.
Ok - what is obvious - performance factors are part physical, part mental and to some extent you can only play as well as your opponent lets you. (I am discounting the opponent for the purposes of this blog because you know whether fundamentally you are playing well - a different thing from how well your opponent is playing, his affect on your game or the actual result which is of course opponent dependent). For myself I am going to rule out will to win because I have always held that at a pretty consistent level I believe and I rarely if ever make excuses.
As a sportsman - even as an amateur sportsman you have to prepare well before playing. If you don't there lies a part answer to variable performance of course. From boyhood I played football. From 30 I have mainly played squash. I have played them regularly - usually on a weekly league rota. This does allow a fairly consistent approach. However it would be fair to say I have always been dogged by inconsistency. I rarely play a shocker - if I do I can usually identify a reason - but on some days I can play much better than the base level. This of course is not unique to me. Literally everyone is the same. Why is it?
While I am not neurotic about it if the game is important I think about preparing for it - good rest and food the night before - think about the game on the day. The right meal at the right time to have energy but not a heavy stomach - warm up - stretches and more recently a prior hot bath as a loosener. The approach is the same. So why isn't my performance!?
I am suggesting two things. One is concentration the second - the most important I am going to refer to as bio-rhythms.
Concentration - being in the zone. They sound like clichés - watch the ball, play each point as it comes, be in the moment. This is what happens however when you are naturally concentrating. As soon as you think about them - or anything about your technique or the outcome, by definition you are not fully concentrating on the actual rally, tackle or pass. This affects performance and outcomes. With amateurs like me - like most of us - we do not fully concentrate all - or perhaps even most of the time. Things come into our head - even if they are game related. They are not helpful to performing well. Of course this is well recognised in top sport now. Sports psychologists are employed. Visualisation techniques are used. They are all about improving concentration. It is a wonderful thing to totally lose yourself in a game - when the focus is intense and natural. When you do not have it or you lose it - it can be very hard to get it back. Top level tennis serves to illustrate it well. Follow Andy Murray. A great competitor - a fantastic tennis player - but his matches are so often a rollercoaster while he struggles to get in or to keep in the zone. I have yet to find a technique that works consistently for me.
Bio-rhythms. Do they exist? Are they controllable? I know nothing about the science or pseudo science behind it. However for me the concept sums up the fact that for some reason your body and mind, whatever they are made up of, come together well - work better some days than on other days - the tide of life is helping you - you are not swimming against it. This doesn't help - it might be used as an excuse - just not your day. However it is not an excuse - it is a fascination a constant challenge - something that makes sport and more widely - life - both unpredictable and interesting. I mentioned tides. The sun and moon in various alignments are enough to bring the sea onto and off our shores to variable levels on a daily basis. Our bodies are about 60% water - so is it the tide of life - it ebbs and flows - ha! Is it simply that - have I cracked it - there is nothing we can do about it. That makes me smile - I am not such a crap sportsman after all - just human - ha ha ah!
Monday 3 August 2015
#RiverAdur
I heard a request on Countryfile the other day asking viewers to send in details of their secret lovely places. The National Parks are well known - the Cotswolds etc etc but there are of course thousands of others - little jems. Last weekend I visited Shoreham.
Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex doesn't sound very exotic - in some ways it is understated but it is where the lovely River Adur joins the sea. Shoreham is a busy little boating harbour come estuary - (formerly much more important as a trading port). There is lots to watch - plenty of bird life too.
The walk in land along the east tidal bank soon takes you into beautiful open flat countryside. The tide sweeps in powerfully - is prone to flooding over the paths and indeed beyond apparently but in summer it is evidently well behaved. The tidal bore is very strong though. Canoeist were speeding effortlessly in land. Later the walk back down the west side was even more lovely - more open. I attach one or two simple photos. A lovely place.
POSTCRIPT
Just a few weeks after my walk the Shoreham Air Show was staged and ended with the terrible Hawker Hunter crash. The plane landed on the nearby A27 and killed 11 people - the worst civilian plane accident in the UK for 60 years. It is shocking and upsetting that such a thing happened.
Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex doesn't sound very exotic - in some ways it is understated but it is where the lovely River Adur joins the sea. Shoreham is a busy little boating harbour come estuary - (formerly much more important as a trading port). There is lots to watch - plenty of bird life too.
The walk in land along the east tidal bank soon takes you into beautiful open flat countryside. The tide sweeps in powerfully - is prone to flooding over the paths and indeed beyond apparently but in summer it is evidently well behaved. The tidal bore is very strong though. Canoeist were speeding effortlessly in land. Later the walk back down the west side was even more lovely - more open. I attach one or two simple photos. A lovely place.
 |
| Shoreham start |
 |
| The lovely lower River Adur |
 |
| Lancing College |
Just a few weeks after my walk the Shoreham Air Show was staged and ended with the terrible Hawker Hunter crash. The plane landed on the nearby A27 and killed 11 people - the worst civilian plane accident in the UK for 60 years. It is shocking and upsetting that such a thing happened.
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