It's another one of those glorious winter days here on the South Coast. The sun is out and although there's a cooling north wind the sun is warm. We had snow on Friday night but that's long since gone.
There really is no place like England. I've travelled to many countries around the world, totally different climates and many with stunning scenery but the English countryside is something special. In the winter sunlight the hedgerows and trees are bare but the grass is still green in the fields. The bare bones of the countryside that opens up the views as you drive down winding country lanes between the hedgerows. The hedge-cutters and verge mowers have been out in many areas so there's a tidiness to the countryside. We've not had too much rain this winter so the roads are still relatively clean. It doesn't take long to get warm if you're well wrapped up, hat, gloves and a good few layers and there's nothing as nourishing for tired spirits than being out in the fresh air, warm sun on your face, watching rafts of ducks out on the water.
There's nothing like winter sunshine to lift your spirits. While it's tempting to stay inside in the warmth, I feel far better for having got out for a short while. It's good to renew my links with nature. I sometimes forget that it's the simple things in life that bring me my greatest joy.
Try it for yourself.
If things are getting too much, if you feel tired and overwhelmed. If you're stressed at home or work then get out into the great outdoors.
Go for a walk.
Get away from the hustle and bustle of town and traffic. Get down to the sea or out into the hills or even into your nearest park. Take time to enjoy the peace and quiet and get things back into perspective.
Time management solutions for busy people - organise your business, your life and have fun.
Procrastination - The Art Of Putting Things Off
We all have a tendency to put things off for various reasons. How often have you made yourself ‘busy’ just because you’re putting off doing something you’re resisting?
The longer you leave it, the harder it becomes. If you leave it too long it gets to the point where it can no longer be ignored. Now you HAVE to get it done – somehow you now manage to find the time to do it, so what was stopping you in the first place?
When the pain of not doing something becomes greater than the pain of doing it, resistance will magically disappear and more often than not we find that it wasn’t as bad as we thought after all.
Here are a few tips to help reduce procrastination:
Break a larger task down into smaller tasks so it doesn’t seem quite so onerous. For instance, if you need to write a report that you think is going to take days to write – take five minutes just to get a few ideas on paper. Next time – add a bit more, refine it, put in a bit more content. Schedule time to come back to it later, either in a few hours or the next day and complete a bit more. Once you get started it’s surprising how much easier it can be to keep going.
Another easy way I have found to tackle many things, is by spending just 5 or 10 minutes on a task. You’ll increase your productivity when you give yourself a time limit and it’s less daunting than needing to spend an hour or more on it and less excuse to procrastinate.
Putting off that pile of filing? Spend 10 minutes tackling the top of the pile or start to reduce the pile by sorting out all the papers that go into the same file or relate to the same subject. Repeat this at regular intervals throughout the day or find 10 minutes every day.
Make a difference this week and follow the 10 minute rule.
The longer you leave it, the harder it becomes. If you leave it too long it gets to the point where it can no longer be ignored. Now you HAVE to get it done – somehow you now manage to find the time to do it, so what was stopping you in the first place?
When the pain of not doing something becomes greater than the pain of doing it, resistance will magically disappear and more often than not we find that it wasn’t as bad as we thought after all.
Here are a few tips to help reduce procrastination:
Break a larger task down into smaller tasks so it doesn’t seem quite so onerous. For instance, if you need to write a report that you think is going to take days to write – take five minutes just to get a few ideas on paper. Next time – add a bit more, refine it, put in a bit more content. Schedule time to come back to it later, either in a few hours or the next day and complete a bit more. Once you get started it’s surprising how much easier it can be to keep going.
Another easy way I have found to tackle many things, is by spending just 5 or 10 minutes on a task. You’ll increase your productivity when you give yourself a time limit and it’s less daunting than needing to spend an hour or more on it and less excuse to procrastinate.
Putting off that pile of filing? Spend 10 minutes tackling the top of the pile or start to reduce the pile by sorting out all the papers that go into the same file or relate to the same subject. Repeat this at regular intervals throughout the day or find 10 minutes every day.
Make a difference this week and follow the 10 minute rule.
Work Life Balance - Could You Do Better?
Apparently today is Blue Monday - the Worst Day Of The Year.
It all comes down to a matter of perspective. Even if we're feeling really down and blue there's a lot we have to smile about, especially if we think about others that are a lot worse off than we are.
It might be a conscious choice about how we feel but sometimes our subconscious has a lot to do with it too. It's all very well saying 'pull yourself together', 'cheer up - things can't be that bad'. Depression might be a state of mind but it's not a nice place to be and sometimes you just can't help yourself being down. Just make sure you don't stay there too long as it can make things worse. Negativity tends to lead to further negativity. While being positive can be hard. Needing time to yourself is fine but we all need to have people around us - friends and family are great and will rally round if you just ask.
When we're particularly busy or things aren't going too well in other areas, we tend to focus on just one thing and more often than not that tends to be work, or if work isn't going well we may over compensate in another area. We need to keep life in balance - the physical, mental and emotional, work, health, family, relationship, fun and things around us. If one area falls apart or isn't going well, then you should have enough balance in other areas to keep you going and get you through the worst. They are just as important and you need to make time for them all.
If you don't have one already... get yourself a Life Balance Wheel http://www.clareevans.co.uk/documents/LifeBalanceWheel.pdf. Take a look at where you are now and what would you like to change. Where do you stand overall and where do you want to make the biggest change? Think about how you would like your life to look and then start to make it happen.
I'll be making a conscious effort to make this a Joyful Week - I hope you do too!
It all comes down to a matter of perspective. Even if we're feeling really down and blue there's a lot we have to smile about, especially if we think about others that are a lot worse off than we are.
It might be a conscious choice about how we feel but sometimes our subconscious has a lot to do with it too. It's all very well saying 'pull yourself together', 'cheer up - things can't be that bad'. Depression might be a state of mind but it's not a nice place to be and sometimes you just can't help yourself being down. Just make sure you don't stay there too long as it can make things worse. Negativity tends to lead to further negativity. While being positive can be hard. Needing time to yourself is fine but we all need to have people around us - friends and family are great and will rally round if you just ask.
When we're particularly busy or things aren't going too well in other areas, we tend to focus on just one thing and more often than not that tends to be work, or if work isn't going well we may over compensate in another area. We need to keep life in balance - the physical, mental and emotional, work, health, family, relationship, fun and things around us. If one area falls apart or isn't going well, then you should have enough balance in other areas to keep you going and get you through the worst. They are just as important and you need to make time for them all.
If you don't have one already... get yourself a Life Balance Wheel http://www.clareevans.co.uk/documents/LifeBalanceWheel.pdf. Take a look at where you are now and what would you like to change. Where do you stand overall and where do you want to make the biggest change? Think about how you would like your life to look and then start to make it happen.
I'll be making a conscious effort to make this a Joyful Week - I hope you do too!
It's Spring .... or is it?
It's January, so in theory - here in the UK - it's Winter.
I was up early this morning for a breakfast meeting and although it was still dark there was a blackbird singing it's heart out from the trees in the park close to me. The daffodils have been poking their green stems up through the soil for a few weeks now. In fact I think I noticed them first around Christmas time.
So, I just popped out again to collect something from the car. It's mild, the blackbird is still singing, maybe a different one but there's definitely a feel to Spring rather than Winter!! It has been mild for a few days, the heating is rarely on, even though I work from home and I can get quite chilly if I'm sitting working at my laptop.
However, at this time of year when the days are short (although getting longer now) and there's not a lot of sunshine around, it helps to get out and about into the fresh air even just for a short while. Winter sunshine can also help to lift your mood, as we spend too much time in the artificial lighting and centrally heated atmosphere of an office or our homes. Many people suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) at this time of year - especially the further away from the equator you are. Also don't forget to keep drinking water (she says, reaching for her glass). You might not be sweating at this time of year but central heating dries out the skin and a dehydrated body doesn't function as well as it should and tiredness, hunger and energy can all change if you just give your body the fluid environment it needs. After all we're over 70% water and not all of that can come from food. Interesting article http://www.aquasana.com/healthy.cfm
Well, I expect that Spring hasn't really arrived and normal seasonal weather will be resumed soon. After all, Feburary is usually the coldest month. Further weather reports and more on the favourite topic of British conversation later.
I was up early this morning for a breakfast meeting and although it was still dark there was a blackbird singing it's heart out from the trees in the park close to me. The daffodils have been poking their green stems up through the soil for a few weeks now. In fact I think I noticed them first around Christmas time.
So, I just popped out again to collect something from the car. It's mild, the blackbird is still singing, maybe a different one but there's definitely a feel to Spring rather than Winter!! It has been mild for a few days, the heating is rarely on, even though I work from home and I can get quite chilly if I'm sitting working at my laptop.
However, at this time of year when the days are short (although getting longer now) and there's not a lot of sunshine around, it helps to get out and about into the fresh air even just for a short while. Winter sunshine can also help to lift your mood, as we spend too much time in the artificial lighting and centrally heated atmosphere of an office or our homes. Many people suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) at this time of year - especially the further away from the equator you are. Also don't forget to keep drinking water (she says, reaching for her glass). You might not be sweating at this time of year but central heating dries out the skin and a dehydrated body doesn't function as well as it should and tiredness, hunger and energy can all change if you just give your body the fluid environment it needs. After all we're over 70% water and not all of that can come from food. Interesting article http://www.aquasana.com/healthy.cfm
Well, I expect that Spring hasn't really arrived and normal seasonal weather will be resumed soon. After all, Feburary is usually the coldest month. Further weather reports and more on the favourite topic of British conversation later.
George Carlin's Views on Aging
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50
and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them".
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets,keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable,improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50
and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them".
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets,keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable,improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
What are your intentions?
I was out and about this weekend, having finally dragged myself off the couch, where I’m afraid I’ve been languishing for the past few weeks, dealing with the emotional upheaval of a relationship break-up over Christmas and a bad start to the New Year.
Having re-read some of my own articles on looking after yourself... I decided to do one of the things I’ve been intending to do for a while. I went out and did some volunteering work for the local Wildlife Trust. I spent the whole day on Sunday clearing an area of scrub on our local Downs in Sussex, England (actually misnamed, because they’re hills).
For a New Year's resolution, if you want to get fit, lose weight and help the community and the environment, then why not get out and help your local conservation organisation. It was great. Yes, it was hard work but it was great fun, good to be outside, a great bunch of people and the satisfaction at the end of the day, of a job well done and the joy of feeling physically tired rather than mentally or emotionally tired. I soaked in a hot bath to ease my aching muscles and amazingly could still walk the following day having had a good night's sleep.
Every now and then I get spurred into action – all those things I’ve been putting off, delaying for when I have more time. I finally dug out the information I needed, found the person I needed to contact, called them and got the details to make it happen. Amazing what a burst of enthusiasm can achieve.
What have you been intending to do that you haven’t got around to for one reason or another? New Year is when we set the best of intentions. What do you ‘intend’ to do this year and what could you do to make it happen this week?!
What is the first step you need to take?
Go on – do it now!
Having re-read some of my own articles on looking after yourself... I decided to do one of the things I’ve been intending to do for a while. I went out and did some volunteering work for the local Wildlife Trust. I spent the whole day on Sunday clearing an area of scrub on our local Downs in Sussex, England (actually misnamed, because they’re hills).
For a New Year's resolution, if you want to get fit, lose weight and help the community and the environment, then why not get out and help your local conservation organisation. It was great. Yes, it was hard work but it was great fun, good to be outside, a great bunch of people and the satisfaction at the end of the day, of a job well done and the joy of feeling physically tired rather than mentally or emotionally tired. I soaked in a hot bath to ease my aching muscles and amazingly could still walk the following day having had a good night's sleep.
Every now and then I get spurred into action – all those things I’ve been putting off, delaying for when I have more time. I finally dug out the information I needed, found the person I needed to contact, called them and got the details to make it happen. Amazing what a burst of enthusiasm can achieve.
What have you been intending to do that you haven’t got around to for one reason or another? New Year is when we set the best of intentions. What do you ‘intend’ to do this year and what could you do to make it happen this week?!
What is the first step you need to take?
Go on – do it now!
Welcome to my blog.
Hi, and welcome to my blog.
A chance to find out more about who I am and how I work - mentally, physically and emotionally. A place to share a little more about what is happening in my life and a way to communicate things of interest, to enhance your working and personal life and to help you get the most out of everything you do.
A chance to find out more about who I am and how I work - mentally, physically and emotionally. A place to share a little more about what is happening in my life and a way to communicate things of interest, to enhance your working and personal life and to help you get the most out of everything you do.
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