Podcast: Ten Top Tips For Great Time Management (Part 2)

Modified Podcast Logo with My Headphones Photo...

The second part of a two-part podcast with Andy White for Freelance Advisor - Ten top tips for great time management (part 2).

Listen online or download to your computer or mp3 player.

FreelanceAdvisor - Time Management (Part 2) [28:38]

Full transcript also available online.


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Who Needs A Break Most - Pupils, Parents Or Teachers?

Traditionally the school year consists of three terms starting in September and finishing with exams in the Summer.  End of term breaks at Christmas, Easter and a long Summer holiday.  Half-term breaks of anything from a long weekend to a week or two weeks.  With many schools now on a half-term break - what's the best solution?
Little Kids- (12/75)Image by jackiembarr via Flickr

While we might remember the long, hazy days of summer holiday - endless sunshine and play, are long holidays or indeed long terms good for both pupils and parents?  Are parents tearing their hair out by the end of a two-month summer holiday?

Frequent breaks are to be recommended.  They're good for enabling us to concentrate and be more productive in the working world.  Would pupils benefit from shorter terms and more frequent breaks?

Working parents frequently have to compete for time off at peak holiday time - particularly the question of who's going to work over Christmas and who gets first pick for the Summer holiday time.  After all, few companies can afford to have more than one or two members of staff off at any one time.

Does it make more sense to do something different with the academic year?  Universities have shorter terms and build in study and research weeks.

Long summer holidays put pressure on working mums to find alternate child-care or take time off work to spend with their children (not a bad thing obviously) but dictated by school terms and of course the increase in cost for anything at peak holiday time.

Hard working teachers probably benefit from the long summer break just as much as the over-worked, exam-stressed pupils.  But would more frequent breaks benefit them both?

Exams also tend to fall during the peak time for both heat and hayfever.  While conditions may have improved - I'm sure many pupils still suffer sweltering on hot summer days and struggling their exams with snuffles, sneezing and streaming eyes and noses.

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October Newsletter: What's Your Learning Style?

We all have different ways of learning and taking in information. At school we're taught in a very linear way through the use of words - often written.

Many people carry on learning throughout life - through our own personal development, continual learning, studying for work - certification, exams etc.

There are several styles of learning ...


You can read the rest of the article in this month's newsletter, just register on my website or click here. Free tips, advice, information and news on how to improve your time management for your business and personal life direct to your inbox.

M.A.D. Survival Through Adversity

AdversityImage by cobannon via Flickr

Like many others I watched the rescue of the Chilean miners and one thing that struck me was the strength of the human spirit to survive under adverse conditions.

There's still much to learn about what went on for the 70 days they were underground and I'm sure more details of their story will come out over time along with all the rumours and speculation.

Many of them have spoken about being reborn following their ordeal, their family are the most important things to them even though they're now the centre of much press and media intention.  The horror of being buried underground, not knowing if they'd be found or whether they'd see their families again.

Organising themselves and creating a structure for survival, not only to ration out their limited food supply but to keep their spirits up and look after each other.



We have the capacity to survive, even in the most adverse conditions.  Not only for the Chilean miners but for others who have survived through war, natural disaster and personal tragedy.

It's all too easy to get closeted in the trappings of modern life and surrounded by things to make ourselves more comfortable.  We get stuck in our comfort zones and forget about the things that are really important in life - food, water, shelter and human comfort.

We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for and this tends to come out when we're under extreme stress, pressure or surviving adversity.  When we test ourselves we can be surprised at what we are actually capable of.

Take a risk, challenge yourself - what have you got to lose?  Nothing compared to what others are going through or have gone through.

Keep things in perspective - worse things happen underground.


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Blog Action Day 2010 - Water

Clean drinking water...not self-evident for ev...Image via Wikipedia
Here in the UK, we take fresh, clean, drinkable water for granted.

We turn on a tap and there it is.  Bottled water is a luxury rather than an every day necessity.
  • Only 0.3% of the Earth's water is available as surface water - most of this in freshwater lakes.
  • 1 in 8 people worldwide don't have access to clean, safe drinking water.
  • Dirty water causes more deaths every day than all forms of violence including war.
  • 38,000 deaths occur each week in children under 5 from unhygienic living conditions and unsafe drinking water.
  • Global disease could be reduced by 10% just by improving the global water supply and sanitation. 
We already know that supply is exceeding demand and there is a delicate balance, even here in the relatively wet northern hemisphere.

Last Winter heavy downpours and floods caused devastation and disruption in the North, yet a few months later we had the driest summer and hosepipe bans were in force in the same areas hit by floods.

Co-incidentally, I attended the Brighton Chamber breakfast networking meeting this morning and met Neil Tomlinson from AquaPax - recyclable and sustainable packaged drinking water.

We shouldn't take this natural resource for granted.  The crops we grow, the food we eat, the clothes we buy and the technology we use - all require water.

Don't waste it and don't take it for granted.

Today is Blog Action Day - another day in the year when bloggers focus on one particular topic.  This year it's about a precious and limited resource - water.


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Podcast: Ten Top Tips For Great Time Management (Part 1)

Modified Podcast Logo with My Headphones Photo...

The first part of a two-part podcast with Andy White for Freelance Advisor - Ten top tips for great time management (part 1).

Listen online or download to your computer or mp3 player.

FreelanceAdvisor - Time Management (Part 1) [24:38]

Full transcript of the call is also available online.


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Think Before You Speak

... or at least type.

All too often these days, something gets written online - perhaps in the heat of the moment or in reaction to something they've seen or read which can lead to all sorts of potential problems, mis-interpretation and faulty impressions that were perhaps unintended.

What you say - particularly if you're doing business online - reflects on you, your brand and the impression of who you are and how you work.  People can be switched off in an instant if they see something you've said or written online they don't like or agree with.

Now, you need to be authentic and people like to see someone's character but sometimes it can pay to think before you speak.

I've seen discussions that have turned into public spats.  Supposed business professionals behaving like children in the school playground or even degenerating into the downright abusive and bullying.  Fortunately extreme instances of bad behaviour are rare (at least on the networking sites I inhabit) but they do happen.

Some people will happily stir things up or keep the discussion going just so they can get their point across or to have the last word.  Lively discussion and debate is great and it's what makes certain sites more interesting but there can be a fine line.

Keep your personal opinions to the 'social' environment and be aware of how your professional persona is coming across in the online world.