Which Way? The Work - Life Balance

REWARDING WORK & GOOD MONEY

There are many different ways to live out our lives. We either choose the way we wish to live, or we drift along trying to make the best of a bad deal. We need to work, to earn money and live. How we work, the money we earn and how we choose to spend it will give us a measure on our work / life balance.

High Earners & Low Lifers
A friend of mine is a nanny for a family living near us in SW London. This part of town has become increasingly more affluent over the last few years, with a lot of the town houses, that used to be lived in by fairly poor immigrants from India and the Caribbean, taken over by rich middle class families who make their money in well paid corporate jobs.

Getting to know some of the original West Indian contingent from this area, I can see that, although they don't have much money, they do seem to have good quality lifestyles - with lots of free time. The family my friend nannies for, has two children that she looks after 5 days a week while the two parents work their long days at their respective finance/IT jobs in the city.

Quite often she'll have the children 'til after 7pm, which is around the time when the children have gone to bed. The parents will juggle the children around whatever it is they like to do on the weekends. This is their only free time in the week where they get to appreciate their kids, each other and have their own 'me' time.

What's The Pay-Off?
It's difficult to get a high paid job without also having the long hours, responsibility and stress that it brings too. So what's more important? I believe there's now so much competition between the high-earners, to get a decent property in the right part of town and immense pressure to retain the style of living that they have become accustomed to, that they surely cannot keep up with the intensity without severely compromising quality of life in the long term. So a lower-paid job that allows more time & freedom to enjoy family and life in general - rather than being stuck in an office etc. is surely going to be the better option for quality of life - providing the pennies are watched. The middle ground is surely going to involve having a well-paid role but just means spending less days doing it per week but there aren't many available full-time positions that allow for a 3 day week - and this is something we should be offering a lot more in the work-place.

Personality Types

KNOW YOUR TYPE

We are not taught how to live in school. We are mostly left to figure things out for ourselves, with some additional help coming from the parents, peers & other wise elders. The rest and arguably best of the findings will come from answers found through investing the time carrying out our own research.

To learn about the fundamental factors that affect our wellbeing, either in a positive or negative way, we have to better understand ourselves and exactly what these factors are. Once we discover some essential facts about our personality types, we can strive towards living a longer, more healthy and fulfilling life.

Merely knowing what our personality types are, can in itself be a revelation (as I have found) that in turn means we'll be better equipped to manage ourselves and ensure the environment we're in is conducive for us to truly be the best we can be.

Type A+B

Understanding where I am today in regards to my current stress related state, where I'm still showing signs of both mental and physical symptoms after 6 months of active rehabilitation, I can see where an understanding of my personality type 'A' would been a benefit for me back at an early stage of my life. I would have surely made more efforts to keep a balance in my work life and definitely avoided staying in an environment where I've been stationed over the last 5.5 years - a place that goes completely against everything I would need for keeping a happy state of being.

Type B characters seem to have an easier time of things. They have less time urgency and are more chilled out in general. Their ability to relax and not worry about sitting around doing nothing means they can think, be creative and enjoy living in the moment more. They are also good at delegating. I can reflect back on a few type 'B's' that I've encountered whose time-keeping and laisse-faire attitude has meant there's been occasions where I've had to step in and pick up another person's job (overloading oneself is another type 'A' trait) to meet a deadline in time. So for a type 'A' it's important to also understand the dynamic with type 'B's' too if we're to avoid getting caught up in the trap of taking on more than we can chew!

Type A characteristics
– Having a strong inner drive to succeed
– Having a great sense of responsibility
– Being self-motivated and disciplined
– Being their own severest critics
– Being perfectionistic and compulsive

Type B characteristics
– Type B personalities are almost the opposite of Type A.
– This type of person is relaxed by nature and has no sense of time urgency
– Type Bs have got no problems relaxing or sitting around without doing very much
– Type Bs may delay the work they have to the last moment and they usually don't get stressed that easily.
– Type B could be an achiever too but their lack of sense of time urgency helps them much in not feeling stressed while doing their tasks.

The Hustle

ALL ABOUT MAKING MONEY

Being able to earn enough money through our own means, from doing various different odd jobs, is fun but it can also be hard hussle. The hours can be quite anti-social and sporadic, as you take the money wherever and whenever you can. It can mess with your sleep patterns, throw off the routine and make you lose track of the days & nights. 

Missing the 9 til 5

While the ritual of a 9-5 job can feel like a bit of a grind, having the set location, times and 5 day week routine to follow, can bring some order into our lives put a regular and potentially much higher income on the table too.

Having freedom to work when we really want to work, means having more discipline to spend less, a greater will to seek out work, a strong resolve to stay out of trouble and the ability to put some hard work in on some jobs that are demanding, yet offer very little financial reward at the end compared to the salary gained through regular employment.

The pay off for having freedom to work away from corporate life, essentially means applying tighter reins to ourselves and our lifestyles. This means having a lot more discipline and control over our daily lives. It means saying 'No' much more often. 

Through careful planning, focus on time management and mindful objectives of how we obtain, maintain and retain work, dealing with our clients and suppliers in an honest and decent manor, we become the ambassadors of our brand. 

We can't afford to turn up and not deliver. There's no hiding, no shirking and definitely no feet under the table, which we find happening a lot of the time in the corporate world. 

Every day is a hustle - an urban forage of virtual beans and berries with a constant drive for finding that 'big game' that's lurking out there somewhere - the major prize, a giant, that once snared, will stock our reserves to help keep us going through the leaner times. 

Major Muscles

IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE BICEPS...

After the heart for keeping us alive, the Soas is arguably the most important muscle in the body. It's functions are for maintaining good upright posture, allowing full range of mobility between the upper and lower body and keeping us functioning correctly as a healthy physical individual. Also referred to as the hip flexor, it is important in a number of ways but it's key function is to keep us walking upright and when called for - helps flex the thigh and raise the knee forward for running.

Arguably, the evolution of Homo Sapiens owes much to the correct functioning of this muscle and it's very survival, dependent on the necessary quick reaction times required for action in averting danger. In evolutionary terms, it's not that long since we've come down from the trees to roam the plains and there are still very real dangers in our cities. So, this valuable life saving, primal region of our body is still hard-wired to our central nervous system as a first-stage mechanism for fight or flight. Due to it's necessity for being ready to move at all times, it's finely attuned to the environment and warning signals that are picked up from our senses, central nervous system, processed by the brain and sent out to this muscle even before our conscious minds are aware there is a potential threat upon us.

It's been shown through research, where our instinctive reaction times are alert and primed up to a staggering 10 seconds ahead of our conscious minds. Our senses react, the body systems and muscles prepare themselves while our mostly oblivious conscious minds pick up the messages through other signals - like the prickly feeling when our hairs stand on end, the gut feeling of unease or agitation as our blood supply switches away from the gut and cortisol is released from our adrenal gland into the blood stream or from the very fact that we've started running and unsure why that is we are doing it.

Stress Indicators
It appears the diagnosis and treatment for back pain has clearly been somewhere off the mark in many cases over the years. But through breakthrough research into chronic back pain by Dr Sarnos, there has been a lot of success with his treatment into undoing a lot of the problems associated with perpetual stress related symptoms. Key findings have indicted where a lot of stress related pain can be located around the lower back area. This has been shown through studies to be connected with the central nervous system and connected with repressed feelings of anger, anxiety and linked to sustained levels of stress, which in turn are linked and held in the Soas muscles and other related regions of the body - in particular, around the neck. The treatments for improving back problems are focused around directly treating the muscles with massage, pain and muscle relaxing drugs but also through evaluating environment and emotional health.

I believe yoga and meditation have a greater part to play in this rehabilitation therapy, but earlier acknowledgement of the potential stressors, understanding personality types and assessment of suitable environments for positive wellbeing should be considered as a preventative measure against all forms of stress related illness. If we consider that our environment, our moods, the people we surround ourselves with and work situations we put ourselves in are all the modern day equivalents of the Serengeti Plains - with dangers at every turn, either imagined or realised - then we can take preventative measures to stop the fight or flight response from being 'stuck on'.

Good muscle function should be a key factor in our continued quest for retaining peak levels of health. With more focus on the correct movement, agility, posture and balance of our muscles and less emphasis given to the size of say, a bicep, we could all have a better chance of staying pain-free.

Have A Hunch

POSTURE AND SHOULDER RESET

If, like me you have worked for years hunched over a computer for eight hours a day or more, often under stressful conditions and with little or no time for short breaks or even moments to assess how you're sitting, breathing or holding your posture correctly, then maybe you too will be feeling the painful consequences in your body right now.

The shoulder joint is the most complex in the body. A ball and socket system,  it has the most range of movement and therefore has more potential to get injured through incorrect and over-usage. There are major stabilising muscles in the joint and multiple cross-over intersections with the shoulder connecting to the back and chest muscles. One of the major muscle groups are the pectorals and these powerful muscles, made up of the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor, if over-trained, or trained without also training the antagonist muscle groups, will become tight and our shoulders unbalanced. This could cause a multitude of issues including poor posture and early wear & tear of the shoulder joint.

The key thing here is to understand how important stretching is. Taking a few minutes each day to stretch out the muscles would be the sensible thing to do, but we rarely give it the time. Ideally, we all take up the practice of yoga to give us the required quality time to focus on parts of the body that are most under stress, help improve our ability to relax and set aside time to stretch out our muscles.

Without having the time to practice yoga, we should at the very least, have a regular maintenance stretch of the muscles that will have positive affects on keeping our postures correct and retain our full shoulder functionality. To stretch out the chest muscles and ensure the shoulders are in their correct position, there's a couple of techniques that really work. The exercises take no more than a few minutes and Jeff, in the video below, gives a very clear indication of how to do these stretches. These techniques are by no means intended just for body builders and exercise fanatics, they benefit us all. The difference in tightness felt across the chest, neck and shoulders can be improved significantly even after just the first time of trying them.

First Privileges

EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM

Getting up that bit earlier, getting to the venue that bit before you need to and turning up at the place/occasion/event before everyone else, means picking the best seats, getting that spot on the beach, best spot in the gym class, advantageous position at the table and extra time for sussing out the lay of the land - to gain any other potential benefits that are there to be had. 

I used to be in the camp of turning up just in the nick of time (but often arriving late) and foolishly thought that I was making the best use of my time by running everything close to the wire. This I have now learned, has been way off the mark. Rushing around all the time means higher stress levels, poor overall experience, scattered/low quality memory of the events we're dashing from-to plus a reputation for being unreliable and for holding everybody else up. 

Take It With You

A lot of our tasks to be completed these days, involve being near a computer. With a smart phone or tablet, we have the ability to talk while we walk/drive and tools to communicate travelling on public transport, or do any of the tasks that require computer/comms equipment, that can either be actioned en route, or on location - completed during the quality free time remaining before the event has started. 

Get Ahead Of Your Head

It's so obvious, yet, I see people (myself included) rushing to do things at home/work - 'just 5 minutes more...' - things that can be done whilst travelling or after arriving where we're going to. But we can't see it at the time. Yet, just getting up that bit earlier gives us an advantage on our brains. Because we have extra time to assess the day, reason with priorities to be done at that moment and brain capacity to just stop for a moment and think 'can this be done on the way or later?'. It's so simple, I can't believe it's ever missed and yet this Eureka moment is such a flash of revelation once realised. Every time I recognise the option to just put off what can be done while on the go or later on, I feel a gift of time being regained, which in turn helps me to relax more and enjoy being in the moment. These revelations usually come to me when I've started the day earlier and less so when I'm on a back foot - ie. frantically trying to play catch up with all my tasks. Putting off the unimportant tasks to allow time to get ahead of myself, makes all the difference between having a stressful as opposed to a rewarding and enjoyable day. 

Mapping It Out

PLANS FOR A PLAN

Creating a route for a planned journey just got really easy. I love Google Maps and have used their maps for years to find locations and for navigation but forgot all about the function of mapping out a route with stops added in and notes overlaid in a format that can be shared, edited and amended by the group who are all included in the trip.

Google Maps Route Planning
Google have an array of great apps at our disposal - Blogger being one of my clear favourites, but their map editing software is a really cool took and likely something that many miss out on.

In just a short space of time, I've been able to create a route that me, my partner and parents can go on to visit/enjoy northern France Christmas Markets trip in mid December. It also means we have full directions on hand, are aware of the distances we travel every day, have interesting stops planned - marking out some key places to visit and options for where we can stop to refresh ourselves at these great festive markets - well in advance of the travel date.

Not Good Enough

UNDERESTIMATING OURSELVES

Some people have an over-inflated perception of their abilities. They are usually the ones who speak up the most in meetings, talking over the top of others and pushing through ideas not nearly as well thought out as those who are quietly sitting back, often afraid to speak up because they have a lower opinion of their own capabilities.

Impostor Syndrome
This is a common affliction that many women in high-powered positions seem to get, which I'm sure a lot of men also have too, but just don't talk about it as much.

I find myself being more modest than I should be and with some serious time for reflection this year, I can see where my expertise has been tucked away from view - even from myself.

This is very likely why I haven't had enough praise to reinforce the fact that I am bloody good at what I do. Some 'unsung hero' modesty is great for gaining respect as nobody likes the show-off but we all need to advertise/market our worth more if we want all the fame and fortune that it can potentially bring us. There are many well known business leaders and famous personalities out there that are constantly living in fear they will be found out for being a fraud.

There are some clever ways that we can deal with these inner Demons. One method is to speak up about these insecurities, which in turn, will help us take control of these fears of being a fraudster and help us to tackle the crippling self-doubt face on.

Photographic Memory

SNAP AWAY

Taking pictures has never been so easy. Back before the smart phone days, we had compact cameras that were our means of capturing the moment, but it was only really after 2000 that compact digital cameras were becoming good enough for this job over their film camera alternatives. But even then the quality, the storage and the battery life were not up to a standard where we could take them everywhere we went - hence they were usually only pulled out on very special occasions, like birthdays etc. Before that time, with film cameras, the limitations on film roll size (24 or 36) and the expense of developing film/prints, meant that photos were very considered, composed and every effort was taken to ensure there was no wasted shots.

Fast forward to the present day and everyone seems to have some form of camera on their person at all times of the day. The latest offerings from Apple and Samsung also means we can shoot bursts in hi-resolution, panoramic or fire off HD video - even in slow-mo. Afterwards, everything can be edited before they magically move themselves across to the 'cloud', where they simultaneously materialise on our other devices too.

Storage is also not much of a problem these days as Flikr give 1Tb for free and other storage providers like Dropbox, The Box, Google Drive etc. are finding even more ways to seamlessly integrate with our operating systems of choice - and all for very low cost. Battery issues are still a minor limitation, but carrying a miniature charging device or USB plug around with us (or even spare device battery), means we can top up on the go. This means that we can snap away to our heart's content using our cameras as memories for all the good times we've had. With metadata, we can even track the time and place where the shots were taken and look back at them on a map alongside a timeline of great memories in our lives.

Helping Friends

BACK TO NORMALITY

We all like to enjoy cutting loose from time to time. It's great to hook up with friends to get in the party mood and that's pretty much what this summer has been all about. But when we're in a relationship or have kids and we have work priorities to deal with, there will need to be some reining in, in order to function at an acceptable level. Having responsibilities is what keeps us in check.

Some of our single friends, without kids or even without the restraints of a serious job, will be getting out of control more than they should be. It can be a good time for so long before it becomes a problem. Because, without a significant other around to rein us in, it's up to our close friends to step up and re-align us to a more balanced lifestyle.

The tricky bit is to keep the fun side to the relationship going whilst also introducing some new routines, healthy lifestyle options and some responsible ideals and goals that will engage their attention enough to pull them back to normality but this is where true friendship comes to play. Single mates may be seen to be having more fun, but a lot are just looking for that special 'one' so may feel missed out as the only single in the group of friends, therefore we should be mindful of their happiness and give them more support.

Hola!

VIVA ESPAÑA

Spain is a great country with so many beautiful cities all with an abundance of culture, yet most of us Brits will usually only fly in to an airport near the coast and head straight to the beach.

One such city that I visited recently, Seville, had fine architecture and a vibrant river front full of great bars plus a fantastic food market. Usually, I feel that Spain is a nice place to visit for sunshine and beaches but on this occasion, I could see that Seville as a city could be somewhere I would like to live.

Spain not only has a rich culture steeped in history but the people really know how to enjoy life. The amount of festivals that Spain has on offer, including all those found on the islands, truly is amazing. There's practically a festival or event happening somewhere in Spain every week - and these are just the well known ones. With flight costs being so low, it's now so easy to take a long weekend break to Spain. Plus, with Air BnB, it's also really great value to get some sun, immerse in the culture and enjoy celebrating great food & drink at one of the many festivals throughout the regions of Spain that get overlooked.

Dictation Freedom

VOICE RECOGNITION

My new favourite tool is the dictation feature on my MacBook Pro. It enables me to get my first draft down in blogger so much quicker. By double tapping the function key, speaking and hitting function again to pause, I can get the bones of what I'm going to say and go back and edit after.

After years of using computers for work, I'm now feeling the effects of over-using my fingers to type and arm to use a mouse. The very action of hunching over a computer has arguably given me a bit of a drooped posture which I'm correcting through yoga and stretching.

Hands Free
Coupled with my other favourite bit of kit - the Sony SB20 bluetooth receiver, I'm now able to walk around the room away from the chair and keyboard altogether! Although I still like to practice my touch typing - the freedom this new technology has now given me will make writing all the more easier on my posture and hands in the long run.

Don't Ask - Don't Get

HANDS UP!

Just like back in school, to grab some attention, just put your hand up! Squashed into my seat on an early morning flight this morning, I witnessed first hand how best to get an advantage over everyone else (including business class travellers) ordering from the drinks trolley.

British Airways, along with other premium airlines, still offer complimentary drinks on their service, but alcohol is not usually featured on the breakfast flights.

However, the planes are stocked with booze for the later flights and some happy holiday makers will want a beer or Bloody Mary over a tea/coffee to get through the stress of getting to the airport and kick off the holiday good times. So, to keep their customers happy, attendants will make exceptions and the service crew will be traversing the length of the plane on these special trips to the galley. This takes time. Club class get priority and depending on your position on the plane, you could wait a long time for a drink and left with little time to relax and enjoy it.

Assistance Given

This is where the call button comes in handy. Pressing this attention grabbing button means you are suddenly 'numero uno priority' out of a full plane of 200+ people. It means your needs will be met first. You'll catch the stewardesses as they commence their duties, more happier and compliant to help, as opposed to jaded and resilient to giving their limited time to yet another budding British (functioning) alcoholic. The smiles will be more genuine and the question of 'can I get a beer?' answered and confirmed 'yes' by happy crew, making that first priority drink taste all the more sweeter.

Listen to your body

WARNING SIGNALS

Our bodies are finely tuned machines that are working 24/7 to retain homeostasis. In order to remain in an optimum state for functioning at our best, we have to take good care of ourselves through quality nutrition and regular rest. We need to listen carefully to our bodies, because sometimes, the signals are being sent and we're not aware, because we're not listening.

Our body has to adjust to certain states that we put ourselves through. Our conditions are constantly being measured and assessed through our central nervous system. Our nerve receptors pick up information relayed from our five senses to determine how our body systems are functioning within our environment and our brains interpret these signals to then motivate us to act appropriately. This is how we know if we are getting damaged - because we feel pain - which are the brain's warning signals. And this is how we know to avoid doing whatever it is that is causing the pain receptors to fire off these warning signals. Being constantly exposed to stressful situations, or by not getting enough sleep, rest or good nutrition, we may be so exhausted and therefore missing these important signals. Over time we may even become entirely de-sensitised to them and we later wonder why our looks and functionality have deteriorated so much.

Working at a tough level of intensity over long periods could set our pain thresholds at higher peaks and change our acceptable non-harmful state. This is how injuries creep up on us. This is also why it's important to have regular breaks throughout the day, relaxing evenings, weekends and planned holidays. It's in these moments, we can then use meditation, breathing techniques or yoga practise to help us identify these potential areas which are giving off warning signals. If we listen and act upon these signals, the chances of having any lasting damage done to our bodies will be greatly reduced.

Playing Catch Up

OVERLOADED IN-TRAY

It's been a great summer. Lots of laughs. Lots of partying with lots of late nights. This means work priorities have built up and some of the important jobs have been neglected - or worked on, but poorly and with insufficient brain power to really give the best performance to the duties that are required to get things done.

Summer still has some legs left in it and there'll be some more late nights and fun to be had in this year's summer swan-song closing party. Now it's time to catch up and focus on some of the important tasks that are getting close to crunch time. This coming week not only has a re-sit on an exam, but a re-look at my tax appeal with HMRC, plus this blog has arguably suffered these last couple of months - with less focus on research plus quality/quantity of the words written not as great as I'd like them to be written.

The morning routine has also been off for a while now - and although the yoga has been mostly kept up with, the boxing and weight/fitness training has barely been enough for damage limitation. Also, the language learning and 20 pages a day reading commitments has not always been possible - certainly not at the quality it deserves to be performed at to be able to retain what I'm learning.

Starting from October, I'll be taking on a new course for learning about yoga, the PT qualification will be ready to make use of and there'll be a decision made on finances that could mean no debt and a decent amount of money available for another smart investment. Exciting times ahead - once the in-tray has been reduced down to a manageable level...  

Efficient Runnings

MAC-XIMUM EFFICIENCY

Technology is great. Personal computers have opened up the opportunities for getting more information, better communications and giving us tools for being super innovative & creative. The technology is so mobile and accessible that I'm even able to use my portable mini computer right now - namely my iPhone. 

Computers can be great for saving us time. They can also consume our lives if we allow them. When they work seamlessly, they are a joy, but when things go wrong, it's very frustrating. Everything else can get left behind as we try and prioritise fixing the technology issues before dealing with anything else. 

I see a lot of problems with friend's computers and phones, with a lot of the blame placed on the software/hardware, when in actual fact, these friends just don't understand how to use the tech properly. I believe this is a massive issue that currently affects millions of people around the world. Owning the latest and greatest bits of tech but having no idea how to get the best out of any of it, or worse, how to get any of it working at all....is totally pointless.

It's essential to keep the tech organised and optimised, yet people rarely pay attention to the simple fact that they need memory, including hard disk space (about 30%) in order to be able to function well. And just failing to understand this fundamental fact about how a computer operates, is something I encounter time and again. Yet, when trying to relay this helpful IT management information, the friend's reaction is usually to switch/brush this chat off. Their eyes glaze over as they move on to other trivial matters. The next time I hear from them, they've often upgraded to a 'better and faster' model. A temp fix to the major problem, the one being with themselves and an un-willingness to learn/understand some simple basics about their technology.

For those willing to learn a bit more about how best to manage their computers, there's always a google search with top tips and helpful videos with step by step instructions, so, here's just a few simple tips and tricks to keep things running smoothly. Keeping folders tidy, checking on backing-up important documents and photos etc. both doubling up on a remote drive and on cloud storage. With just a few minutes a day invested in tech house-keeping, it's really easy to keep that beautiful bit of kit running efficiently to keep the rest of our digital lives in order and free up time for taking care of other other priorities too. 

Relying on others

IF YOU WANT A JOB DONE PROPERLY...

Mental note to oneself. Don't rely on others to do a job that you can do better yourself.

This is so true. As I found out today, someone I'd been helping out who is a real stickler for being punctual and for being seen to do the right thing, had, after proving to be such a reliable resource, trusted me with a fairly well-paid but simple job, which I outsourced to a friend of a friend...who let me down.

So for all the hard work I've put in over the last few weeks, I'm now seen as a let down by this client because of someone else's tardiness! 

The advantage is that I've now rectified the situation and benefitted financially from doing it myself, plus learned how to get the job done even quicker and at a lower cost than I realised was possible before. But it really is something worth remembering, the old addage is true - to do something well, we really do need to do it ourselves

Get more than you need

KEEPING RECEIPTS

If you are working on something where measurements are required or a certain amount of items are required to finish the job, buying from larger stores can definitely be the better option. 

There's nothing more annoying than returning home after a trip to the shops to buy some bits for finishing a job like the one I'm on now - home improvements, only to discover you need a few more centimetres of wallpaper or an extra 1-2 of the fittings more than those you estimated were the correct amount allowed for. Having to return back to the store wastes precious time that could be better spent finishing the job in hand, so it always pays to purchase more than we need. 

If it's a large and well known store, they will have a great returns policy for unused items. Taking back items at the end of a job also gives us a bit of a feel-good factor, because we get a bit of money back at the finish. A bit like finding a £10 note in old pair of trousers. This is especially good when we're working for others rather than on our own projects, as this small extra cost for returned items would have been on the client's bill, and having this bit of extra cash back in our pocket, however small, makes up for any losses incurred on those unaccounted for extra hours that've we've put on the job and should be taken as a small bonus in the form of a well earned drink for all the hard work.

Exam Preparation

STAY CALM

It's perfectly natural to be nervous before and during a test, especially when we are being watched in a practical exam. It's very easy to get worked up and distracted with the extra pressure of directly and so critically being assessed by someone over your shoulder. Feeling the examiner's gaze whilst picking up on their incessant scribbles, which could either mean success or failure, will definitely play on the nerves.

The thing with these types of exams where you are one on one with an examiner,  success often boils down to how the other person is feeling at that particular moment as much as to how well you are performing. If they are hungry, tired or having a particularly bad day, the chances are they will be reflecting this on you and ultimately your grade could suffer unless you act a certain way that differs their negativity away from you.

The Invisible Man
The important thing in these situations is to make yourself the 'grey' man. That means, trying not to be that person who is singled out as the trouble maker, the cocky, over-confident or arrogant type that needs to be taken down a peg or two. Unfortunately, when you catch an examiner on a bad day, even the usual niceties can rub someone up the wrong way, so it's best to say and do as little as possible to avoid bringing unwarranted attention on oneself before or during an exam. Otherwise, a few curt words from the examiner and the result could be that your performance will be compromised as your nerves kick in to upset what would should have been a grade A, potentially bringing it down to a C or even worse, a fail grade.

Punch Drunk

BEER WORKOUTS

It's tough getting out of bed after having a boozy late night and it's even tougher when you have to get up at dawn to put yourself through a gruelling hour of boxing training. 

Performance Enhancer

I was still very much intoxicated even at the end of the 1hr session today, but as I skipped, punched and performed a strengthening circuit of squats, press-ups and Russian twists this morning, I realised my alcohol sugars were giving me a great source of energy. I was fast, with little fatigue after 6 x 3 minute intense rounds of pad work and able to do 50 continuous press-ups without getting pumped. In short, I felt great!

The Tour de France cyclists used to drink alcohol to numb themselves to the pain of going up the many mountains before it was banned as a performance enhancer. 

So the next time you struggle to get up after a late boozy night, the sensible thing is to get down the gym, go for a run, cycle or do some cardio workout, because the sugars in our bodies are better spent on doing some exercise - plus, it's a double win because we'll all feel better after sweating out the excess from the night before too. 

Burning The Candle

MAKING TIME FOR REST

It's always amazing how much energy we seem to have when the sun is out. It seems like the whole summer has been one big party. There's been a lot of late nights and missed sleep, yet, even with some early morning starts at work, it's all been ok. 

When the sun is shining, the tired eyes fade pretty quickly and with a bit of a tan, the bags don't even show. But, ultimately, if we burn the candle at both ends, the lack of sleep will catch up with us in the end. This is why we really need to to factor in our much needed rest times.

Siesta Time

Our Mediterranean cousins, who have plenty of sun, seem to cope pretty well with the late nights, but they fortunately get their siesta time in the afternoon to make up for any missed rest. 

If we're to continue functioning well on less sleep at night, I reckon we need to adapt to this Mediterranean way of living in the UK, especially during the summer months.

An afternoon nap is definitely on the cards for me today as I'm starting to feel the consequences of missing my 8 hours a night. As and when I get the chance, I'll be aiming to maximise on this nap routine over coming weeks, as we prepare for the darker, colder autumn days where the magical healing power of the sunshine will be in decreasingly shorter supply. 

A Fine Injustice

CONTESTING GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS

I received a parking ticket the other day. If you have a car in the UK, it does happen from time to time and 99.9% of these occurrences will likely be happening because the rules are either misleading or unclear. This is where the council can step and rub their hands together, because parking fines are a a very lucrative racket.

But, before getting on one's high horse about all the injustice in the world and how you've been paying your taxes, yardy, yardy... stop and compose yourself. Realise this fact: the rules are rigged against you with any justice or reason. These government institutions won't listen to your pleas of how it's not fair. There has to be a good reason why you would deliberately break the rules risking a fine with the attentive parking attendants these days. So, unless you are in the minority of those who deliberately flaunt the parking regulations, there won't be a single person bucking rules at the risk of throwing away £60.

So, to convince the council that we aren't so rich we can afford to chuck money away on fines, we have to justify to them  why their rules are defunct. And this takes time and patience. The people working for the council do not care about your gripes, but they do have a job to to and they aren't going to help the angry person on the phone. Their job is to work for the people of the borough to make the places we live in function well. It's our right to question their ability because we pay for their services. If they are not upholding their side of the bargain, we are legally within our rights to withhold paying our council taxes.

Blindly Corrupted Power
In order to properly defend against the council, you have to showcase where their negligence has resulted in the PCN being issued in the first place. They are very quick to take our money, because it is easy. And this kind of systematic money-taking activity needs to be addressed more if we are to stop them doing it. Unfortunately, too many are quick to part with their money for a quiet life. However, there are now many educated and knowledgable people eloquently standing up to corruption found rife in high places and uncovering the fraudulent behaviour occurring in government which has in turn trickled down to our local councils. This corruption is upheld through our courts and by our blindly obedient police force. Interestingly, all of this activity is being contested and displayed to the world via social media channels. This is not just a UK phenomena either but happening all over the world.

A global tide is changing very slowly and although it's tiring, stressful and inconvenient - making a small stand against an incorrect parking infringement - as insignificant as it may seem at the time, form the first steps for standing up against the harassment and heavy-handed behaviour of our money-grabbing establishment. Without us standing up to these people and the problems within our crumbling society, just as a spoilt child with over-lenient parent eventually become an out of control monster, our system falls down without the proper monitoring and restraint.

We just need to speak up more in a way that highlights just how far wrong these people in power have gone, show a mirror up to their faces and in the case of an erroneous parking ticket, ensure that a £60 parking fine is dropped.

Return To The Ritual

GETTING BACK ON TRACK 

After a summer of party excess, returning to a fitness routine like the strict one we were running back in the spring, was never going to be easy - just as any return from a break in the routine feels a bit tough. Fitness levels will start to drop pretty quickly if they are left without having any regular top-up maintenance. And after just two weeks, all the hard work that's been put in before will need to be invested once again.

Getting up at 5.30am is tough, regardless of whether you are used to it or not. But when there's been a lot of missed sleep plus other factors like high alcohol levels and the diet have been running out of control - stepping into a gym for an intensive hour of cardio and boxing training at 7am after a 6 week break will always be hell, no matter how fit you are/were. 

The first 15 minutes will be a shock. Any fitness indicators you benchmarked before, will be showing up well below previous levels. The good news is - that first workout, arduous as it may feel at the time, provided you push yourself hard...the following workouts will feel so much easier in comparison, as your fitness levels quickly return to their former peaks. So after today's session - it's all going to seem that much easier going forward for me and I'm already looking forward to my next one on Friday as well as my return to the fitness ritual.

Resetting Posture

TWISTED LOGIC

Our bodies adapt to our environment. We repeat the same movements over and over and we become set up to work in this way. So if our environment is an office in a hunched seated position for a third of our day, time will evolve our bodies to hold that shape which best fits the dominant position it holds for the longest period of time. This happens to be in my case, is the office chair. Due to the nature of the work and position I spend my days in, I've become twisted in my posture over time. 

Working in front of a computer over many years and being held in a set position, especially while under stress, trains our muscles and connective tissues to perform in a certain way. Being that the body is made to be functioning in a well balanced state, having an imbalance over sustained periods will cause irritation to the nerves and this is where the position can be 'set' as the pain receptors activate the muscles & tendons, effectively holding the body in a state this is out of balance with natural equilibrium. 

There comes a time when we realise passive rehabilitation has not been effective enough in forming a recovery. Another realisation comes at a later interval when it becomes clear that our best efforts for correction through yoga and other low impact exercise and physio, equally has not been effective enough for making a full recovery. It's at this point that we have to look at the pharmaceuticals. 

Prescribed Fixes

Pregabalin acts as a pain suppressor to regulate the pain signals which are holding the tension in muscles - in turn which are then causing the pain signals to be sent creating a viscous circle of pain. The idea is simple: stop the circle of pain signals and the body will be free to find a state of balance once again. Only time will tell so let's see if the only option available to me now, has a more positive effect.

Specialist Equipment

OBSESSING OVER STUFF WE DON'T NEED

It seems to be mostly a guy thing, but I'm sure the girls do it too - namely, getting obsessed with the tech. Fixating on equipment add-ons, accessories and gadgets. I have a few mates who are like this.

Tech lovers get most pleasure talking about what the various bits of kit do. Having everything all shiny and clean so they can admire the brilliance of their equipment, also helps them visualise the benefits that these new additions will bring to their performance. Snowboarding, mountain and road biking are especially rife with these tech-nerds. They are usually found fiddling with dials, adjustment knobs and tweaking settings when they should just be riding.

It's the body and the mind that should be focussed on more to get the most out of the equipment we're using, yet these guys are usually lacking in that department and rather than strengthening the body, legs or dropping a few pounds to get more performance, they are relying on the weight gains saved from having the carbon or space-age parts, which they've paid an arm and a leg for instead.

Buying stuff we don't really need is an excuse for covering up our own inadequacies. Compensating with tech, seems to be what this phenomena is all about. If there's a quick fix to be found and providing it's really expensive too, must mean it's gonna work wonders on improving our performance. So why kit the gym?

Bags & Covers
I recently found myself getting a bit caught up in another area of buying stuff we don't really need. I was sucked in to the 'stuff I absolutely must have to complete my already amazing bit of kit' syndrome. 

I needed a way to protect my DJ S2 midi controller for a trip to Spain. I needed a special bag. Did I hell. Because that's when I realised my spending £100+ on a flight case or Traktor branded backpack was crazy. I have little money available to me at the moment and I'm using cash instead of credit cards to try and clear my debt. When you see how much a £20 note can get you if you're being frugal - a couple of alcoholic drinks and decent food for 3-4 days at best, possibly still leaving you with a bit of loose change if you're lucky. So spending over 5 times that amount on a canvas bag, especially when I have some great bags already, where the original packaging for the controller (with polystyrene foam included), fits snugly inside.

I noticed that Traktor also make plastic dust covers which I needed to keep the dust off my amazing kit. But £36 for a bit of plastic. Did I really need it that bad when a light towel did the job just as well? Heck no! So, keeping a reality check on ourselves is needed. Will that £££ spent on kit really make the enjoyment of using it that much better? Probably not. Will it look all shiny and boost confidence initially - probably a bit, but take away that distorted reality field - a piece of moulded plastic costs nothing to produce. And a bag is a bag. It doesn't need a logo on it to justify the price tag.

Doing It Yourself

UPSKILLING

One of the reasons I wish to get out of the corporate world of advertising, media & marketing is because of all the bullsh*t jargon and word twisting they use. Learning new stuff or finding out how to do something yourself is so much easier these days and if like me you're having to take a big drop in pay, doing it yourself not only means learning a new skill but importantly, not paying someone else saves you money too.

Trusting The Experts
There's a lot of information in the libraries, online ebooks and youtube videos, so why do people pay someone else? Very likely it's the time, inconvenience it takes to learn and do it yourself, possibly some fear of being a Frank Spencer type and of course the ease of passing it on to a 'pro'. Thing is, quite often the pros are trying to get a buck out of you and I, if we're gullible enough to let them. So, a quick example in point: the back break on my bike is jammed. I've spoken to mechanics in three different bike shops and enquired if they can fix it quickly. The result being, that they all said I'd need a new one (££ plus labour), yet, when I take the brake set off, clean it and simply put it back on... 20 minutes later, it's as good as new.

We're in a culture where replacing easily fixable parts for new is also something the so-called experts would rather do. So it stands to reason why we have a general laziness when it comes to fixing things if the so-called experts can't be bothered to give it a go. And why we'll have little confidence trying to fix something ourselves first.

Give It A Go
Take today as an example. I have potentially earned £20 because someone 'can't be bothered' to fit a light switch. Also, I spoke with a valet company about renovating the inside of my classic car. To clean the inside was £100 and it was suggested to replace the mats and recover the seats. So, I bought some leather food and carpet cleaner to spruce up the inside of the car myself instead. It's amazing what a bit of elbow grease can do and yet, I was very close to replacing the mats and getting the seats re-upholstered because I listened to bad advice.

All in, I've potentially saved/earned a few hundred pounds today, just by giving it a go myself. These aren't very time consuming tasks, they weren't even that highly skilled or difficult to learn - plus I've earned that cold pint of beer once again.

Holding Attention

STAYING FOCUSSED

It's tough keeping to one thing at a time. Again, Geoff Thompson has come through at a time when I really needed to focus on a task.

It's a difficult task that in itself needs more attention from me and can benefit with improving so many of my other important tasks. I need focus.

It's going to take a lot of focussed attention to accomplish all the fixed plans on time with some moments allowed for switching between different money making work, chores, daily progressive learnings and also factoring in quality study time for an exam coming up a week Saturday. This will be a very tricky period to get everything in order and it's going to need a lot of discipline to get all the right results, on time and without getting stressed out.

Staying focussed is hard, even for a short duration. This video from Geoff is a reminder for what can be achieved. See if you too can give just 10 minutes of your full undivided attention to see it all the way through.

Nature is Tough

TOILING IN THE GARDEN

Pottering in the garden is something I would usually associate with a pastime that older people do, or at least those who like to take on milder forms of physical exercise doing their hobbies.

However, when a garden has gone wild, clearing the bramble, creepers and overgrown privets, takes a lot of physically hard work - as I've found out today.

About 15 years ago, when I'd reached a peak of irritation with my job at that time, I decided to take a summer off and do something outdoors that offered a more physical and less mentally taxing role. It turned out that gardening was the best option for me, where someone with no training could carry out the tasks required to make a garden look nice. Through my contacts at the time, it turned out to be relatively easy to find work in and around some of the communal squares and green spaces of west London.

It was a particularly warm and sunny summer that year. And the work, a little back-breaking at times, was actually very rewarding. To be fair, a lot of the work merely involved planting some bulbs or flowers, turning the soil over, mowing the odd lawn or trimming an already well managed hedge. It was easy to maintain these private gardens without much extra effort. I'm now carrying out the same kind of work this summer, and although I haven't really had the sun as often as I'd liked, it's still rewarding. The south Londoners don't seem to keep their gardens quite so quaffed as their west London neighbours, so it's a lot more effort to get these gardens looking good. Hence today's struggle with an out of control rose bush and manic creepers.

I managed to get the rose bush down and I thought I may have killed it by pruning it back so much.....apparently not! They are particularly hardy bushes and the fact I've taken it back by over half was actually the right thing to do. The hardest thing has been breaking some of the half inch thick stems down to get them in the gardening bags before the downpour. All in all though, it was a tough but rewarding job and I'm sure with better management, the bush will be in much better shape come the spring next year.

As to me being in better shape tomorrow for more of the same gardening tasks, not so sure I can take many more lashes from the monster thorns, but it's still great knowing I have another string to the bow. My next week of work is already shaping up nicely with 5 different kinds of jobs lined up. 

Lessening The Memory Of Burden

GETTING THE WORST BIT OVER WITH FIRST

When we're woking on something tough like carrying a heavy load (which I've just been doing in a house move), it works best if we get the heaviest items out of the way first. Once the weight drops down and the boxes become lighter - even though the boxes are still heavy - the feeling of doing something so arduous decreases and we are actually left at the outset, with the memory of a task that wasn't so bad after all.

The Peak End Rule
Finishing on a high or a lesser pain, means we hold on to a positive memory of something, even if it was potentially an arduous or unpleasant experience. The Peak-End Rule explains how our minds work when we go through an experience where the ending is good or better than at the start. It's why every difficult experience should have a treat at the end which was a cold pint of beer in the sun on this occasion!

Easy Money

MOVING MONEY

I'm meeting so many new people recently, who have decided to drop out of the corporate rat race. They've chosen to delve into the darker unknown waters of self employment where one's quest to find the means of obtaining enough money to pay the bills are part and parcel of day to day living.

So far in my new bob-a-job career, I've painted the front of a house. This week I'll be putting in some time DJing whilst also learning how to make cocktails in my local bar. And next week, I'll be a removal man with a van, plus a garden clearer and also a builder's assistant. If I can get some graphics work via advertising with local businesses, that should go some way to help pay the bills. I also have my experience as a personal trainer to make up some extra money too.

My list of jobs that I'm capable of doing well is steadily getting longer and I look forward to adding even more skill sets to the list as I go on. Although these early jobs seem low-paid and beneath my experience capabilities, they are all rewarding. Providing I always put my best efforts in and keep the variety going, they won't get boring either. I can always add more taxing roles to the list, but only if they offer the right balance of money gains against stress levels.

The first moments after leaving the security of having a regular 9-5 (although the hours were always longer) were daunting. But now the prospect of making money last longer by being frugal and careful with my spends, are allowing me to have more free time. This exchange of time against a bigger salary, should help me to find even more alternative ways to make a living.

A lot of the new alternative modes of making money have been localised. So, by finding ways to connect with local businesses, I'll be making money without the expense of travelling on public transport or travelling along the congestion-filled and potentially dangerous roads. This exchange could also benefit me in having even more time and freedom to explore other avenues for work and enjoyment.

Working The Benefits
We all have benefits in everything we do. It's how and why we make the decisions we do. For example: If we chose to live in closer to the city where we work, the benefits will be access to all the fun, culture and amenities that the city have to offer. Travel will potentially be faster, cheaper and possibly free. We'll be spending less money on travel, less time and having more fun - but our living costs may be considerably more and access to green areas, the coast or activities outside the city restricted. So, we have to weigh up the benefits and maximise on them.

Therefore, if a non-corporate life beckons, we should consider the benefits we currently have and weigh them up against the pitfalls of location and costs for living. Having a clearer picture of the reasons why we do the things we do, what we'd like to do more of and maximise on the live & work balance, will help to achieve our goals.