Satisfaction Working

LOVING YOUR WORK

Allowing time to produce good work can benefit us all. Yet it's a fundamental fact that seems to get overlooked an awful lot in the workplace. 

In my many years of working within the advertising/media sector, I've spent a considerable amount of my work time under pressure to deliver on a deadline - and worked many (mostly unpaid) additional hours through lunch breaks, late into the evenings and over my weekends. This has been necessary for getting the work done. Often, producing this extra work under pressure has been at the detriment of my health and social life. 

Speculate To Accumulate

I've mostly enjoyed my work over the years but there's been far too many late nights and high-pressure moments when I've grudgingly produced loveless work. Employers not being able to get the best results from this way of working, may in part be down to the fact that those clients looking critically at the end product, can see/feel or pick up on the energy levels that's been put into the work. Maybe the finesse just isn't there or the lack of detail clearly shows through. Whatever the case may be - loving what we do for a job and working hard to always strive for the best we can be...this is what is needed for success in business.

Pay Peanuts - Get Monkeys
So, not only do companies need to invest in good people and pay decent money for the right outcome/product, they also have to allow adequate time to produce it. That way, the employees will be much more happy to dedicate their time - and, being given adequate time/space to do what they love doing well, this will not only enrich them emotionally/spiritually/financially but, in the process, inspire their colleagues to do more and win more business. A win-win situation for all.

Busy Busy

FINDING TIME

How do people manage with children? It seems to consume the lives and energy levels. If there's a job and travel to consider on top, where is the time for one's own enjoyment?

I'm selfish. That's why I'm not having children. It's not that I don't like kids, it's just that I want to get stuff done and there isn't enough time available in my day as it is. Once we take an 8 hour job out of the way, there really ins't much left for enjoyment. We have to factor in buying and making food and there's a lot of other chores to take care of. Once we take care of all the priorities, make sure we're keeping in with our families and friends, add in some exercise, made our ablutions and personal care/grooming, the bit remaining should be used to evaluate/take stock/assess the status quo and make plans for ways to improve our lives. 

Making Time To Learn

I barely have time to fit everything in, but at least I've managed to keep a routine of fitness for physical management/improvements. I've also read a lot of great books this year. And every day when I read a bit more, I'm finding myself saying in my head or to whomever will listen - 'everyone should read this book'. Just as everyone should take more time out for community & political matters, volunteering time towards doing charity and generally giving everyone about them the time and attention they deserve.

Unfortunately, people would rather waste their precious limited time reading poor newspapers, playing with smartphones checking Facebook status (or similar), procrastinate/lounge around watching trash TV or get drunk. We all need to free up our time more in order to understand what is happening in the world today. I'm sure much of the distractions are geared up to distract us away from the real agenda and keep us busy.

Time and again I've asked people to get on board with political issues that affect us all (I am not politically minded), or read an article/passage in a book that has been a revelation to me, yet they don't have the time - or rather they can't make the time. But better organisation of our time, with prioritisation of the most important matters - real matters that is - will help everyone to find time to improve themselves and ultimately the lives of those around them too.

Looking for the positives

POSITIVES FROM A NEGATIVE

Today I heard the phrase 'maybe you'll turn that into a positive' and thought about how powerful that phrase is in our lives to encourage change.

If we all look deeper at the negatives in our lives as a lesson for us to learn from, negatives can actually turn out to be considerably more positive than a standard positive result is.

Not only do negatives give us a greater reference point to aim higher, but going for a positive outcome, can help us to achieve a far better result through the work we have to put in. And because working towards positives gets us to think deeper, we often learn something as a result.

When we talk of negatives, they sometimes originate from positives in the first place. As an example, I'm currently run off my feet today. I am trying to cram everything in to a shorter time frame. Because I worked a full week contracting for someone else, I'm having to be very efficient with my time to fulfil my own objectives today. I'm feeling negative about losing my free time. But I shouldn't see it that way.

The last few months have been busy, but busy in a way that allows lots of 'in-between time'. This relaxed time has been great, but there's been little urgency and this mostly uneventful time has left me with no money as a result. If I've had no work and I'm suddenly too busy to do much else, I shouldn't be negative about the fact I'm really busy right now.

So we actually have a great positive there - I'm not only bringing home the much needed money but I'm also filling my days with lots of things that challenge me. Time feels elastic and days longer. If the personal objectives can still be achieved in a more condensed time frame, then the opportunities for making money and essentially 'saving' time in the process, should also be viewed as a positive.

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. 

Keeping an eye on the Calendar

PLANNING DOWN DAYS

Something as simple as making plans for some extra recovery time after a fun-filled boozy weekend is all we need if we wish to stay on top of the hangovers and illness picked up from overdoing the partying. Yet, this is rarely been something I've looked at in the past.

By taking a regular look at a diary, blocking out the weekend's activity and forward-planning the week ahead, we can all make better decisions for when and how long we want to push the fun limits. We can then make a good judgement call with a measure taken against the importance of having a functioning brain for the week and for better taking on our responsibilities where anything less than being on our game will suffice.

Therefore, every Sunday afternoon, I now look at my diary for the week. All mutual diary events shared with my partner have to be agreed in advance and shared, but if there's events planned that aren't showing, they may be crossed off altogether. This means both of us are now much more on the ball with our timings and coupled with a new attitude towards freelancing/portfolio working and being punctual, makes for a much better way of managing life to counter having any sick down days.

Flexible Time Management

MAKING TIME WORK FOR YOU

Being punctual is something I've talked about before. Definite timings are key for being better in control of our decisions and reliable with work, friends and sticking to important deadlines. It can help us to manage our lives better and means we have to really think about what we are doing and saying if we are to be seen as solid, reliable and dependable types.

Freelance Flexi-Time
Being a multi-job, flexible worker, it really does need a tight time keeping routine for us to be able to fit everything in and plan out the enjoyment times in between the working ones. This is an area where we have to be really definite and firm with others that we share the time with if we are to make it work. Something I've experienced today, is that most people have a completely different take on time and unless we are up-front and clear at the beginning to mutually agree terms, we will bend our timings to fit them and miss out on the things that we wish to do, or compromise others who are organised and punctual, just to please the others that are not.

Punctuality

CLOCK WATCHING

Being mindful of the time can mean a lot. Want to do well at work? Be punctual. Because, just being on time is all that some people will ever ask of you.

Being on time, sends out the message of professionalism and respect. Punctuality means consideration for others' needs will be met. Precision and attention to details - a consistency for doing hard work and reliability. This will be the message received - all without doing anything other than being somewhere when you say you will be. 

Getting into the habit of being on time, takes nothing more than setting a time and then sticking to it. Yet many cannot keep to something so very simple. This because they have become used to throwing out excuses why they are late. 

Blaming Others

We all do it. If we can shoulder blame elsewhere, we will - especially on our partners. It makes us think we're doing the right thing and someone else isn't, when in fact, the partnership is mutually flawed. Thing is, when timings are mentioned without consideration for factoring in the needs of the other parties involved, we tend to allow time slippage to happen without making prior allowances for it. So, once a time has been agreed, this agreement should also make allowance for some contingency too. That way, unforeseen circumstances can be adjusted for and countered against without the need for blame. The contingency plan means we'll still be on time too.

Removing the Badge

I've been late on many occasions and so has my partner. Without realising it, we've now allowed ourselves to become labelled as those people who are constantly late. It's become expected of us. My partner will blame me and me her. And no matter how hard I now try to be on time, this label has become firmly fixed. Because we are one unit in our friend's eyes, we are both tarred with the same brush and it will take a lot of hard work for us both to remove this slight on our characters.

Consistency is the Key
If I'm to remove my always late badge - I need to first establish clear timings in advance. This starts from the moment I wake up. Deciding the night before on having a clear time to get up plus establishing a mutual & definite morning routine for exercise, eating, ablutions and preparation for the day, means a routine (with some factored-in contingency) can easily be set and adhered to without deviations from the set timings. 

If this structure can be retained over days/weeks - the chances of sticking to it over longer periods of time will be increased and a new focus on sticking to timings will be established. 

Definite Timings

Agreement in advance is paramount for keeping good timings. We now have shared diaries for collaborative events. Timings are there for all to see. So if they aren't working, this needs to be addressed. If timings cannot be mutually kept, then individual times need to be established. If only one member of the partnership is on time, it's still a late blip in the eyes of the third party. So agree definite times even if they are staggered and be clear with whoever is meeting up that these are agreeable for all. 

I pledge to always be on time (from today)

Be serious about this new pledge to make it stick. I've now told myself that the new regime will be started from today. This has also been agreed with all parties concerned (namely, my partner). And just like a business contract, this will be continually assessed to ensure punctuality is adhered to from this day onwards. 

Life Is Short

WHERE DID IT GO?

It's been a busy day for me and yet I've barely completed what I set out to get done today. Where did the time go? Where did the weekend go and where is the year going for that matter? Time is flying by. It's late so I'll keep this one short for today. Someone I knew well died at 2.40pm today. She was just over 40 years old. That's really not a long enough life and because it came from nowhere, it reinforces something we should be aware of each day - our mortality. 

It's really starting to hit home how short life is - and how short quality life can be too. Just yesterday I talked with a good friend about our ailments and the onset of arthritis creeping in and failing eyesight.

If we're fit and able, we need to make the most of our time now while we can still do the things we enjoy doing. We should aim to do more with our lives and keep a reminder to hand as the great scholars did - something that clearly defines our short time on this planet so we waste time no more.

RIP PIP. 

Creating Time

THE THEORY OF QUALITY TIME

I find that there's rarely enough time in the day to do everything and be at my best the whole time to get the best results. Because we're on a bit of a lock-down when it comes to spending money or going out at the moment - on the occasions when we do allow ourselves to cut loose - we really do go overboard. So we went out this weekend and got really excited - and consequently, really drunk. This means the weekend was a bit of a haze and although we managed to get everything done that we'd planned, some of it was a real struggle and I'm still feeling off-key today. It means my mind is telling me to not do the things I'd planned on doing because the quality won't be the same - as I'm not mentally or physically equipped to do them as well.

However, after watching The Theory of Everything last night, I've seen how someone with a real handicap has managed to achieve such greatness in their life and I will be sure to remember this story when the mind and body is telling me to slow down, give up or leave tasks until another day - essentially, finding excuses for not doing something. This guy, Stephen Hawking, who developed Motor Neurone disease at a young age and was given just two years to live, has made everything seem possible.

A Brief History of Time
If one man was able to conceive of an idea for something as big as justifying time, the universe and everything - and painstakingly write it down by squinting a cheek muscle, I'm damn sure a healthy (if just slightly dulled from overindulgence and a lack of sleep) person can string a few paragraphs together.

It was the BAFTA Awards this weekend - and the Stephen Hawking film was given 3 awards but another film watched recently that equally deserved accolades and especially Benedict Cumberbatch for his superb acting, The Imitation Game - both a real inspiration for what can be achieved if the mind is strong.

Technology

ALL IN THE PALM OF OUR HANDS

In this modern day - we're all becoming ever more reliant on technology - especially the kit in our pockets. There seems to be an app for everything these days. How did we get things done before computers? As it turns out, we got things done just as well thank you very much. This is my new thinking. Tech is great, but we already have a decent device built in - our brains - and I'm going to start using mine more.

The age of imagination

I'm in the age group that grew up BC (before computers) where we used our brains to make the best of our environments. Fun was improvised from combining imagination with a stick, a cardboard box & role play - not an iPad. We were fortunate to live in an era when kids went out to play all day long, doing things like building ramps for our bikes or making tree houses. At 13, I also had a computer for Christmas and I enjoyed playing games on it for limited periods of the day - because I enjoyed hanging out with my friends going for adventures on my BMX more. Whenever I wanted to meet with friends, we'd call, arrange a time and stick to a specific meeting place - and there'd be only really good excuses for a no-show and we'd be rarely more than just a few minutes late. TV would be allowed, but there were only a few channels and films would mean a special trip to the cinema. So Lego and Mechano were good alternatives for creating some fun - a book or drawing were also options readily available on-hand too. 

Memory Man

It seems we've lost the ability to retain info as our smart phones replace our brains. I'd become so reliant on my iPhone lately that I'd struggle to remember the events from the day until I checked my notes. I am in danger of becoming like the character from the film Momento - taking pictures just to remember what I'd been doing on a daily basis. 

Power of the pen

I used to carry a small notebook and pen around with me and jot down everything that I needed to remember. The process of writing - the physical actions of scribing and underlining, used to help cement the thoughts in my mind. With the advent of smart phones and the many reminder-note apps available, the process of making todo lists has become so easy that my phone has loads of them. They remain there still unchecked, likely because there are so many and the value of them has diminished. This is likely in part, because they have become so easy to make that they immediately get taken over by the next reminder. I have to jot down things before sleeping just to remember them in the morning or else they'd be gone from memory and this never used to be the case. 

Time wasting

So I need my phone to write my blog. I've ditched my computer for a few days and only checking emails intermittently and yet I spent ages farting around with my phone yesterday. No signal, wifi not connecting, blog not updating (losing recent changes), low battery, plug socket dodgy so not charging...sound familiar? This consumed valuable minutes yesterday as I tried to do some some tasks that took away from being in the present moment - and wasting time that I could have been enjoying. 

Time and a place

My time is going to be managed much better from now on to restrict using the computer or any smart tech unless it's really needed. I'll use memory visualisation and association techniques where possible or carry a pen and paper so not reliant on battery life. Phones will not be used when I'm in company unless it's a benefit for all...