April 2

Getting more out of your career

Getting more out of your career

People often ask me how I manage to accomplish so much, given my busy life and career. I often ask myself the same question, when I am reflecting upon how far I have come in life. As well as working, I managed to complete a Masters degree last year, have learned bass guitar (in the last 4 years) to the point where I can play in a band with professional musicians, have a large garden/allotment, run my own business and still find time to write blogs and articles for magazines and journals. As a coach when I talk to people one of the biggest issues that I hear is work life balance and lack of fulfilment.

April 2

Life is a mission… and I am on a mission

Life is a mission… and I am on a mission

People often ask me how I manage to accomplish so much, given my busy life and career. I often ask myself the same question, when I am reflecting upon how far I have come in  life. As well as working, I managed to complete a Masters degree last year, have learned bass guitar to the point where I can play in a band with professional musicians, have a large garden/allotment, run my own business and still find time to write blogs and articles for magazines and journals.

From the perspective of fitting lots of things into a 7 day week, it looks daunting… however, if you change the perspective you get a sense of how it works. Everything I do I am passionate about and give 110%. However I am also deeply curious and have a life long love of learning. Hence I find ‘newness’ and challenge energising. Also, when I have 10 minutes down-time instead of slouching in front of the television or computer, I will pick up the guitar and do some practice on that riff that I am not yet quick enough on. When you are doing things you love, it doesn’t seem tiring – of course I do like to chill out with a beer on a Saturday evening like everyone else! I don’t consciously plan everything I do in a day, though I have been told I am incredibly well organised… but I do find that the old adage is true “a change is as good as a rest”.

Instead of asking me how I manage to pack so much into a day, perhaps you should ask yourself what you are doing with your time? What could you change (do more/less of) that would increase your satisfaction with life? Everything can be changed and if you don’t feel you are accomplishing what you could be with your life, take a long hard look in the mirror and be honest with yourself. Change takes effort and so does success.