📆 It’s my last full working day of the year and I’m very, very ready for it. A webinar and two coaching sessions, and then I’m done.
Work
In Manchester overnight for a work trip. For once, I’m pleasantly surprised with the hotel room I’ve secured.
Really feeling like the countdown to Christmas has started. Only four full days of work left before I shut the office and take a break until January 6th.
Wednesday, December 11, 2024 →
⏰ I somehow fell back asleep after this morning’s alarm. Now I feel a sickening combination of panic and exhaustion, even though I had a good eight hours sleep. Good thing I’m working from home today!
Today is my Friday, as we’re off on our long weekend trip to Porto tomorrow. Only a few (dozen) things to get off my todo list, before I can pack and ease into weekend mode. Including a two-hour workshop this afternoon. I really have to have a word with whoever plans my schedule.
That would be me.
Awake since 4:30am and my last client appointment doesn’t finish until 5pm. Today is going to feel like a very long day indeed.
😬 I got home from work with a headache that would floor a bull. So it’s time for a quick, early dinner, a shower, some painkillers and an early night with some new comics. I want to be feeling tip top by the time we depart for Japan, no ifs no buts.
Gym is habit, repeat
Monday, October 28, 2024
A productive day, all in all. With my eyes firmly on the prize (our departure for Tokyo next week) I got the head down and tore through my task list in work this morning. I actually got so much done that I managed to leave the office early and get to the gym. I know, I was shocked too. It has been far too long since this body has seen the inside of a gym.Engage focus mode!
Monday, October 28, 2024
Another week rolls round. And this is my last full working week before I head to Japan, so there’s a lot to pack in. Including lining up some podcast content to go live while I’m away. I’d much rather not fiddle with podcasting while I’m trying to enjoy Osaka and Japan. And there’s nothing like an impending deadline to focus the mind. This week’s priority list in Things 3 is bursting at the seams, which may require a few extra hours here and there.🚨 A fire alert and evacuation of my office building was the perfect excuse to wrap up my Friday early and head home.
In unrelated news, I dearly hope I never have to rely on anyone else in that building in a real emergency. All the collective common sense of a herd of sheep.
📸 Down at the Southbank Centre for a meeting.
It’s been another day when I’ve had to remind some people about the kind of psychologist I am. Not the type they see on TV or at the movies. I don’t mind at all, and I love what I do for a living.
But I always wonder if other professions get the same volume of questions.
I’m working from home today and need to edit three instructional videos I’ve created for a training course, plan a couple of podcast episodes about workplace wellbeing, and write a blog post about the importance of sleep.
But first, another coffee. ☕️
✏️ The week that was, 14th to 20th October
Sunday, October 20, 2024
I’ve remembered to write up my weekly note, even if the week isn’t strictly speaking over. This week was mostly about travel, work and fun, with a big helping of delicious food. 👉🏻 Read on here🎧 It’s seven years to the day since I started my podcast. It was dreadful to begin with - I can’t bear to listen to early episodes - but I think I’ve improved over the years. It’s something I’m glad I’ve continued and allows me to flex my creativity at work.
✈️ Settling in to another bland hotel…
To put this in context, it’s a soulless chain hotel, one that I would usually avoid if the decision were mine. It has all the charisma of a very old hire car. And a standard of service that even Ryanair would look down on.
👉🏻 Read on…
✈️ Staring the weekend in the face
Present day me would love nothing more than to cancel the whole thing and spend the weekend lying down somewhere comfortable.
👉🏻 Read on…
📸 I wasn’t expecting to, but I’ve just spent a very pleasant couple of hours in the sunshine on my balcony.
Writing, planning for the week ahead, and doing some basic admin. All the time enjoying the view, while trying to ignore the noise coming from the building site below.
But seriously. Where was this weather in August?! Anyway, I’m glad I was at home to enjoy it and not stuck in my office. Now to pack away all my work ‘stuff’, and start my weekend.
The irony that I’m writing about wellbeing and self-care on my professional blog, while sitting here with a head cold, isn’t lost on me! Still, I’m feeling a lot better this morning, and I don’t have to leave the apartment. And you can bet that my weekend will be starting early this week.
Scratchy scratchy
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
I woke with one of them yesterday morning: a tiny scratch at the back of my throat. Not painful, just noticeable. It got worse throughout the day - bearing in mind I had several calls and a podcast interview to record - until after work, when my voice began to disintegrate completely. 👉🏻 Read on…🧠 I guess that 7:30am start at work eventually took its toll.
You cant really create more time in a day. You’re merely borrowing it from your future self. After getting a whole chunk of my todo list sorted today, come 4:30pm my brain basically shut down. I had just wrapped up a client meeting and it was like a homing device was activated in my brain.
So I packed up and headed home, where I’m now planning an evening in sweatpants, reading comics and eating.
So yeah. All my core needs being taken care of.
🎥 In the office by 7:30am this morning, to record some video for a new course I’m launching this week. I managed to get what I needed done just before work started on a building site next door, and the noise levels went through the roof.
Now to go through the footage and see what I can salvage and turn into something professional. Because, while my brain was definitely awake, it looks like my face was still arranging itself into something human.
Maybe weekend filming is best after all…
When Sunday means 'pause'.
Sunday, September 29, 2024
📸 The view from here. Definitely having a lazy afternoon today. I’m researching a planned visit to Hong Kong and Taipei next year. Doing some online shopping. Planning for the work week ahead. All from my armchair. With no plans to leave the apartment whatsoever. I’ve a slightly quieter work week ahead, thankfully. Last week was really very full on. And much of this week is going to be spent alone, as my other half is off to Mallorca to visit family for a few days.🔗 I’m a tad tired…
I had fully intended to have a lie on this morning, with my first appointment not until 9am. But no, my brain sabotaged my plans and left me sitting up in bed well before dawn, sipping coffee and cursing my luck.
Read on: Nothing left
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 →
🔗 Flexibility. Autonomy. Creativity. Variety.
Of course I know not every day can be like this. For a variety of reasons. But it’s also important to note it when it happens, so I can be grateful and appreciate the experience.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 →
☕️ The client webinar went really well and had some great participant interaction. A super start to the work day. And now it’s time for some more coffee before I launch into admin mode.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 →
⏰ A 5:30am start this morning, as I’m running an 8am webinar for some international clients. I will definitely be finishing up early today, that’s for sure.
🛠️ A productivity recipe?
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
I’ve been more productive than usual… I’m feeling very on top of my workload, pleased with progress and looking forward to launching my new course next month. No distractions, little to no procrastination, and lots of time to think. Maybe I’ve found a productivity recipe that works for me? 👉🏻 Read on🛠️ The double-whammy of an impending deadline and accountability to a peer I respect have turned this morning into a productivity power-house. Really can’t believe how much progress I’ve made on the biggest project on my list right now.
I might even be able to to bring the go-live forward.
🎥 Morning! Hitting the ground running today. I’ve already completed editing a client video for a wellbeing programme I’m running, putting me well ahead of schedule for the day. Let’s hope this kind of momentum continues through the week.