Enjoying solitude

At times I find it very valuable to just sit in solitude - my own space, my own time, my own thoughts, no pressure to conform, to take heed, to be compliant, to stress...... Just the peace of solitude.

I often wonder why I don't take time out more frequently since the experience is rewarding and refreshing... A bit silly really.😏 

Our Puppy Pappy below..... Sitting in solitude, focused on the return of Harmie, his best friend, companion and master.

I think solitude needs to be consistently part of our lives to reduce stress, encourage spiritual growth and quiet frankly keep us sane in this world of super fast communication😎

Crisis management...

I have had two customers recently who found themselves in a bit of a "crisis" where people had handed in their resignations and the way forward was not clear to them. That's where I was called in..... To help them plan the way forward with as little fuss as possible, and to manage risk as much as possible under the circumstances.

I have been excited about the fact that, because we had put structure in place in the past two months, implemented control tools and check lists where applicable, it has been relatively easy to maintain a consistent workflow even with the people walking out without working their notice.

Now, this got me to thinking... Why did these people leave and my findings are as follows:

1) the people in both companies that left did not embrace the change with regards structure being implemented in the work place right from the start

2) they were negative from the start of the project

3) their input into the project was minimal

4) they didn't see the need for an admin system at all

How interesting is that, and I take this as a very positive outcome of a CLIP System implementation...

It definitely sorts the "men from the boys" as they say.

www.shancade.co.za 

I'm back...

I'm back and I am going to be blogging away soon.

Watch this space.

New life...

 Two weeks ago we got a little puppy, called Pappy - what a difference it has made to our lives having this little real life thing running around under our feet and bringing us much joy and pleasure. This got me to thinking about change.....

After Chester died 2 years ago ( he was 21) we said never again, it is to hurtful to lose a pet, but after a while we began to feel like something was missing and started to feel the pinch. So, we took the brave step - supported the local SPCA and found Pappy.

The next step in our venture was realizing that we had to make our home "Pappy" proof. This is no different to making it grandchildren proof at all, as we found out. Now, daily as we go in and out the house, the last thing to do is make sure that the place is Pappy proof or else we come home to a HUGE surprise.

Then of course comes the "potty" training. Starting with the newspaper down in the kitchen during the night and taking Pappy outside during the day periodically to enable him to do what he aught to.... He plays us well... Outside sniffing, running, " Bundu bashing" but not doing a thing THEN just make the decision to come back inside what happens.... Voops.... there's the puddle right where it shouldn't be.  Don't you just like new life around......? So glad we made the mindset change.

Procrastination

I have been pondering much on procrastination this past week, thinking back to when my children were very small and how they deployed ALL the procrastination tack ticks they knew in trying to avoid having to eat their veggies.

My advice to them was to eat the yuk veggies first and end off with the taste they found really good. 

It is much the same in business - if your are a procrastinator then you should start doing the jobs you don't like first. Get them done. Get them out the way. Get them behind you and then you can proceed and have an awesome day, not only doing the things you like but also having a sense of freedom and achievement.

Eat that frog by Brian Tracy sums things up really well. So, if you are a procrastinator pop to www.actnow.ie and EAT THAT FROG.

It has been a while - life happens

Time marches on, much water flows under the bridge, people come and people go, babies get born and people pass on, life gets hectic and then calms down, plans are made and plans are changed, money comes in and money goes out, you lose weight and gain weight, rose buds come and blossoms die off, vehicles work and vehicles breakdown, children laugh and children cry, happiness rules then sadness comes, we make good choices and we make bad choices, first it is sunny and then it rains, things run smoothly for a time and then the wheels fall off, you live in a house for 30 years and then you move, your children grow up and then grandchildren arrive, you set the house alarm and then you disarm it, you have nice neighbours and you get bad neighbours, you love the songs sung at church and then you struggle with them,..... 

Life happens.... The important thing is to persevere... It all comes right in the end, and if it's not right now, then it's not the end. 

Oh the pressure

What to do or what not to do.... The saga of having two customers with a crisis at the same time and just you to try and sort it all out.....

It doesn't matter how efficient you are or how organized you are, sometimes the inevitable happens.... Two jobs with the same priority..... Oh what a nightmare.

Well, that is where I have found myself this past few days.... Madly " burning the candle at both ends" to do my best to resolve the things that need to be resolved and keep both customers happy. This is no mean feat at all and does take its toll on the body when you get older!!!

Now, the thing is this - I consider myself an efficient and well organized person and I still struggled to make it all happen without suffering from stress... Is there anyone out there that has some constructive ideas on how to drop the stress factor, when you find yourself in situations like the one mentioned above?