In my last blog, I looked at completing a life audit, but at the forefront of many people's lives is their work.
How do you feel on a Monday morning? The weekend has just gone and you’ve got a whole week of work in front of you. It is the day that is known as the worse day of the week - but how can you make it more fun and have a happy Monday? Follow my top tips to beat the Monday morning blues:
1. Get a good night’s sleep on Sunday, so you wake up feeling refreshed on Monday morning.
2. Take time to have a good breakfast to give you the energy to get through the day.
3. Wear your favourite clothes to make youself feel good and boost your confidence.
4. Leave work five minutes earlier than normal so that you can take your time on your journey to work. If you can, get some fresh air to perk up your day.
5. You also may find it good to get in early, make yourself a cup of coffee before you get into the working day.
6. Make sure that your week isn't just about work - plan a night out with your friends or family. This will give you something to look forward to.
7. And if you really get to the stage when your job is not fulfilling your needs, do something about it! Decide what you want to do and take clear small steps to achieve your goal.
Friday, 20 April 2007
Sunday, 15 April 2007
Life review
Although there are still 24 hours in every day, why do we find it increasingly difficult to have time to do everything we want to do? Even with new technology that should save us time, we now seem to need to do things quicker and more efficiently than ever before?
Having time to fit everything into our lives and be everything to everybody can be hard. Many of us need to carry out a full time job to allow us to live the life we desire and then need to fit in time to do the washing, clean the house, look after children or parents, and the other jobs that just seem to crop up (especially when we have been putting them off for a while!)
So, if you are in this situation, where you are struggling to meet the demands of everyone else as well as your own needs - what can you do?
Perhaps it is time for you to carry out a life review. Spend 30 minutes thinking about what you like and dislike about your life - consider the following questions to help you move along:
Do you want to carry on working the way you are?
What is it that you enjoy about your job?
If you could change your job or the way you work, what would be different?
Do you have enough time to spend with your friends and family?
Do you have enough time for your hobbies and leisure time?
How much more time would you like to create with your friends and family or for your hobbies and leisure time?
How could you create more time?
Perhaps you would find it useful to keep a diary of where your time goes? How much time do you really watch TV or spend on the computer each week?
Or do you simply not have enough time to do everything in your life? If this is your situation, consider one more thing - what could you delegate to make your life easier?
Just taking this short time out of your regular routine will help you to focus on what you really want and enable you to set some targets to help you to get there.
Having time to fit everything into our lives and be everything to everybody can be hard. Many of us need to carry out a full time job to allow us to live the life we desire and then need to fit in time to do the washing, clean the house, look after children or parents, and the other jobs that just seem to crop up (especially when we have been putting them off for a while!)
So, if you are in this situation, where you are struggling to meet the demands of everyone else as well as your own needs - what can you do?
Perhaps it is time for you to carry out a life review. Spend 30 minutes thinking about what you like and dislike about your life - consider the following questions to help you move along:
Do you want to carry on working the way you are?
What is it that you enjoy about your job?
If you could change your job or the way you work, what would be different?
Do you have enough time to spend with your friends and family?
Do you have enough time for your hobbies and leisure time?
How much more time would you like to create with your friends and family or for your hobbies and leisure time?
How could you create more time?
Perhaps you would find it useful to keep a diary of where your time goes? How much time do you really watch TV or spend on the computer each week?
Or do you simply not have enough time to do everything in your life? If this is your situation, consider one more thing - what could you delegate to make your life easier?
Just taking this short time out of your regular routine will help you to focus on what you really want and enable you to set some targets to help you to get there.
Thursday, 5 April 2007
Flexible working and work life balance
On 6 April 2007, new laws on flexible working are being introduced in the UK. Currently parents with children under six and disabled children under 18 have the right to apply for flexible working. The Work and Families Act 2006 has extended the rights to carers of adults who will be entitled to apply for flexible working.
The new rights will give an estimated 1.4 million more employees in the UK the right to request flexible working to care for an adult. The legislation has and will help those who have responsibilities for children and adults with caring needs.
But it has also raised other issues. How will it actually work in practice? One of my clients feels that she will not be supported to apply for flexible working, she says “early last year my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. At the time I had already used leave to help deal with various issues related specifically to her condition. I have every intention of trying to take advantage of the new flexible working legislation for carers. Will the company I work for agree? I don’t think so. The likelihood is that they’ll come up with some vague informal arrangement that leaves me feeling vulnerable and unlikely to do anything other than continue to take my annual leave”.
And also what about the people who are not affected by the legislation and may resent those who are able to arrive late or leave early? Another of my clients believes that "it almost feels that this latest legislation discriminates against people without children or caring responsibilities."
Some organisations have actually extended the rights to apply for flexible working to all staff. If extended across the UK, it would help all people to have the opportunity to work flexibly. In addition, it would have a positive effect on employee’s attitudes and morale and would lead to increased productivity. It would also allow employees to develop a better work/life balance, which is an increasing challenge in today’s society. But will this happen and if it did, how would it impact businesses across the UK?
The new rights will give an estimated 1.4 million more employees in the UK the right to request flexible working to care for an adult. The legislation has and will help those who have responsibilities for children and adults with caring needs.
But it has also raised other issues. How will it actually work in practice? One of my clients feels that she will not be supported to apply for flexible working, she says “early last year my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. At the time I had already used leave to help deal with various issues related specifically to her condition. I have every intention of trying to take advantage of the new flexible working legislation for carers. Will the company I work for agree? I don’t think so. The likelihood is that they’ll come up with some vague informal arrangement that leaves me feeling vulnerable and unlikely to do anything other than continue to take my annual leave”.
And also what about the people who are not affected by the legislation and may resent those who are able to arrive late or leave early? Another of my clients believes that "it almost feels that this latest legislation discriminates against people without children or caring responsibilities."
Some organisations have actually extended the rights to apply for flexible working to all staff. If extended across the UK, it would help all people to have the opportunity to work flexibly. In addition, it would have a positive effect on employee’s attitudes and morale and would lead to increased productivity. It would also allow employees to develop a better work/life balance, which is an increasing challenge in today’s society. But will this happen and if it did, how would it impact businesses across the UK?
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