Woody Wonders

This week's blog is a little bit different as I'm taking you on a gratitude run and what the heck is one of those I hear you ask.  Well quite simply, and to put it crudely, it's an opportunity to take your head out of your own backside and be grateful for everything around you.  It's very easy to get caught up in your own little world and forget about the simple things in life.  In my case, it's about stepping away from work and boring home tasks, recharging my batteries and immersing myself in nature. I never tire of my environment and realise how lucky I am to live where I do but even so, it's still worth taking the time to be completely and utterly 'in the moment' every now and then and feel even more grateful for what I have. So come with me and enjoy!  But first, we need to warm up.  I usually start my session by doing 10 mins yoga.  This in itself helps to refocus my mind and help with my breathing.  I love the following: Yoga with Kassandra Yog...

  Exploring the reasons for lack of motivation Is it me or does this lockdown seem to be dragging on ... and we're only halfway through!  In which case, it's pretty understandable if you've lost a bit of motivation at the moment.  I'm missing my Saturday morning boot camps right now but I've adapted, I've moved them to Zoom and the fun and laughter is still there.  This is exactly what we need to do when motivation is lacking, we need to turn things around and do them differently. There are several reasons why you might have lost your motivation and this latest lockdown could have been the final straw for you.  Let's work our way through a few different options and find out what's going on. Are you fed up of seeing the same things on your list? Seeing the same things on your 'to do' list all the time can be very de-motivating but instead of doing nothing at all, approach them from a different angle.  Accept that you're probably never going t...

"The problem is not the problem;  the problem is your attitude towards the problem' I absolutely love this quote which I heard recently.  It was a timely reminder of how we use any excuse other than ourselves when things don't quite go to plan.  It's also very relevant at this moment in time as we seem to be caught up in a blame culture - we blame the government, governments in other countries, the economy, economies in other countries, our own companies, even our own colleagues, family and friends.  In fact, anyone or anything in our firing line, rather than taking control and being accountable for ourselves. When we feel we are not in control of a situation, we tend to lash out at others.  It's perfectly normal; it's a self-protection mechanism within us all.  When we don't feel in control, it's often because we're scared and feel vulnerable.  So what can we do to change our attitude and take control of something we don't feel in control of? I...

Don't let your challenges become a mountain, tackle them whilst they're still molehills! I've felt completely overwhelmed this week, there's lots going on in my life right now and it seemed like all the balls I'd been juggling had come crashing down around me. It all came to a head on Thursday evening; I'd not completed half the things I wanted to at work, me and the lovely Mr Bob had still not decided on some big decisions for our new house and we needed to get things moving, I hadn't done any French practise, I'd not done the running mileage that I needed to do this week for my upcoming half marathon and I still had to complete my fitness planning for the next morning!  I felt like I was scrambling up the side of an icy mountain, getting so far and then sliding back down to the bottom.  It was time to flatten this mountain back down to a molehill. When faced with challenges, it often forces you to re-think the situation and ask the follo...

A grand day (two actually) out of the office When you're a PA you don't get let out of the office very often, in fact I barely make it past the boundaries of the third floor before my electronic tag goes off.  So when the opportunity does come along, you grab it with both hands.  Not only was I let out of the office for two whole days last week but I went to a conference / training event purely for PA's so everyone there 'got me'.  We all shared the same challenges and there were many sympathetic nods and "hmm, I know what you mean" throughout the course of the two days. Joking aside, it's so important to make the time to attend such events.  I'm very lucky in that both the company, and the directors I work for, are very supportive when it comes to learning and development.  Although your ego will lead you to think differently on occasions, the office won't fall apart if you're not there.  Not only that, but when you do return to t...