Woody Wonders

I'm late with publishing my blog this week as I had to prioritise other things this weekend, which leads me quite nicely into this week's topics.  First of all, I'd like to tie up the Xmas side of things and then talk a little bit about New Year. A couple of weeks ago I spoke about the build up to Xmas and how easy it is to become overwhelmed at this time of year.  You can only do your best and can only focus on one thing at a time.  What really helps me is keeping some element of routine in my life.  They act like a safety net when I'm feeling like I'm in the midst of chaos.  It's very easy to forget about our usual routines at Xmas and, to some extent, that can be quite freeing.  The downside is that we can end up in a whirlwind of moving from one thing to the next without any purpose.  In my case, the one thing I do without fail is to stick to my exercise routine.  I may choose to do 10 mins yoga instead of a 10k run but for me, exercise is the...

It's all very well wanting to please family, friends, colleagues, employer but self-esteem starts with YOU .  If you're not proud of yourself and don't believe in yourself then how on earth can you expect anyone else to invest in you. This is something I've struggled with from time to time, as I'm sure we all have.  We go through periods of thinking 'hell yeah, I'm on fire' to 'oh my god, I'm a failure'.   In terms of work, the last 18 months have been particularly difficult, as like most other people, I've felt this constant need to be 'visible' and wanting to show I'm 'adding value' .  It's been an uphill battle at times and there's been a few 'no-one knows what I do' moments and, as a result, I felt like I was losing my confidence and self-esteem. A few blogs ago, I gave a little hint that I was doing something new in terms of my self-development and confidence.  So, in a bid to get on top of this...

I don't know why it comes as such a surprise every year, it is the same date after all, yet all we hear when it gets to December is "I can't believe it's nearly Christmas". We suddenly go into panic mode in relation to presents, trying to see everyone, tying everything up neatly to finish off this year and plan for the next one. Let's be brutally honest, I doubt we will ever change and we will continue to go through this every year.  Time simply runs away from us so let's not beat ourselves up about it.  We can only do so much and we can only do our best with the time and resources we have.   First of all, the best thing you can do is get everything out of your head and into an action list.  Write down absolutely everything that is on your mind. Next job, put everything into categories such as 'Presents', 'Family', 'Food & Drink' and then into sub-categories such as 'Buy present for mum', 'Visit Uncle George', ...

What do you think of when you hear the words 'customer service' ?  There's numerous definitions floating around but more often than not we associate customer service   with companies. "the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services" I started thinking about this topic in more detail following two very bad examples of customer service from two separate high street banks and two very different experiences. The first experience involved a complete breakdown in communication between a number of bank departments yet every single person I spoke to was polite, friendly and understanding.  All very well and good but nothing ever got actioned and the whole sorry state of affairs dragged on for almost 3 months.  By the end of last week I'd reached my tolerance limit and I was practically begging and pleading for someone to help me.  I was trying to sort a very sensitive and distressing issue and by this time, urge...

As you may have gathered from my recent blogs, I've been doing a lot of reflection and self-development in a bid to become more curious and fire up some creative neurones. When someone asks you, it's very easy to respond with "yes, of course I'm open-minded" .  But are you?  Truthfully?  If you're anything like me, then you'll tend to mix with the same like-minded people, have the same kind of routines, go to familiar places etc etc.   Sticking with what you know feels safe and comfortable, it gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside which is great and we absolutely need that in our lives.  However, if you permanently stay in that environment, it doesn't help you grow as a person. A couple of months ago, I went away for a long weekend and although I knew the majority of the people, many of which were family, there were a few people that I didn't know.  I felt a little nervous, I have to admit, as I was staying in the same lodge as some of them.  Mee...

Last week, I did something that I hate doing ... I asked for help.  I finally admitted to myself that despite knowing exactly what I need to do, I knew I wouldn't be able to get there on my own.  So I took a deep breath and contacted an amazing coach who's going to help me work through my fears and basically kick me out of my comfort zone.  I'm not going to go into the details at this stage but I promise I'll keep you updated on my progress.  The back story, hence this week's blog topic, is how to go about putting your 'thinking' into ACTION !! As you read through these, you may well be able to crack on and do it yourself BUT if you're 'feeling the fear and NOT doing it' then go to the bottom of the list first and ask for help. Stop procrastinating until the conditions are perfect Let's be honest, there's never going to be an ideal time to start something Stop over-thinking and start doing Don't think, just do.  The more you think ...

I've always been proud of the fact that I'm adaptable, resilient and "fit" for change but recent reflections have made me question that fact.  Yes, I've always embraced change and adapted to it but I've realised that I don't always actively seek it out.  So how can I expect to be resilient if I don't build up my resilience in the first place by doing things that scare me?!   I have a love / hate relationship with change; once I'm in the middle of it, I love it, it's exciting but in the build up to change, I hate it, because deep down I'm scared of it and what it might entail. Lately, I've been reading more and more about "AQ", in other words "Adaptability Quotient".  Many of us know that the demise of Blockbuster came about because they didn't adapt quickly enough to launch a rival streaming service to Netflix.  Likewise with the Lotus 123 spreadsheet program, they sat back when Microsoft's Excel came along. ...