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Cabin Fever And How To Cure It

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Do you find that there are certain tasks that you can procrastinate for England about rather than do? Would you rather pluck your nasal hair than do them? I am pretty decisive by nature, but there are a couple that get me dusting my light bulbs to avoid.

For me these are making prospect phone calls and creating proposals. I used to be a brand strategist in the communications industry who was kept in a darkened room and wheeled out for meetings to spout insights that would help the clients make more money. I am happy as Larry doing research and writing, but that other stuff, well I have to create the right conditions to get them done.

If you see a woman aged about 45 sitting hunched over a hot laptop on a long train route, think Stornaway to Penzance, or in a coffee shop long after the drink dregs have gone cold making prospect calls, that’ll be me. If I stayed at my home office, not only would I get severe cabin fever and start climbing the walls, these tasks would take ten times as long. What are your most creative avoidance strategies and least favourite tasks? Off to London to get on that yellow tube line.

At a career crossroads?  Download the FREE Energise “Pain free career change” report. Click on this link: http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/

Exponential Delays And I’m Not Talking Trains

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I read somewhere once that things take on average 42% longer than you think they will. Increase the number of people involved in a project, and a dollop of post credit crunch risk aversion, and it’s probably more like 85%

I hate writing proposals so having given birth to one, feel very chuffed and want an instant response as reward. Months go by with such proposals floating wherever they reside. Frustrated by now, I put myself in my prospect’s shoes and think – very busy and stressed, doing 3 people’s jobs, make them smile. So I send them some tick boxes and an RSVP.

 All our budgets have been cut. All I have left will pay for a packet of Post It notes, one purple magic marker pen with sparkly ink and a college student from Outer Mongolia

 My feet haven’t touched the ground in weeks, I feel like a human helicopter. Bear with me, I will be in touch 

 I have spontaneously combusted and no longer exist 

Project? What project?

Any new ideas for my list?

Also, anyone out there happy to give me some interesting work without a proposal and with an instant decision!? Can’t wait!

Have you downloaded our FREE Energise 30 page report “Pain free career change”:  

http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/

Do you feel too small to be effective? Mosquitos aren’t.

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I love this quote:

 “Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room. “

Christie Todd Whitman

Sometimes it can feel difficult doing everything yourself being a small business, especially compared with big corporates. There’s no IT department to phone, you’re head of new business, marketing, accounts, office management and client servicing. And then there’s doing the work!  Last night there was a mosquito in my bedroom and I couldn’t see it before I turned off the light. I could hear it though!

This quote:

“Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room. “ Christie Todd Whitman

inspires me keeps me going on difficult days!  Today the sun is shining, even if England’s World Cup football is over.

More and more of my clients want to make a difference, do you? If so, let’s have a chat. This client of mine Duncan Goose has made a huge difference. I helped him to escape from a job he hated and work out what he really wanted to do : http://www.onedifference.org/water

Off to buy some fly spray………..

Have a good day.

Rachel

Energise – The Talent Liberation Company

Career change, senior outplacement, executive coaching and employee engagement

+ 44 (0) 845 22 55 010

+ 44(0) 7973 911137 

rachel@liberateyourtalent.com

www.liberateyourtalent.com

Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/talentliberator

Linked in profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rachel-brushfield/0/143/66

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Time or money? What would you choose?

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New research by The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows that there is a hidden and growing trend of ‘under-employed’ people stuck in part time unemployment or temporary work. It is the highest figure on record, an increase of 45% since the recession began and likely to stay at these levels for 5 years. The world of work has changed forever, and yet I find from my career change Steer your career workshops for executives who have been made redundant, that not many people realise.

Isn’t life ironic? Do you find that? When I do executive or personal coaching, people complain about never having enough time. Then when they have more time, they want more work. Of course people need to have enough money to have peace of mind and give themselves permission to pursue interests for example. Planning time in first for interests would make them feel more resourceful and positive to focus on job search for example, but they don’t let themselves. Aren’t human beings good at giving themselves a hard time?! We chain ourselves to our desks and work harder and ‘do’ more when what most really want is a better work life balance and to ‘be’ more.

I did a workshop in a woman’s prison once and was racking my brains re how to engage them as I haven’t had that particular experience yet, you’ll be glad to hear. Closest I got was setting light to a beer mat in a nightclub on my 20’s and being thrown out.  “The one thing you have that people outside lack” I said “is time. Time to think. And that is precious. “ Their home, an open prison, was a converted stately home with stunning grounds. I might move in for some more time to think. If it’s quiet on my blog, you know where I am. 

Energise – The Talent Liberation Company

0845 22 55 010

info@liberateyourtalent.com

www.liberateyourtalent.com

Twitter: talentliberator

Linked in profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rachel-brushfield/0/143/66

Fancy a day trip to avoid the budget news?

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Why not pop to Milton Keynes. Yes really. Not only does it have nearly as many roundabouts to get lost in as Swindon to distract you from capital gains increases, it also has an event on which will engage you. Forget champagne bars, this is the place to go. It ends on 30 June, so get your skates on. http://www.theartofengagement.co.uk

I find that many managers and leaders don’t ‘get’ employee engagement, despite the fact that there are a lot of fed up employees at the moment.  “How people feel affects how hard they work” is a very simple concept. The trouble is that there are a zillion factors that affect it, money being just 1.  The 5 year returns on average of organisations in the 3 Times Best companies to work for lists 2010 (Big, mid, small companies) outstrip those of the FTSE 100 firms more than 4 times; 15.5% compared with 3.5%, so maybe there is something in that soft fluffy engagement stuff after all? 

I don’t know about you, but as the average person spends around 80,000 hours at work in their lifetime, I want to enjoy my quota, especially as women in my family live until 98, so I’ll be about 88 when I retire at this rate.  What engages you at work and what disengages you?

A sense of anticipation?

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It’s the emergency budget tomorrow and there’s a sense of nervous anticipation in the country. People don’t like uncertainty at the best of times, especially if it is going to be good news! Could boost the sales of piggy banks, after all every upside has a downside!

Life can be such a paradox – get clear about what you want, anticipate it, feel it etc but don’t have expectations and be attached to the outcome. Reconcile that! Easier said than done.

It IS important to have a clear focus and know where you are heading, after all the whole coaching profession is set up on this basis, but expectations can be a killer! In relationships, with new business pitches etc

What’s the happy medium do you think?

Variety is the spice of life

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Metro newspaper today in London featured research showing that over half of women are bored. Bored with too much housework and their work being the same.

I refuse to iron – it’s against my principles and love linen as I can get away with it! Variety is one of my values and I feel ‘out of sorts’ if I don’t have enough variety, both socially and in my work. All my clients are different – the themes are similar e.g. fears about change, lack of confidence, challenging relationships, lack of time, and I learn so much from my clients. Often it’s like a mirror – they reflect the issues that I am facing!

What is an important value for you?

Knowing your values helps you to make more conscious choices about decisions and what you say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to. They also help to make sense of difficult emotions, because when our values aren’t honoured, we feel frustrated, sad etc. But that’s a topic for another day!