Neither fishing nor mending nets
This is a phrase I heard early in my career. Not from fishermen, but from an Electrical Superintendent in a papermill. Bob was good at quietly nudging people to focus what they spent their time on. When he thought folk needed to stop unproductive activities, he used the phrase “This is neither fishing, nor mending…
Being swept towards the rocky shore
The outboard motor died, and the wind was blowing us onto the rocks of the small uninhabited island. I was a fit 15-year-old. The Saighdear (pronounced sigh-chair) was well into his eighties. I got the oars out and the Saighdear tried to get the outboard restarted. My aunt sat quietly with a worried look on her…
My Meditation Process
Meditation isn’t always easy. Even for people who find it extremely helpful. I meditate every day, usually just 10 minutes in the morning before getting started with the day. You would think that it was easy after doing it on and off for years. I have found it worth persevering though. If I get out of the…
Spotting The Insidious Symptoms of Stress
Stress can hit you in the face like a prizefighter’s punch. It can also creep up on you and steal your life like a pickpocket in a well-known Charles Dickens novel. It can do both though. Firstly, creeping up slowly, eroding your life, before hitting you hard and knocking you out. It’s better to spot…
Feel Better by Knowing Yourself
It’s a common story, some call it a midlife crisis, for others it’s an awakening. We all know of people who have made significant changes in their lives. For some it is slow and steady, for others it’s a seemingly snap decision. It often comes from examining your life, figuring out what’s important to you….
How to Feed Commitments into your Productivity System
When you first set up a personal productivity system, you’ll have put the three main elements of the system in place. Hopefully, you’ve also put the next few weeks of appointments in your calendar and gathered your current list of tasks. That’s substantial progress. Next, we need to look at how to add commitments to…