work life balance

Work Life Balance does seem to be a huge topic at the moment.

It is getting lots of coverage on the BBC as well as in the Times and Guardian.

The current work trend seems to be to give employees at all levels the responsibility of hitting a target in a given time scale without giving them the authority to do the things required to make target achievement possible. Therefore they are doomed to failure before they even start. This kind of environment must surly be a breeding ground for absenteeism, low productivity and high staff turnover induced by work stress.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said that the cost of work related mental illness was £28bn per year, which is a quarter of the UK's total sick bill.

What will it take to change the way business works today, it simply cannot continue as it is the cost is clearly too high.

Mood Mapping

I read in the Sunday Times about Dr Liz Millers book - Mood Mapping - and ordered it immediately. What a wonderful read and a complex topic made easy to understand. I have shared the key points of this book with friends and family and they have all enjoyed it. Next step is to attend one of Liz's workshops in London.

As a Work Life Balance Mentor, Liz's book resonated with much of my thinking, and I had been articulating many of the common sense strategies that Liz included in her book.

I particularly like the idea of removing the word but from one's vocabulary and replacing it with the word and. Years ago I replaced the word should with could or would/will and that made a huge difference.

Spookily the day before my Mood Mapping book arrived, I was with a friend whom I had not seen for about 6 weeks. She told me that she had just been diagnosed with Bi Polar disorder and had been told that she would have to be on medication for the rest of her life.

The universe really does work in strange and mysterious ways sometimes.

Family Tree

My Dad and I researched our family tree yesterday using the on line Scotland's People service from National Archives of Scotland. What a delight. My Dad is a bit shaky on his old pegs so we were able to do the search from home rather than trekking all the way into Princes St where it would have been impossible for him to park etc etc. We spent about 4 hours on the project and managed to trace the paternal line on my Dads side all the way back to 1767. It transpires that, that side of the family were all miners from a small village called Carriden on the Forth. My Dad said that he believed that they were the mine owners as well as the miners but we did not find any evidence of that in the records we found. We felt like forensic detectives and the search continues.

Saw a Fox and Professor Nutt

After the thrill of the X Factor Sunday night vote, I saw a fox outside. It looked like a female and she was searching high a low for food. I am tempted to leave some food out this evening, I must check what food foxes eat, I bet they love peanut butter sandwiches.



The rain has stopped and the sun is out hurrah! I was up and out for an early morning cycle on the cycle track and was very happy that I managed 5 miles before 0800. If only every morning was so energetically productive.



What a fuss between Alan Johnson and Professor David Nutt. It is such a shame that AJ is blaming politics for his decision to fire David Nutt. The government seem to poop their collective pants every time the D word is mentioned. A forward thinking government would surely encourage an open and honest debate on the subject of drugs including input from the scientists who are after all subject matter experts. In 10 years time this will surely be a redundant argument. If folk wish to take drugs they will whether the government likes it of not. Surely it would be better to decriminalise all drugs and ensure that they are made available in a safe and secure way to those who wish to participate with all the correct guidance on cause and effect and think of the tax revenues!!!! The irony is that the current cabinet were all young and experimenting with all that the life had to offer in the 60's, so what happened. Will they remain like ex president Clinton and the one or two brave ones amongst them admit to participating in joint smoking at Uni with the caveat that they did not inhale or will they have the courage be open and honest like President Obama who said 'When I was a kid I inhaled frequently, that was the point'.

Wet Sunday in Edinburgh

It is a very wet Sunday here in Auld Reekie today. I am torn between doing a workout to Davina in the sitting room or going for either a wet walk along the Water of Leith or a wet cycle along the cycle track. Of course as a result I have completely distracted myself from doing any of the above by setting up this blog site instead :)

So here goes, this is my first blog, I wonder if anyone will read it? Their must be zillions of blogs in what I hope is the green cloud, for anyone reading who is unfamiliar with this terminology Green Cloud computing = Green means that the server farms which host these sites get their power supply from renewable energy and environmentally responsible sources rather than coal fired power stations and the like, Cloud = the Internet. As a green person myself I would hate to think that this blog carries a huge carbon footprint. I have not owned a car for 10 years to keep my carbon footprint small so I will assume that the good people a First do no Evil Google, fully embrace Green Cloud Computing, why would they not eh?

In addition to this blog I have also set up my first two web sites this week. One is my Business Mentor site called Art of the Possible and the other is to showcase my art work, called Art of the Possible 01. I have spent a wonderful morning painting more canvases which will go into W's gallery this week, I am particularly happy with the three red and brown canvases.

However as it is now 1pm and it will start getting dark by 4pm I am keen to get some fresh air and exercise before the light fades. Their has been a definite send of urgency on the cycle track this week especially after 3pm, as the good folk who cycle adjust to the very much shorter days.

All this chat of cycling has helped my make my exercise decision, a wet cycle it is, followed by a lovely hot shower. By that time my unfinished canvases will be dry and ready for a second coat of paint.

Toodiloothenoo