Change is an interesting subject isn’t it?  It happens to us all, do you embrace it or fight it?  A blog post by Lisa Cherry, Holistic Health on this very subject caught my eye recently.

The blog post is appropriately called The Cycle Of Life.  Inspired by the popular John Lewis TV advertisement, Lisa contemplates how we learn as we go through life and how with the benefit of hindsight we can laugh at events and enjoy our lives.

It made me think about how so many of us fight change, yet with the cycle of life, how can we avoid change?  We are all changing, evolving in our own lives.  Perhaps it’s time to stop fighting, enjoy the moment and in doing so enjoy the precious time of our lives.  What do you think?

Read Lisa’s blog

Kathy Lawrence, no time for swanning around

As a freelance copywriter I’ve been helping businesses get their marketing words right for the last 25 years. I did that juggling thing with work and children and came through unscathed.

Then disaster struck. Just as my two major clients walked away from their businesses, my parents became ill – father with heart problems, mother with dementia. As I couldn’t manage supporting parents and building up the business again, work went on hold. Now I’m starting to make progress with the business, but life is refusing to get out of the way …

So this was Tuesday.

5.58am How did I manage that? Wake up two minutes before alarm. No noise from slumbering husband.

6.45 Pick up 20-year-old son and his girlfriend from their rented flat a couple of miles away to drive them to Ashford Hospital. Son is popping in for the day for a quick gallbladder removal.

7.30 Plans nixed already. No one allowed to stay with son, so girlfriend and I depart. So busy deciding how to play the day, we forget to say goodbye to son. Guilt plus anxiety set in for the next few hours.

8.30 Bummer. The only exercise I have ever really enjoyed has been cancelled. No Zumba now till Thursday evening. Why is Zumba the exception to the rule? Because it kids you into thinking you’re dancing, not having a cardiac workout.

To work instead. Or at least some social media marketing. There are so many ways of getting your name known, it’s hard to find the time when you’re a one-person business. So I’m focusing on Twitter, aiming to make several helpful posts about writing for marketing every day, and then one or two that add a bit of personality.

11.30 Proper paying work. Excellent! Conference call with a really great client to discuss the next issue of his newsletter. Love the clients who understand how marketing and copywriting are complementary, and actually ask for my advice on communicating with their customers. Client has already pulled two articles that were a bit too close to selling, when what he wants to do is build relationships with his customers by sharing knowledge.

12.30 Return from a quick walk to Waitrose to long phone messages from my most gloomy uncle about my father. At 89, dad is in hospital again having his pacemaker upgraded and other running repairs, and uncle is more Eeyore-like than usual.

12.31 Quick turn around my cherished vegetable plot to mull over my response. Return to find another message from another uncle. Goodness, my dad must really be sharing the pain today.

13.00 Yes he is. Dad calls to tell me his woes. Bite the bullet and offer to have him here until he’s strong enough to go home. My dad is a great person who’s helped many people over the years, and I have no problem with supporting him in return. But, he’s high maintenance nowadays, and he’ll be taking the spare room that’s supposed to be my decorative painting workroom. So less time to focus on work, and no space to paint. Yes, this is a whinge. I’ll get over it.

14.00 Worried about lack of news on the son front but enjoying working on the newsletter. When you’re writing a friendly but informative piece you can really let the words flow.

17.00 Message that son is ready to leave. Sub-text seems to be he’s climbing the walls and needs out. Can’t contact his girlfriend so head off into rush hour traffic alone, leaving dinner half-prepared.

18.00 Son is tired, thirsty, hungry and fractious. Totally out of character he starts an argument with the nurse about what he can and can’t eat when he gets out.

19.30 Call from older living-at-home son. What are we doing about dinner? Get home just as he is heading off to fish and chip shop for a large portion of cholesterol all round. Yum.

20.00 Not much achieved on the work front today. So it’s now time to start thinking about my presentation at the networking lunch tomorrow.

And about what to do with non-paying customers.

And a few more phone calls from concerned relatives about son and father.

And how to deal with stress without Zumba or alcohol (in case of emergency runs to A&E).

And so to bed.

Still on the list:

• Follow up on ongoing work projects
• Do some real marketing
• Water the garden
• Update the decorative painting blog
• Any housework – although the dishwasher’s been done
• Take decent exercise
• Find out if my friends are still in the country

• You can find out more about the Wrightwell copywriting business at www.wrightwell.com
• If you’d like tips on writing for business, try my blog at http://wrightwell.blogspot.com/ and follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wrightwell
• For something completely different, my desperately in need of updating painting blog is at http://artforapurpose.blogspot.com/
• Oh, and you can contact me directly at kathy@wrightwell.com about writing, painting, gardening, aged parents, dementia etc etc

Zoe Brown, busy working Mum with Abbie and Hollie

I am Zoe Brown, MD and owner of B Websites and Budget Websites.  The business has been established for 7 years and I have 5 children ages 20, 6, 4, 20 months and 7 months.  From the outside I am sure it seems remarkable that I can fit things in to my 24 hours.

My two baby girls go to nursery part-time, Tuesday to Friday, 9am to 3pm.  My partner Chris and I share our duties pretty much 50/50 as we both live and work together.  We recognise that in order to work our 40 hours that we will have to work some weekends and evenings.  But that’s fine, we benefit from a super flexible work/living/parenting environment.

So how do I fit it in?  This is a typical day for me at the moment.

6:00 am Baby Abbie usually wakes around now for her first feed of the day.  Up until recently I was feeding her myself but she now on a bottle so Daddy will be sent down to make it whilst I get a little cuddle.  Once baby is fed I am usually catching up on blogs, twitter and emails before getting up.

7:00am Waking up the two boys and getting them dressed and down the stairs for breakfast.  The next hour and half is hectic so there is usually lots of shouting between me and Chris to make sure we know which children we are looking after, where they are and if they have socks on (our kids like to take them off and stuff down the back of the sofa!).

7:30am Hollie reads in her cot quite happily and we will get her out of the cot last since once free she’s a terror!  The girls have breakfast at nursery so it’s best to keep her away from the dining room when the boys are eating.  Getting her dressed which takes the longest amount of time because I can never decide what she should wear and she like to run away a lot!

8:00am We are all downstairs and then it’s a case finding matching socks, shoes and children.  We also have to quickly pack the bags for school and nursery as well as make up bottles.

8:15am Start loading kids in the car.  Apparently not even my six year old can do his own seatbelt up so this is a bit of a chore.  To get them all in the car I end up doing quite a bit of aerobics in the back of the car!

8:20am We are off, I don’t drive so Chris is driving and usually I am already on my Blackberry sending out emails to the team to remind them of tasks for the day.

9:00am With all the kids and nursery and school the day starts.  50% of my job is hands on coding and development and the rest is made up of consults with new prospects, marketing the business, project meetings.

2:50pm Chris and I both take our lunch break which is effectively used to do the school/nursery run.  We use this time to catch up on the events of the day (I know we only sit a metre away but most of our work is done on the PC!) and I will again be on the Blackberry drafting emails.  Chris is very helpful in making sure I remember to avoid cars whilst crossing the road and such like.

3:30pm Most days I go back to the office and work the rest of my day until 6pm while Chris handles kids and tea.  But this is really flexible.  If I go back home then the rest of the day is a bit like this.

4:00pm Finally in the house, coats, shoes, bags all away.  The next 3 hours are a challenge to say the least so grab a quick glass of water and start cooking something for tea.  Usually I like to cook pasta with a quick home made sauce.  The kids eat it and I know that it’s healthy.  I am lucky that my kids also all love their fruit so that’s an easy peasy desert.

4:30pm Tea served and kids at the table.  Abbie is still on baby mush at the moment and she will usually nap whilst the older children eat.  I can take this time to sort out the kitchen and washing whilst keeping and eye on the kids.  In particular I have to watch Holie who will make a real mess with her food if she is full or does not like it.  Whilst the kids are at the table I just keep the food coming, fruit, raisins, jelly, ricecakes, juice…until they finally stop asking for more!

5:30pm Boys are sent up to their room to play games.  If possible I will keep Hollie in her high chair with some activities like music or colouring whilst I feed baby Abbie her mush.  This is by far the easiest option as once she is “set free” I have to watch her like a hawk.  She can open all the doors and likes to have run of the house. I have a playpen which is primarily for Abbie but will pop Hollie in it from time to time if I need to do something.

6:00pm Kids all fed but the kitchen is looking a bit worst for wear!  Luckily Chris is home now so one of us is doing a tidy and the other doing the bath time and bed time chores.

6:30pm Cuddles and bottles for the baby girls followed by bed.

7:30pm Chris does bed time for the boys and I grab an hour and half to do some more work.  Chris might end up flying out to the shop to pick up some essentials and I will also catch up on household admin like paying bills, ordering shopping etc.

9:00pm Settle down in front of TV (whilst multi tasking on Twitter!)

Phew – not too bad really…things I don’t have time for are as follows:

1. Ironing.
Which is fine because I hate it.  Because I am very good at hanging and folding I have managed without an iron in the house for at least 10 years!

2. Cleaning the house.
I am super tidy but I don’t have time for 4 hours of cleaning each week. Therefore I do have recently employed a cleaner.

3. Hobbies.
I don’t miss them – so whatever they were all those years ago, it can’t have been that much fun.

4. Shopping.
Everything is done on-line.  Food, clothes, holidays – everything.

and this is my day in the life.  I am grateful that I am able to run my own business and love the diversity of my days.

About the author: Zoe Brown – Managing Director, B Websites – Surrey. Passionate about building websites that work. With a degree in IT and 13 years internet development experience, Zoe has a wealth of knowledge about what does and doesn’t work online.
Twitter @BWebsites
www.bwebsites.co.uk

Proud of how you balance your busy life? If you would like to be featured in ‘A Day In The Life’  please contact Sue Bown sue@thecoachingzone.co.uk

Keep on running – The Martin sisters complete their challenge
Would you buy more time?
Sarah Martin – aiming high and far
A Day in the Life
How do I indentify my target market?
How changing your view can reinvent your life

Sarah and Becky Martin, a determined pair of bunnies

The marvelous Martin sisters did it!  Their challenge, as mentioned in my previous blog, was to complete three marathons in three consecutive weekends, simply amazing.  Congratulations to Sarah and Becky!   Believe it or not this picture was taken after they had finished the London Marathon, their final race. These two inspiring women have raised nearly £6000 in sponsorship for Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People and would love to raise more. 

I spent a magical day in London watching the spectacle that is the Virgin London Marathon.  What a heart-warming, inspirational day.  I loved every minute.  It’s been about 12 years since I last went to see the London Marathon and I am amazed at how it has grown in that time.  The atmosphere was electric, the camaraderie of the spectators was wonderful and the competitors were so inspiring.  I left home early and arrived at Canary Wharf at about 9.30am,  OK, it was early for me, many of the runners must have left way earlier than that!  I went on my own and shortly after arriving I bumped into a friend and her husband, what a coincidence.  They were on their way to mile 15, but I decided to stay put.  I was glad I did as just outside Canary Wharf station on a set-up stage, the amazing Rock Choir started their performance.  The choir was formed mostly of women their voices rang out as they sang big pop ballards.  I found myself singing and dancing in the street with complete strangers, wonderful!

The excitement grew when the whirr of the helicopters overhead announced the arrival of the first group of competitors, the Wheelchair Men group,  The other groups raced through in batches, the Elite Women, the Wheelchair Women and then finally the Elite Men.  Each group interspersed by stragglers from the previous groups.  Canary Wharf is at mile 19 so the strain of the race was showing on the faces of many whilst others looked like they were out for a walk in the park.

As soon as these groups went through I left and took the underground to Bermondsey, which is at mile 12, I stayed there for 20 minutes and watched some of the main group of fun runners, people in every concievable costume, every age, it was so impressive.  The crowds and the number of runners had grown by this time, every one with a story to tell.

Spectators and runners - each with a story to tell

Then, back on the train to Embankment. I walked towards Westminster, the crowds were two and three deep, I stopped to watch the runners, I couldn’t help but be moved to tears by the bravery and the determination of so many.  After that it was back to Waterloo Bridge where I was meeting a Ladies at 11 member, Laura Hart and her husband.  This was where we hoped to see Sarah and Becky come through just two miles from the end of the race.  Sarah had given us prior warning that they were wearing pink fluffy bunny ears, so craned our necks looking into the sea of brave faces as they ran past us, where were those ears?  Then suddenly there they were, we screamed out to them and they heard us and saw us waving furiously.  Our job was done.

We left and walked to Horseguards parade and watched all the finishers as they filed into the meeting area and there they were in the crowd again those pink fluffy bunny ears, and the two smiling relieved faces of Sarah and Becky.   Well done girls, hope you’re having a well-earned rest next weekend!  Their charity is  Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People, if you haven’t already sponsored them and would like  to you can do so here.

All in all it was a truly special day, one filled with friendship, determination, inspiration and dedication.  A fantastic example of London as the wonderful city it is.  A perfect Sunday!

Would you buy more time?
Sarah Martin – aiming high and far
A Day in the Life
How do I indentify my target market?
How changing your view can reinvent your life

Today’s challenge is to write a weekly round-up and so here it is:

How Changing Your View Can Reinvent Your Life
Inspired by my friends who have moved from London to Dartmouth and have changed their lives in the process, I also wanted to showcase their amazing photos taken from their office window and garden.  If you’ve already read this, take time to revisit and read Carole’s equally inspiring new comments. 

A Sure Fire Tip To Stop Procrastinating
I have to confess the idea for this blog was bourne out of my own procrastination.  Part of the 30 Day Blog Challenge is to become familiar with your key phrases.  I started to do this and the perfectionist in me got stuck by wondering if I was doing it correctly.  In the end I just got on with it!  And wow, did it get a good reaction, I found many like-minded souls who were eager to try out my ‘sure fire tip’

A Day In The Life
All about me and my typical working day.  Not something I would have written before ‘getting into’ this blogging lark.

Sarah Martin – Aiming High and Far
My top story! Thanks for all the mentions on Facebook and Twitter.  I am truly inspired by what Sarah is doing and I know many of you are too.  Don’t forget to watch out for her on telly on Sunday as she takes part in the London Marathon, her third of three marathons in three weeks charity challenge.  I wonder what she will be doing next weekend?

How do I identify my target market?
A touch of marketing. I work with many of my clients on improving marketing strategy,  this blog highlighted a step by step process to follow.

That was my week, it’s been busy.  Thanks to everyone who has commented and given words of encouragement, it’s much appreciated.

Coming up next week, a guest blogger, a song and, fingers crossed, my first guest blogging gig!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Sue

Sue Bown

It’s day seven of my 30 Day Blog Challenge, today’s assignment is to write a ‘day in the life’ – hence the title.  It’s been a beautiful spring day today and that’s good because it’s Saturday and to me that means golf.  Whilst I could bore you witless with a blow by blow account of my round of golf, I think I’ll desist. 

Therefore, I’ll tell you about my day on Thursday.  It was another beautiful April day, a cloudless blue sky.  Inspired by this, I started bright and early.  I was a little bit bleary-eyed as I‘d had a late but enjoyable Wednesday night acting as a judge at the Toastmasters Area level of International Speech Evaluation Contest.

My work is much more enjoyable these days since I left my corporate career four years ago.  At that time I was in a cosseted corporate role, by cosseted I mean that I didn’t fully appreciate the regular monthly paycheck I received and I didn’t appreciate the benefits working for a large corporate company.   It took a huge brave leap to leave, to be honest I surprised myself.  It has proven to be one of the best decisions I have ever made.  In the relatively short time since leaving  I have learnt new skills, enhanced old skills, made new friends and contacts, got to know myself better and it feels like I’ve transformed myself into a completely new person.

Back to Thursday, I got started with my first client of the day, a telephone coaching session.  This lady has  recently started working with me she is working on her work/life balance and managing her stress levels.  She has a session weekly, she is doing very well and feels much calmer.

My next client was another telephone session, this time a Business Breakthrough client who is working to grow his small business.  We speak monthly, each session is focused on creating an Action Plan to move him towards his targets.  He too is making good progress and is much more focused and motivated.

Then I took some time to update my own Action Plan following a meeting with my coach and mentor on Wednesday.  I intend to continue to grow my business, so it’s important to plan and have my own targets and goals.  In my opinion everyone needs a coach, even coaches need a coach.  It’s vital to maintain the focus and forward momentum.

After lunch it was time to visit another Business Breakthrough client, we meet in a coffee shop in a local hotel.  We have worked together for eight months, in that time she has increased her sales by an amazing 300%/

Following this meeting I drive back to my office, it’s time to catch up on some emails and phone calls.  That’s about it.

My evening, well, once I have received my 30 Day Blog Challenge email it’s time to start blogging again and of course to watch The Masters golf on TV.

The great thing about what I do now is the variety, every day is different.

I have found myself a freedom that I didn’t know existed.  I am happy.

___

About the Author: Sue Bown: Works with businesses and individuals to get better results, more efficiency, less stress AND more success. I play golf too, especially in the sun!

Twitter @thecoachingzone
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheCoachingZone

Other blog posts:

Would you buy more time?
Sarah Martin – aiming high and far
How do I indentify my target market?

More time needed

What if you could add a couple of hours to each day, would you do it?  Would you get everything done?  In the words of Louis Armstrong  ’We have all the time in the world’ or do we?  Do you frequently find that you run out of time?  Our busy world is filled with people rushing everywhere, to get the train, to pick up the children, to get some emails sent, to get to a meeting, the list goes on.  Where does time go?  I think time is such a valuable commodity it could even be sold on the stock market,  Just imagine if that was possible?  If you did buy more time what would you do with it?  Would you spend more time at work?  Would you spend more time with your family?

Here are my top tips for finding more time in your day.

1. Plan your day.  Decide what you want to do, decide what you want to achieve in a day.  Write down your goal for the day

2. Make a list. Write it down the night before and leave it on your desk or your worktop ready for you the next day.  When the next day comes stick to it.

3. Be firm.  Give others warning that you are sticking to your time frames and if someone wants to have some of your time then schedule it in advance.  Be firm with yourself too, don’t let distractions take you away from your plan.

4. Focus on the big things,  Remember you chose what you focus on and if you focus on the small things then they will get done.  So focus firmly on the big things and they will get done instead.  Stay with your main aims for each day.

5. Delegate.  If there are some things that you either hate doing or you could easily delegate then do it.  You’ll find by delegating it will free up your time to focus on the big things.

6. Celebrate.  Decide what treat you are going to have when your plan is accomplished.  Maybe give youself some ‘Me time’ at relevant points in the day.

Enjoy your time, it’s the only time you have.  Remember John Lennon’s famous quote:

 ’Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans’.

Happy Mother’s Day to Mum’s everywhere. I hope you’ve had a fabulous day.   I took a little time this morning to look for items relevant to this celebrated day in the online newspapers.   There was a selection of items, ranging from Best Fictional Mums – In Pictures in The Observer and a discussion in another paper about the value of Mother’s Day, is it too commercial, is it just an excuse to sell cards, flowers and gifts.  What do you think?

The history of Mother’s Day goes back to ancient Greece with a connection to the festival of Cybele, a mother of Greek gods.  The festival was always held near to the Spring Equinox.  Early Christians celebrated a Mother’s Festival on the forth Sunday of Lent to honour the Vigin Mary and over time it evolved to celebrate all mothers and called it Mothering Sunday.

I even found a website called DayforMothers.com where you can find Mother’s Day poems, Mother’s Day wallpaper, games and believe it or not Mother’s Day jokes. 

Whatever your thoughts, it was heartening to see so many people out with their Mum’s today.  I smiled as I read tweets from Twitter friends about special breakfasts that had been prepared and Mother’s Day cards made by their children.

Mum’s are special every day and commercial or not I think the sentiment of Mother’s Day is perfect.

Oh dear, what have I done, I’ve signed up to Nikki Pilkington’s 30 Day Blogging Challenge. This is day one, only another 29 to go!  Firstly thanks for reading this and thanks for supporting me on this challenge.  I’ve had a blog now for about three years, but my blogging has been sporadic to say the least.  You may have noticed my last blog was published back in January, so now is the time to pull my socks up and let Nikki knock me into shape.  She has promised to send me an email every day to help motivate and inspire me.  Today’s email hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m that eager to get going I’ve started already.  Why don’t you join up too and we can compare notes along the way?

Why have I done this?  Well, I know blogging helps to build your website and grow connections and it’s a great low-cost way to market your business and to raise your profile.  I can do this by providing information that readers hopefully will find useful.  Also, it’s been bugging me that I have this website with a blog facility set up and I don’t use it enough.  Who knows this might even be therapuetic!

To introduce myself, my name is Sue Bown, I work with business owners, executives and individuals to take their businesses and lives to the next level by achieving their business and life goals.  Also I’m a keen golfer, especially in the sun!

What do I need to get going on this blog?  I need ideas and inspiration.  I do get ideas, occasionally I get started on them as a blog item and then they get lost in the doing and never get published.  If you can help me with any ideas. please let me know.

A recent Harvard University study has shown that most people spend 46.9% of their waking hours in a state of distraction. The study found that people were thinking of anything other than what was happening around them for nearly half their time awake.  How disturbing is this?

The more I thought about this statement, the more it bothered me.  And one reason it bothered me is that I can relate to that feeling.  We live in a world of fast-moving wonderful technology.  We are used to instant gratification, we want instant answers.  Everything is now, now, now!  I attended an excellent conference today on Personal Development and Engaging Employees in the workplace.  It was fascinating stuff!  What I noticed was how at coffee and lunck break many delegates were huddled into every available corner of the conference centre hurridly speaking into their mobles.  Those who weren’t on their mobiles were looking at their Blackberrys and iPhones for emails.

So how do we address this and live our lives in the moment to enjoy and appreciate every minute.  It is of course a nirvana that many of us aspire to, yet not many of us (as the study shows) achieve.

Some tips:
1. Look around you, be aware of your surroundings, the sky, the trees, be aware of nature.
2. Breathe, then breathe again, slow deliberate breaths.  Let go of any tension.
3. Look at others around you, smile say hello, speak to people face to face.
4. Switch off your phones, look at email twice a day.
5. Sign up for the ‘Free Your Mind – Live Your Life’ free stress-busting elearning course, sign up is at the right hand side of this page.