So I’m back in the office today, and I’ve got some intranet articles to sort out for Monday, but nobody expected me to have anything prepared for today. Nobody expected much from me or the intranet in the run-up to Christmas either, but I sorted out and crafted some festive articles that were at times fun and also relevant to our industry. But no, I’ve got nothing sorted for today, so I’m re-running some older articles that are ‘timeless’.
Not that anyone will notice, as the office appears to be dead; I’m betting sites across the region and the country are similarly desolate.
It’s the day after New Year’s Day, and it’s a Friday. Many people arrange holiday days for themselves to bookend the festive season, and there’s a lot of flu-like illnesses around right now, so many people are rightly at home in bed. It’s a bank holiday in Scotland too. Some people will be taking sickies – claiming to be ill when really they just can’t see the point of going in to work when there’s ‘nothing to do’ and it’s the weekend really anyway isn’t it? They’re taking a ‘duvet day‘.
- ‘Stay-at-home Friday’ from the Telegraph (and Telegraph Mobile)
Me? I’m ill; I’ve been coughing and wheezing, tired and aching since the 27th of last month, and my skin looks pretty bad I’m sorry to say (despite my moisturising regime!).
But I got up at six and got the train into Birmingham. The train felt quiet, and then Birmingham New Street Station felt more like 7am than 8am – really quiet. The bus was quieter too, and the fare had gone up 20p.
Our team of seven is down to two today, mostly because of holidays and illness. The office is as quiet as a graveyard and if only I had my wits about me, I could get a lot of work done. But alas I’m poorly and my brain won’t shift gears. I need sleep.
So I thought I’d write to you about goals instead!
Your Goals and Values for the year ahead
What do you resolve to do this year? Well, heck, I don’t need a fresh year to sort my priorities out; but it is nice to review one’s habits and ways of working. I can’t read Chris Brogan’s blog while at work behind the over-zealous firewall, but thanks to Google’s cache I can just about read his content! I know he’s talking about ‘Three Word Goals‘ and I like the simplicity of stating one’s goals, rather than ‘promising’ to be a better person or to give up chocolate.
My goals are many and varied; I have lots of projects on the go, and as I discussed yesterday, some have to be reduced in priority for the sake of my health, and some have to be re-prioritised for the sake of my wealth. But when it comes to how I approach my projects (and people) I like Chris’ three word system. Here’s mine – RSS (no, not ‘Really Simple Syndication’ as per blogs) which stands for Respond, Smile & Share.
Chris Brogan has already been ‘sharing’ for a long time, but he’s ahead of me in many respects; he’s in Social Media whereas I’m just a humble communicator. He gets to shift paradigms and break conventions while I get to write organisation announcements and publish staff vacancies…
But anyway, for my own enjoyment, here’s what I mean.
Respond
I mean to react and respond to the people who enter my life, however superficial or fleeting. I can’t judge who’s going to shake my world, so I will treat everyone as a teacher, even those people who ask me for help, and I will be quick to respond and I will react with a keen interest. This will help me make connections with more people – something that blogs and Twitter have helped me understand.
Smile
I often look tired, and when people approach me, I tend to look warily at them, as I know they’re coming at me to give me more work and to mess up the technology that they don’t understand. I therefore have a haunted and hunted look upon my face, and a tremor in my voice when I answer the phone. Enough of this defensiveness! I will smile and welcome people in my life, even if I don’t feel like doing so. Fake it ‘til you make it. I will show the world a happy demeanour.
Share
I will link out more, I will twitter more, I will converse more and I will share what I know more. I’ll say ‘yes’ to more people and I’ll let go more. I will be better for others.
Anyway, that’s me; it’s Friday the 2nd of January – just twenty days from my birthday – and you should head over to Chris Brogan’s blog to leave your three word goals – but do please share them here with us too, I’ll be bound to respond :)
[Wedge]
I’ll be blogging in detail about my plans / projects for 2009, but here’s a summary of my 3 words:
Earth
The Element of Earth is my main focus for 2009; it’s the element that needs most development within myself and my life. Practically, this means the work that needs doing in and around my home. Personally it means keeping myself grounded and improving my physical and mental health.
Space
I will both create and reduce space. Practically I will be seriously de-cluttering. Personally I will be taking more time for myself. I will reduce the amount of space I take up as a physical person and I will be less of a burden on others. I will increase my presence on the net, specifically in the world of internet blogging.
Expand
I will expand my business, my writing, my confidence, my social skills and my knowledge. I will expand my family by introducing a new pet or two. I will increase my bank balance!
I love your determination, that you scraped my blog from the cache. Hahahaha… I mean, I hear you about firewalls. They suck. Am I religion or games?
Thanks. That actually made my day. Truly.
Great to see your focus on health Jules, and I love how you will be creating and reducing space – sounds very Sci Fi – damn the laws of physics!
Hi Chris – you are “Social Networking and Personal Sites” – and believe me, they have no idea what “Personal Sites” means considering that the majority of the web is made up of ‘personal’ (non-corporate) site… Sigh. Idiotic firewall.
I surf on my iPhone any how :)
Thanks for stopping by.
I like your “simple” RSS. :)
I need to work on “R” and the first “S” myself, I think. I’ve just been told that I “seem so busy” recently that some co-workers have been reluctant to approach me to ask for help with the “little” things. I had no idea.
I try to be available and helpful and to have that “open door” vibe … but apparently I need to work on making my outside match that inside feeling.
So, I think I’ll try to adopt the Wedge method: To smile and be fully in the moment in personal interactions.
Thanks for the inspiration. :)