Drink More, Breathe Deep

At this time of the year, we've spent a lot of time indoors, with central heating and are probably more sluggish and inactive than in the warmth of the summer.

If you're feeling tired and low in energy, there are two important things that you need that you might not be getting enough of.

Water and air.

It's also something that's been mentioned by other people today and my nutritionist, last week mentioned that I was dehydrated. Admittedly, I go through phases of drinking more and then finding that I've gone through the day and not had anything to drink since the morning. So, I'm back into paying attention to how much I'm drinking.

Increase your water intake, rehydrate your body and mind and see if it improves your overall wellbeing. That doesn't mean more tea and coffee but plain water, herbal teas or diluted fruit juice. Small quantities throughout the day rather than large quantities in one go. Keep a bottle or glass of water to hand at all times and drink it throughout the day.

Start the day with a few deep breaths to get the oxygen flowing around the body. Breathe deeply into the stomach, ribs and top of your chest, not just the usual shallow breathing that we do when we're not thinking about it. If you can get out into the fresh air during the day, so much the better.

Get A Life Offline Not Online

More and more of us are getting online and developing a network of contacts around the world, whether it’s on Facebook, Linked In or on Twitter. While these are a great way of keeping in touch or getting your message out to the wider world, they can’t replace face-to-face contact.

Get out in the real world – develop your real-life relationships and don’t let your online world take precedence over the real world. The touch of a keyboard and the exchange of online messages can’t replace the touch of another human being and a real conversation, even if it's meeting new people at a networking or business event. While it might be useful to spend a couple of hours on Twitter what else could you be doing with your time?

As the days are longer and warmer, it’s a great opportunity to spend time outside not in front of the computer. Don’t cut yourself off from real life and while you’re at it, take the kids with you. Show them that there’s more to life than the latest computer game, MSN Messenger, MySpace and Facebook friends. Real life friends are important. They can’t give you a hug when you’re feeling down, they can’t share your excitement when something goes well – emoticons just aren’t quite the same.

When you work for yourself or work from home, it’s easy to find yourself working every day of the week, because you can and it’s too easy just to check your emails or check-in with your online network. Set aside at least one day a week to totally switch off from work.


How good is your time management - compare your results with the quick and easy Time Management Audit.

Giving To Others

This Friday was Red Nose Day, an annual event to raise money for worthy causes in both the UK and in Africa. Considering the current economic climate with people worried about their jobs, cutting back on spending and worrying about having enough money to pay the bills, it's heartening to see this year they've raised over £58M so far - more than last year.

Even when times are tough, there are always those who are worse off than ourselves. However much we're able to give, it can make a big difference to those who have less. Just a few pence can make a difference to someone in a different part of the world and isn't something that we're going to miss. The cost of a morning coffee - put to a worthy cause.

Whatever you do and I'm sure many of us do, whether you give your time or money, find a cause you believe in and support it.

Time For A Spring Clean

Spring is most definitely in the air – we’re now into March and in the northern hemisphere at least, things are starting to change, as the days get longer and warmer. It’s a time for fresh starts and new beginnings in more ways than one, as nature comes out of it's winter dormancy.

• What new perspective could you take on things?
• Do you need to throw out the old and bring in the new?
• Have you been stuck with old habits that no longer serve you?

Look at the different aspects of your life, both personally and in business, internally and externally – what works, what doesn’t.

• What do you want to change?
• What do you want to do differently?

Assess where you are now by completing the Life Balance Wheel or taking the Time Audit and decide what you’re going to change and when. Think about the difference it would make to your life if you made these changes and then resolve to do something today – however big or small, to take you one step closer to making that change.

Sometimes just doing something is better than doing nothing at all and if you feel stuck, overwhelmed or lacking in energy, even a small thing can make a big difference.

The Quality Of Your Communication

I was on the phone recently to a company about a mistake they'd made. Now being a large, relatively faceless, global corporation, I was expecting it to be a "it's your problem, not ours" conversation.

After jumping through hoops with the inevitable voice response system, I was put through to a very polite person in customer services who dealt with my complaint in an efficient manner, acknowledged that there had been a mistake and was able to fix it. None of the "There's nothing I can do ... it's not company policy" attitude that we so often encounter.

That's what makes the difference between a company who treats it's customers with respect, admits their mistakes, acknowledges any complaints and deals with them in an efficient manner and one where a company is difficult to get hold of, has an arrogant, couldn't care less attitude and assumes they're always right and doesn't listen to their customers.

It comes down to the quality of communication. There are certain situations where if handled correctly a drama is prevented from turning into a crisis, however when handled incorrectly a storm in a teacup can become a hurricane. When emotions are running high, it's even more important to ensure that communication is clear, direct and timely and this can make a real difference to the outcome. Make it easy for communication to happen both ways and remember to listen and understand and don't just wait to speak.

Turning a bad situation round can save a relationship and maintain a reputation, making a bad situation worse will damage both the relationship and the reputation and it won't stop there. A disgruntled customer will tell more people than a happy one.

So keep your customers happy.