Work Hard Play Hard - Live Longer

Do you prefer to work hard, play hard and not worry about the consequences or do you look after yourself so you can live life to the full for as long as it lasts?

While healthy eating and fitness doesn't guarantee a long life, many people are living longer and enjoying a disease free old age.

Giving up short-term health and fitness and long-term plans may mean you enjoy drinking and eating what you want without worrying about the long-term effect this might have on your body as you get older - diabetes, heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure.

These days - retirement certainly isn't the time to wind down, put your feet up and wait for the inevitable. More and more people are enjoying their retirement and the freedom it brings.

Children are grown up and have families of their own. They're not tied to a job and they have the freedom to travel, can spend time with their grandchildren, family and friends.

So do you think looking after your health is a waste of time or a good long-term investment in your future?

Go With The Flow

I'm just back from my tai chi session this week. Much of the practice is about going with the flow and not putting up resistance.

It's good to remember this in our day to day lives. When we resist or go against the flow - like walking the wrong way in a crowd of people going in the opposite direction, or swimming against the tide - things become hard, we constantly have to watch where we're going, adjust and get stressed - it's like trying to push water uphill ... a waste of time and energy.

When you encounter resistance in your life - relax and go with the flow. Much less like hard work. Ride the current - don't swim against it.

Daylight And Autumn Leaves

Apparently this Monday is one of the gloomiest in the year because here in the UK we switched to daylight saving time this weekend. We get an extra hour in the morning but the evenings are darker earlier.

However, the number of daylight hours is the same - it's just shifted. So, why would it really make a difference. I have to admit, I don't like getting up in the morning when it's dark but then you do get a chance to see the sunrise or to experience the quiet of a morning as the dawn breaks and the sky brightens, before everyone else gets going.

Even in the dark evenings, there's something cosy about glimpses of light through windows. Make the most of the daylight hours to get out during your lunch break or to enjoy a walk at the weekend.

Notice the changes all around us as we switch from one season to the next. We miss these when we're enclosed in a car or shut away in the office day after day. At this time of year the summer migrants have left and the winter visitors are starting to arrive. Enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of the Autumn. It's less than two months until the winter solstice, when the days will be getting longer again.

Pay attention to your own internal seasonal cycle - there's no reason to feel gloomy - adjust to the shorter days and the change in temperature.

Do what you need to do to nurture yourself.

Right here, right now

We all have long-term goals of where we'd like to be in 3, 5 or 10 years time. Even if they're not written down, we have an aspiration of where we'd like to be or what we'd like to be doing.

But what would make a difference to your life right now ... today?

What can you take from your long-term goals, desires, aspirations and dreams and move a few steps closer to them today?

You might be able to make a few changes to your life and be able to have what you want right now and not in several years time.

• A different job - what can you change about your existing job to make things better?
• A new house - time for a repaint, declutter or a bit of DIY. You might not be able to buy your dream home today but make the most of where you are now.
• More holidays - plan to take regular breaks, more often.

If you want more freedom and flexibility to enjoy the things you like doing - how can you give yourself more time to do them?

Why wait - a few simple changes, a little thought and planning and you can have more of what you want today.

How To Be Idle

This is the title of a book I picked up over the weekend - it's written in a very tongue in cheek way but while it might be the sort of book you think I'd be recommending you read, there's a lot to be said for the lost art of idleness.

In today's busy, busy world, we're constantly on the go from morning until night. We get bombarded with information from all directions and never seem to get a moment to ourselves. We cram so much into our day that we rarely have time to stand and think. We're often so physically and mentally drained that we don't get the opportunity to take a step back and re-evaluate where we're going and look at ways of changing.

Part of 'managing' your time more efficiently and productively is also about having more time to do nothing. Instead of thinking about how to do more, think about how to do less.

Listen To Your Body

I've just returned from my weekly Tai Chi session. We've been practising outdoors for the last couple of weeks which is a different and more inspiring session, with the sounds and sights of nature all around us.

One of the things said tonight is that we spend too much time 'in our heads'. We do have a general tendency to think too much and we're constantly bombarded by audio and visual stimuli from a variety of different directions. A constant stream of conscious thought, babbling self-talk, sorting out the activities of the day, wondering whether you left the iron on, did you lock the door, turning over problems and all the other thoughts that go on.

Sometimes it's good to focus on what the rest of our body is telling us - not just what's going on in our head. I practice both yoga and Tai Chi on a fairly regular basis and have done for many years. It's a great way to switch off. To spend time getting back into our bodies. Feeling the tension in muscles, the imbalance between one side of the body and the other, aches and pains, the little niggles. Taking time to focus on breathing ... properly. Relaxing and really letting go - harder than it sounds when you spend most of the day in a state of tension.

It's good to get a balance between physical and mental exercise. Yoga, Tai Chi and meditation enable you to exercise both the body and mind. Find some time for quiet contemplation in your day. Listen to your body.

Getting Back To Nature

It's been a glorious weekend here in the UK and no better time to get out and about and enjoy the sunshine, fresh air and nature bursting into bud in every corner. The summer visitors are on their way - swallows, cuckoos and the nightingale. The spring flowers are in bloom - carpets of bluebells and clusters of primroses.

We spend so much time in our offices, sat at computers, breathing recycled air that when the opportunity arises, we should get outside into the fresh air and re-acquaint ourselves with the cycle of life that goes on regardless of the state of the economy, falling property prices and the rising cost of living.

When you're shut away in an office, apart from noticing that it's now light when you leave work, it can be difficult to notice the passing of the seasons unless you're looking forward to your summer holiday in the sun or your winter skiing trip.

Sunshine is good for us. Going for a walk in the fresh air revitalises tired bodies and minds. Make a point of spending time with your family and friends at the weekend and enjoy a bit of nature - it's free and it's better than either spending the weekend indoors ... still working on the computer or trekking round the shops buying things you don't really need.

If you really want to enjoy nature - how about growing a few vegetables? Anyone can grow tomatoes, you just need a large pot (or two) and there's nothing better than picking them straight from the bush. Beats anything you buy in the supermarket. More people are growing their own these days and you don't need a lot of space to get started with just a few salad vegetables.

I'll be doing just that again this year in my little patch of Edible Garden. Not only will you have the pleasure of eating something you've grown yourself but you'll find a great way to unwind after a busy day.

Take Time To Make Time

"The greatest saving of all is better utilisation of our time. This directly affects practically every phase of the business in terms of expense and profits" Leo Burnett

Two of the things that people always want more of is time and money, so if you save one you could get more of the other, if you use that saved time wisely.

When people are busy, rushed off their feet, too much to do - is exactly the time when they need to stop what they're doing and actually take stock but is often when they feel they can't afford to stop what they're doing. It will save time if

So, if you are really busy and it's become the 'norm', think about what it is that your doing. Are you focusing on the right things that are going to make a difference? Are you busy being busy with no real plan or purpose, wasting time on lower priority activities that won't give you the results you need or are you simply just doing too much?

If you want more time - take time to make time.


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

Mums - Look After Yourself

I often find myself talking to Mum’s who are not only running their business but looking after a family and juggling their time around children and childcare, organising a home and never consider having time out for themselves. In fact, many of them actually feel guilty about doing anything just for themselves, so used are they for doing things for everyone else. They'll always consider everyone else and make sure they're fine before they think about themselves.

No wonder they’re tired, worn out and exhausted at the end of the day. So this week, if you’re a working wife and Mum, take some time out for yourself. Whether it’s just a break to meet up with a friend for coffee or lunch in a child-free zone, to put your feet up for a couple of hours or go to bed early with a good book, or relax in the bath with your favourite music.

If you’re partner to a working Mum, yes, I know you’re working hard too but how often does your partner get a total break just for herself. Having time to totally relax and unwind is important for all of us but this week – especially for Mum’s.

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.

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.

Plan For Your Success

I hope you’ve all had a good break over the Christmas and New Year Holiday and didn’t have to get too bogged down in work, while you were meant to be relaxing. I certainly didn’t. In fact I didn't touch my laptop for a whole four days.

If you were working last week and got a chance to have a tidy up and a sort out, you’re probably ready to get going for 2009. No doubt the thought of New Years Resolutions may have passed through your mind at some time over the last few days. These thoughts may have passed swiftly on because you just know you’ll have given them up by February.

But if you reviewed your successes from last year you can plan your success and plan of attack for this year. Knowing where you want to go, means you can at least work out how you’re going to get there and have an idea of which direction you’d like to go in.

• Create a plan.

• Set a few goals - make them specific and set a completion date against each one.

• Think about what achieving these goals will mean to you - personally, financially, emotionally and imagine how you will actually feel when you’ve got there.

• Tell someone about it - or at least write it down. Sharing it with a friend, colleague, mentor or coach makes it more likely to happen than just having it as a vague idea in your head.

• Now you can decide how you're going to achieve them. Break it down into achievable and realistic steps and develop an action plan to take you from A to B … and beyond.

• Importantly - track your progress - make yourself accountable. If you've got someone keeping tabs or nudging you along, you're far more likely to achieve your goals and stay on track. I use checklists as I find this is a good way of keeping me motivated as I tick off each action.

If 2009 is going to be a tough year, it's even more important to make sure that you take time to make time for what you want to achieve and don’t forget to have fun along the way.

You can find more on Goal Setting on www.clareevans.co.uk/articles.htm.

What You Really, Really Want

I’m in the process of reading Tim Feriss’s – 4 Day Work Week and one of the things that strikes a note is that we work so hard to have the things that if we just took time to look around, we’ve already got. This always reminds me of the tale about the fisherman. If you already know it, I apologise for repeating it here but it’s always worth being reminded.

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, "only a little while."

The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The American then asked, "but what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?" To which the American replied, "15-20 years." "But what then?" The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions." "Millions.. Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

So, if you had more time – what would you fill your life with?

Just Relax ...

I’ve spoken before about having thinking time or needing to allow time for creativity but this is about having time to mentally switch off. Something busy people rarely have time for is to do nothing. When we’re busy and pressed for time there’s a tendency to always be on the go. Never stopping to rest from morning until night. Active and driven people will often feel guilty if they’re not doing something, they easily get bored and have a need to fill what they see as empty space and feel uncomfortable if there’s nothing going on.

However, working at full tilt isn’t always healthy or effective. It leads to a build up of stress and often results in mental and physical overload. Have you noticed that when you stop, you get ill?

Try and find a few minutes in each day when you can sit quietly. I know that’s easier said than done, especially if you feel you don’t have enough time as there is but there are benefits to switching off every now and then. One way to do this is to take up yoga, pilates or tai chi where you naturally have to slow down or to start simple breathing or meditation exercises. It doesn’t take a lot of time or space.

Deep Breathing – Sit comfortably, either in a chair or on the floor. Take a few deep breaths during the day when you're feeling tired, losing concentration or to calm yourself. Correct breathing is known to have beneficial effects on physical and emotional health - increasing energy levels and reducing stress and anxiety.

Breath Counting - Another easy meditation is to count your breath. Sit in a relaxed, comfortable position and count each inhale and exhale. Breathe in through your nose for a count of four or five and then exhale for a count of four or five. Practice breathing slowly, rhythmically and evenly and then include a pause between each in and out breathe. Breath in for a count of four, hold for four, breathe out for four, hold for four … repeat.

Breath Walking – count your breath (as above) but as you walk, matching the rhythm of your steps to your breathing.

Try one or two of these for a few minutes each day.

Invest Your Time In Others

Something that’s come up a few times in conversations over the last week, is how you can free up your time by delegating. Many people don't like to delegate tasks, as they think it's quicker to do it themselves but if they actually invest the time to hand over the task, spend a little time on training it will pay off in the end.
Think about how much an hour of your time is worth. Delegate the jobs that someone else could do cheaper, quicker and more efficiently than you.

At home: Pay a cleaner to clean and tidy your house for a couple of hours will be worth more than what you pay them. You’ll not only have a tidy house but more time with your family. Get a gardener to come in weekly or monthly to give you more time to enjoy your garden. Share the housework with your partner and children.

At work: If you work for yourself - pay someone to do your book keeping or accounts. What you'll pay them for a few hours of their time is probably less than you charge your clients. It gives you more time to spend earning money for your business and working with clients or just to work less. Use an admin assistant - they work for themselves and will work for as many hours as you need - often not even needing to be in the office - filing, emails, newsletters, sending out and chasing invoices can all be handled by someone else.

Don't expect perfection and just because they don't do it exactly the way you do, doesn't mean it's wrong. You might need to show them more than once but be patient - it's worth investing the time to get it right. Be specific, give them the information they need and a timeframe to work to. Don't delegate tasks that are confidential or sensitive in nature or core to your business.

Make sure you stay in control but don’t micro-manage.

P.S. There's a whole chapter in the book on delegating if you want more detail.

Switch Off

Away this weekend and I left the technology behind for a whole four days. I even survived without the mobile phone for much of it – only using it to contact fellow travellers and make arrangements and once to send a twitter message from the top of a hill, when we took a break in the sunshine.

I did of course come back to a full inbox of emails – mostly junk but quickly dispatched. I’ve never had email on the move, from choice more than limited technology or capability. While it might be useful at times – there is rarely anything that’s so urgent that it won’t wait until I return to the office and clients rarely want or need to contact me out of hours and if they did the phone is a quicker and more reliable means of contact.

I know some people can’t survive without constantly being in touch or being able to send and receive emails at any time of the day and night but there are always other things I can be doing when I have spare time on the move rather than checking emails. I even leave my mobile phone behind or switched off at times and I purposely don’t have all the whizz-bang, bluetooth headset, hands-free, technology. In that respect I’m probably technologically backward but actually, I want to decide what to do when, not have technology deciding for me.

Now the demands of my work are probably different from yours but how attached are you to your technology? Are you really in control of your time and the technology or is it controlling you? While it’s there to make life easier, if can also make it more demanding. Do you find it hard to switch off in case you miss something? How much of a difference will it really make to be instantly contactable?

Think about the technology you use and the way that you use it - could you use it less, have more time for yourself without reducing your productivity?

Keep It Simple

One of the things I find happening more and more, is doing less and less. Not necessarily for myself but for many of the clients I work with.

Although we’d all like to be more efficient and do more with our day, because of course we always have so much to do, what we actually need to do is less, so rather than increase someone’s efficiency so that you can actually fit in all the hundred and one things

The trouble with living a busy, hectic lifestyle and either running your own business or working in a busy organisation is that we often take on too much. We say yes to everything. We try to not only have it all but do it all. No wonder there are so many people stressed out, overwhelmed, worked out and running round trying to catch up with themselves, with never a minute to spare.

Try doing less. Stop doing things that you really don’t have time for. If you have a tendency to take on too much and then underestimate how long it’s going to take, halve the amount of things you say yes to. Apply this to both your business and personal life and start to really enjoy more time.

Holiday Intentions

The schools here go back this week and many people are now back from holiday. If you’ve managed to get away for a few days break or even had your summer (what summer) holiday – did you managed to take some time out while you were away?

I’ve often found that holidays can be a great opportunity to not only take a break from your business or job but to think about the things that are really important to you, spending time with family and friends who you don’t have as much time for when the nose is to the grindstone, time to exercise and eat more healthily … or perhaps not if you’ve been over indulging. When we get a chance to get away from our day-to-day routine, it can be a lot easier to take a few steps back and step off the treadmill for a while. As well as New Year, holidays can be a time when we decide to make changes to our lives – whether it’s to exercise more, work fewer hours, go for a career change or get a promotion. The trouble is that when you get back to work and back into the daily routine, it’s easy to quickly forget all the good intentions, as the memory of the holiday quickly fades.

Write them down, before you forget them (see Getting Accountable – 18th Aug). Even if they’re not something you’re in a position to do anything about right away, there are probably one or two small things you could do now to make a difference or at least get you moving in the right direction. If you want to get fit – book time for exercise in your dairy. If you want to work fewer hours – commit to a starting and finishing time and stick to it.

Another opportunity for change. Don’t let the enthusiasm and intention fade away without trace.

How Much Time Have You Got?

We all know there are only twenty-four hours in a day, no matter how hard you try or wish there were just a few more. Having worked out how much your time is worth last week, let’s think about how much time you have each day to get things done.

From the time you wake up to the time you go to bed there are about sixteen hours in each day, unless you’re the sort of person who can manage with very little sleep.

Work will take up a large chunk of this time, together with travel time, which could be anything from two minutes, if you’re lucky enough to work from home, to two or three hours if you have a daily commute. Allow about two hours for personal tasks, such as washing, cooking, cleaning and eating.

Sleep – 8 hours
Work – 8 hours
Travel – 2 hours
Personal – 2 hours

Total = 20 hours

That only leaves four hours or so, to do with what you want. Four hours to fit in exercise, seeing friends and family, shopping, relaxation, doing the things you enjoy and if you have a family with young children, probably even less, so it makes sense to use it wisely.

While watching TV can be a good way to relax and unwind it’s also a good way to suck up much of that free time that could be spent on more productive or beneficial activities, such as getting in some exercise or spending time with family and friends, socialising or just ‘switching off’ completely.

If you can’t seem to find enough time to get everything done – take a look at how you’re spending those ‘spare’ hours and see if there’s a way to re-prioritise what you’re doing.

We're All Going On A ... Summer Holiday

It’s coming up to that holiday time of year when in the next couple of months, most people will be looking forward to their annual two week holiday. Make sure you’re in a position to wind down before your holiday with time to finish all your tasks so you’re not having to work long hours just to clear the decks before you go away.

Be realistic about what you can achieve in the last few days before you go. Do the important tasks first and don’t waste time on things that can wait until your return or be done by someone else. Write out everything you need to do – including updating your voicemail message and setting an auto responder. Hand over work to a colleague if that’s practical. Don’t dump work on them.

If you don’t want to be inundated with unnecessary emails from your online networking groups – switch off any email notifications before you go, as you certainly won’t have to time to catch up with all those messages and it’s unlikely any of them will be that important.

And don’t even think about going away and taking your work with you. Taking your phone and laptop with you just so you can catch up or keep on top of things isn’t the best solution. You might feel your business will fall apart or your office won’t be able to function without you if you’re not in touch for a few days but is that really the case or an unfounded fear? If it’s the former then you really need to do something to change that. Even if it’s your own business you can still take a break without worrying about business, it just takes careful planning. Let people know in advance when you’re going away and plan work round your holiday time.

Make this year the year you go away on holiday having completed all your tasks in good time. Leave your laptop and office phone at home and really enjoy the break.

Get more detail, tips and information in July's newsletter.