Keeping on track.
It’s that time of year. We’re nearly half way through 2015, wow…can you believe that, so I thought it might be good to touch base and share how I’m doing on the old “things to do” list.
Looking at my list at the start of this year there were a few familiar ones.
- Loose a few kilos
- Be more productive
- Find more creative things to do in my spare time
Like I said all too familiar and alas … not quite as ahead of the game as I’d like. Although I have to give myself a bit of credit on a few things on that list that are some what better than the year before and isn’t that worth celebrating? I say YES – celebrate the little victories along the way, you don’t climb a mountain in one big leap after all, it’s one step at a time.
As most women, the first item on my list is generally the one that causes a lot of angst and complimentary guilt. My vice is not the sweet stuff, but the delicious combination of barley, hops and wheat best served cold with a bit of a fizz. I am of course talking about beer, any beer but especially craft beer. Cape Town is such a haven for all things craft beer, from The Beer House on Long Street to our Cape Town Office local, Lefties – it’s just so hard to resist. But, as I said it’s about keeping on track and celebrating those small victories and to that end I’m rather chuffed with myself by only visiting these fine establishments once a week now. It all helps.
When it comes to productivity, I like most of you, suffer from syndrome known as “loss of time” directly attributed to scrolling aimlessly down the timeline of my social media fix, Facebook. Why is it that we care so much about what others are doing, seeing, drinking or even thinking? This is not a post that will attempt answering the question of our time, but rather how the hell do we cut the umbilical cord and shed that fear of missing out? #FOMO Here’s what I did and it works! I simply deleted the Facebook application from my phone. No, really it’s as simple as that. At first it was hard, really hard filling in time whilst sitting at Vida drinking coffee or standing in the lobby waiting on the lift when I’d usually just stare at my phone and scroll through the posts. The difference is in so small way, A M A Z I N G people. I highly recommend you do it today.
I still pop in from time to time via my desktop to see what’s been happening, event invitations and wishing people far away Happy Birthday so it’s not like I went cold turkey, but it’s a start!
The 3rd item on my list is an ongoing project. I’m very excited to be joining a weekly Life drawing class with good friend, Viky Petermann Rueda right here in the building at Artsauce Life drawing studio. It’s been a long, far too long, time since I’ve let the creative juices flow and I’m really looking forward to getting back into that rhythm. There are still spaces available, so if you’re keen on flexing that creative muscle, why not come along. Beginners (and trust me that’s where I’m at) are very welcome. https://www.facebook.com/events/863154777085807/
We all get so busy with our daily routines, especially when you’re self employed / an entrepreneur that stopping every now and then to nurture that inner Picasso, Leonardo or Monet just moves further and further away.
Academic researchers have begun to converge on the opinion that:
“Considerable evidence now suggests that employee creativity can make a substantial contribution to an organization’s growth and competitiveness” (Baer & Oldham, 2006).
Further in an article in The Economist it was suggested that the biggest challenge facing organizations is identifying and developing individuals with “brainpower (both natural and trained) and especially the ability to think creatively” (Frymire, 2006).
So what do you to be more creative?
In the world, this wonderful world of coworking I’m fortunate and blessed to be surrounded by some of the most creative thinkers and do’ers from all disciplines and walks of life. I love how a quick chat in the kitchen over a coffee can lead to a collaboration which may initially only be a small project, but has the potential to be the next big start up. Coworking is such a great way for all of us to be motivated in the morning, especially a Monday, to get out of bed and get to your desk. I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Here’s to the start of a new month and in keeping with #StarwarsDay … May the 4th be with you!
Cheers,
Lizelle