Notes to Myself. Note to Yourself.

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This week’s post is a little personal…

Last week was incredibly busy…I honestly felt like an old fashioned whistling kettle screeching to be removed from the hot stove. I found myself exclaiming the classic “there just aren’t enough hours in the day!”

Ever felt like this?

It got to a point where I decided to take a step back from my office, picked up my note pad and went for some fresh air. I found myself a nice little spot on a bench in the hustle and bustle of Covent Garden and jotted some ‘notes to self’… Basically these were nine bullet points of advice that I’d be confident giving a candidate on their first week in a new job. But for some unknown reason I’ve never taken the time to tell myself…until now. Why is it we never take on board our own advice?

  1. Slow down. Take the time to consider how you can most effectively and efficiently structure your day. A basic ‘to do’ list can work wonders.
  2. Read all emails with patience.
  3. Take a few minutes to breathe and think before replying to an email.
  4. Keep a calm and composed mind at all times. I find Yoga really helps with this one.
  5. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. This will allow your logical mind to take charge and you’ll make good decisions.
  6. Write influential dates in your diary, remembering the little things can make all the difference to both your internal and external business relationships.
  7. Write the way you are managing a task…what processes you’ve put in place and how/whether they work.
  8. Write all ideas, no matter how good or bad you feel they are at the time…they can be extremely handy in the future. I find writing messages to myself in the notes app of my phone a perfect way to take charge of this.
  9. Ask questions when you have them! Don’t wait or be shy to ask, as it may lead to errors and time-wasting further down the line.

We are all guilty of handing out the best advice left, right and centre…whether it be to colleagues, friends or family. Then why are we so terrible at actually listening to our own wise words?

So…I’m sharing mine with you now, which I hope you find beneficial…but this time I’m also going to do my utmost to take them on board too!

Please do take the time to jot down your very own ‘notes to self’. Even better, post them below and share them with me and others reading this article.