I am always on the look out for new tools or resources for coaching, and I want to share this one I recently came across in a blog post by Laura Vanderkam: It’s called a ‘List of 100 Dreams’. If this is a new concept, then head over to Laura’s blog to read more about the original exercise from Career coach Caroline Ceniza-Levine and how Laura has used this exercise as part of her work…
Category: coaching
At this time of year, it’s easy to focus on ever busy work schedules instead of activities that help with balance. Here in Cardiff the weather is dreary and grey, and not particularly inspiring even in the lightest hours of the day. Leaving my desk and screens in favour for a proper break feels much easier on sunny days. When I came across a book called Gone for Lunch: 52 Things to do in your…
I’ve really enjoyed reading Laura Vanderkam’s Tranquillity by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters. From an anthropological perspective, it’s interesting to read a book rooted in the experiences of a group of people putting the productivity and time management ideas into practice and I especially enjoyed reading why things did and didn’t work for particular individuals. I found it helpful to read about their experiences alongside the expert…
Recently I have been working with a number of clients who are finding hybrid working habits hard to change. Busy days blend into each other, and at the end of a week or even a month, routine tasks like answering emails or attending meetings have taken up all the time and other priorities or more creative work have had to take a back seat. I have struggled with this for years. Changing habits to make…
It feels like it’s been a very busy week (month, year, decade…) and if your schedule is anything like mine, you probably don’t have enough time for being creative, taking breaks or anything else that injects a little bit of joy into the routine. There are many strategies for tackling this problem, and one approach I have been experimenting with is pairing habits. What’s pairing and how does it work? I first came across the…
As we head into summer, I have been taking a break from work and headed to the Welsh coast for a well earned break. I am continuing my work with a number of clients over the summer, but having just completed my current coach training I will also have time to focus on other aspects of my practice including catching up on a whole host of books I am hoping to read. Whatever your plans…
I like revisiting or exploring different frameworks to think with, not necessarily to adopt them whole, but because they usually offer me small nuggets of inspiration. Here are some examples of what I explored and what I found out along the way: Ways to explore your traits, motivations or fears Enneagram Core Motivations: This is a tool which combines modern psychology with an ancient personality system, and it helps you identify one of nine core…
I was curious to explore this particular framework, especially as I sometimes listen to the Gretchen Rubin podcasts. Four Tendencies described There is a dedicated book that makes for interesting reading, however to get started, here is how Gretchen Rubin explore the concept: By asking the one simple question, “How do I respond to expectations?” we gain exciting insight into ourselves. And when we know how other people respond to expectations, we understand them far more effectively,…
As part of my work on the Leading Virtual Teams book, I have been careful to define what is meant by terms describing different ways of working. It’s taken me a while to bring the various terms together, and to reflect on their meaning not just now, but also before the advent of digital technologies and more widely available, reliable, high speed internet connections. In my childhood days for example, selling Tupperware from your garage…
In January I officially started my coach training in order to become an accredited coach, an ICF Associate Certified Coach, via Katie Linder’s Higher Ed Coach Training. Having completed the first part of the course, I am about to start the next one, which will focus on coaching fundamentals in a deeper way. The notebook pictured above is my celebration, a gift to myself for taking this next step along the path to getting formally credentialed.…