Successful Steps Blog
The Successful Steps blog is run by Anne McGhee and focusses on Personal and Professional Development and a whole bunch of related subjects. You are encouraged to comment if you have a viewpoint on anything you read about.
The importance of good punctuation / 11th Nov 2008
I had the best cup of coffee of my life the other day. Now this might sound strange but it actually had little to do with the coffee itself. You see, whilst the coffee was ok it was in a plastic cup and I don't really do plastic - more of a china doll myself, on this occasion it served its purpose. I took my daily latte break at my local park a place I often seek soul restoration. If I'm feeling stressed or blocked in a work project, time out there feeds my creative thought process and allows me to connect with my thoughts, nature and sometimes with great characters with whom I share a bench.
It's also a great place to people watch. Some are just cutting through on their road to work, or university caught up in internal dialogue, not really taking notice of their journey. The folk I really love to watch are those who are really enjoying being out in the fresh air, taking time to appreciate and wonder at the beauty of the trees and ponds, you can almost see their well-being tank filling up in front of you.
In complete contrast, at a corporate networking event last night I met a solicitor who told me he worked 12 hours a day, I met an accountant who at 7.30 pm had just arrived at the event, was going to stay for an hour and then go back to the office; he was busy, it was a typical day. Neither of them were particularly happy, fulfilled or even enjoying their selves. On several occasions I caught glimpses of them standing solo. The attraction factor to engage with these guys was low - tired and weary they had nothing to give.
An ex smoker friend of mine says that he misses those 'pauses in the day' that his cigarette breaks used to provide. I often hear non smokers complain about the breaks their smoking colleagues take, to which I regularly reply "You don't need to be a smoker to punctuate your day!" Think about it!
by Anne McGhee in the category of Personal Development
Personal Development, punctuation
Comments are closed. 2 comments were made on this post.
Comments
Blair Millen said...
Brilliant post and absolutely spot-on... the importance of stepping back and taking a break from the daily grind is a compulsory part of the daily grind. Now all I've got to do is start to work less myself.
(Love the photos by the way).
Tuesday 11th November 2008 12.53pm
Mike Ritchie said...
It is important to take a break, a breather, call it what you like. I am also a firm believer that long hours don't necessarily equal good performance or effective delivery, in fact, the opposite can often be the case.
Tired, overworked individuals cannot be expected to function at peak levels.
I also think - and I experienced this when I set up my business - that taking holidays and not worrying when the next project or contract is going to come your way is vital to any small business.Re-charging the batteries does help.
Friday 14th November 2008 9.35am