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imagination

Nuggets of wisdom re jobs, careers and business

Yesterday, in between other meetings, I attended some sessions at the CIPD Festival of Work Conference – online of course, and focusing very much on the current situation, Covid-related.

The keynote address contained some real nuggets that have stuck with me since then – with regard to:

Disrupted lives – what next?

Our lives and our world have been well and truly disrupted by coronavirus and all that it entails.

We have each been living our own ‘temporary normal’ in order to survive and cope.

Many are already talking about what our ‘new normal’ will look like afterwards.

All we do know, for sure, is that no-one is unaffected and that we can’t go back – we can only go forward. Continue reading “Disrupted lives – what next?” →

What is a Toy?

I was fascinated this week when I saw a report on BBC Breakfast about a ‘back to basics’ experiment in a UK nursery which, it’s reported, has stimulated creativity and improved communication amongst the children involved (especially the boys, apparently) – and decluttering the rooms in the process. I also found an article about it in the Mail Online (published back in March of this year).

Matt Caldwell, the Head of the nursery was, apparently, inspired by similar schemes in Germany which replaced plastic toys with everyday items and real size objects – so, for example, instead of a miniature/child-size/toy version of a musical instrument, they would have an adult-sized, real one to explore.egg-carton-575692_1280

lavender ovalOther items were day-to-day objects such as kettles, bottle tops, egg boxes, corks, pine cones, conkers, lavender and pots.

The backs were taken off electrical items so the children could see how they were constructed. Continue reading “What is a Toy?” →

What’s in your garden?

We’re coming, now, towards the end of the summer in the UK.

Many of you may have spent time enjoying your own garden this summer, if you have one – or someone else’s garden, or a public park or beach-side garden, perhaps?  

This is a light-hearted look at what might be in that garden – what draws you, where you regain balance and perspective, perhaps – based upon your MBTI personality type and preferences.

Do you recognise yourself, or your favourite (place in the) garden here?

I certainly do!!  smiley-147407_1280 Continue reading “What’s in your garden?” →

Thinking Inside the Box…?

Most of us are pretty familiar with the phrase ‘think outside the box’ in terms of taking a more creative approach to something. thinking-outside-the-box-33399_1280.png

But there’s an article in today’s Metro which I saw being discussed on the Jeremy Vine show on Channel 5 about a company selling boxes to put over your head and help you think inside the box.

The panel on the show had some boxes similar to those being sold and put them over their heads while they discussed it.

The discussion was pretty light-hearted and did make me smile – and I leave you to form your own views as to the usefulness and pricing of the article in question.

face-with-tears-of-joy_1f602Personally, I have a vivid image in my mind, now, of a person in a the middle of an open plan office with a box on their head covered in rude and funny Post Its from their mischievous colleagues…

But, of course, there’s a serious point here, too – about how we can all benefit from taking a break, ‘unplugging’ every now and again. Continue reading “Thinking Inside the Box…?” →

use, re-use, recycle or mend…

single-use

Very pleased to hear Sir David Attenborough and others speaking out at the UN climate summit in Poland last week.

I’m also glad to see ‘single-use’ as the Collins Word of the Year, highlighting our throwaway mentality which needs challenging for the sake of our planet – aimed, particularly, at our use of plastics. Continue reading “use, re-use, recycle or mend…” →

“Get off the gift-giving treadmill…”

So says Martin Lewis in his latest post on the subject of unnecessary Christmas presents (it’s only 3 minutes and worth a view):

“Zero sum giving”, “tit-for-tat giving” where, as he says, we end up with less money or in debt – and with ‘tat’ we don’t want or need….

This is just the right time to start having those conversations, before you go off to the shops or online to buy them.

If you need any more convincing, see also my previous blogs such as:

Christmas Presents an Issue?

Something they want … or an IOU?

‘To Wrap, or Not to Wrap?’ – that is the question...

“I need to fall in love with the world again…”

This is the first line in Hussain Manawer’s poem ‘Playground’ – for me it’s a ‘pick-me-up’.

I hope you like it, too, it’s just 3½ minutes:

In 2018 I want to…

paper-3042645_1920.jpg

Continuing one of the themes from my last blog and, particularly, some of the sentiments in ‘the Hot Chocolate Story’ at the end. I’m inviting you to take a slightly different route into planning your goals for 2018 than what you might have done before.

Instead of starting with a list what you haven’t got or achieved, how about starting the process with a list of what you have got, what you have achieved in 2017 (or earlier) and what you like or love about your life right now? Continue reading “In 2018 I want to…” →

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